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You are here: Home / Guitar Chords / Dominant seventh suspended second chord

August 27, 2013 By Richie Leave a Comment

Dominant seventh suspended second chord

A dominant seventh suspended second chord is composed using a root/1st, major 2nd, perfect 5th and minor 7th (or R/1-2-5-♭7) intervals played simultaneously. Generally written as C7sus2 or C7(sus2), it is good practice to simply use an uppercase C followed by a super scripted 7sus2 to represent it in writing (ie: C7sus2).

The dominant seventh suspended second chord is enharmonic to a minor seventh suspended second chord as there is no 3rd degree present in either, and both have a minor 7th interval. Like the suspended second chord, its quality (ie: minor or dominant) is implied by its resolution (if any) however in this instance, resolution is either minor or dominant, not major (this is due to the minor 7th being present in both). As an example, if you were to play a D7sus2 followed by a D7, the implied quality would be dominant because the major 2nd (suspended 2nd) is resolving to a major 3rd one whole step higher, while the minor 7th remains. Alternatively, if you were to play the same D7sus2 chord but this time follow it with a Dmi7, its implied quality would be minor because the major 2nd is resolving to a minor 3rd one half step higher, once again the minor 7th remains.

It is not necessary to resolve the dominant seventh suspended second or the minor seventh suspended second chords, it is merely a tonal tool we can use if required.


Dominant seventh suspended second chord profile

Intervals root/1st, major 2nd, perfect 5th, minor 7th or R/1-2-5-♭7
Stability Somewhat dissonant, unresolved
Grouping class Tetrad
Common names (examples in C) C7sus2, C7(sus2)


Chord shapes/voicings

  • Dominant seventh suspended second chord shapes
  • Help
  • Guitar neck notes
  • Octave chart
Dominant seventh suspended second chord shapes for guitar
Chord box reading guide
All notes on guitar neck
Guitar octave chart guide


Audio sample(s)

C Dominant seventh suspended second chord voicing #2 http://guitar.ricmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/dominant-seventh-suspended-second-chord/c-dominant-seventh-suspended-second-chord-voicing-2.mp3




Filed Under: Guitar Chords, Suspended Chords

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