Absus2 guitar chord
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About Absus2 — root position
Absus2 is Ab, Bb and Eb — Ab with the third replaced by the second.
It sounds open, and neither major nor minor. With no third it works over either quality, which is why strummed parts lean on it.
Absus2 notes and formula
| Ab | Bb | Eb |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written Ab2 or Ab suspended 2nd. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Absus2
Absus2 in root position puts Ab in the bass, which is the chord as it is spelled: the note it is named after underneath everything else.
6 of Absus2’s 8 common shapes do this: 41134x, 4xx344, 466x46, xx6896, x-11-8-8-9-11, x-11-13-13-11-11.
Start with 41134x — no barre and down at the nut. None of the shapes for Absus2 uses an open string, so every one of them is movable; the lowest sits at the 1st fret. 4 of the 8 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 13th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41134x | 1st fret | Ab, root position | Eb | all fretted |
| 4xx344 | 3rd fret | Ab, root position | Ab | barred |
| x11144 | 1st fret | Bb, 2nd in the bass | Ab | barred |
| 466x46 | 4th fret | Ab, root position | Bb | barred |
| xx6896 | 6th fret | Ab, root position | Bb | all fretted |
| x-11-8-8-9-11 | 8th fret | Ab, root position | Eb | all fretted |
| x-x-8-8-9-11 | 8th fret | Bb, 2nd in the bass | Eb | all fretted |
| x-11-13-13-11-11 | 11th fret | Ab, root position | Eb | barred |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 47 triad voicings, each on its own page.
How to use Absus2
Voice by voice, Absus2 → Ab. No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Absus2 | Moves | In Ab |
|---|---|---|
| Ab, the root | stays where it is | Ab, the root |
| Bb, the second | falls a whole tone | Ab, the root |
| Eb, the fifth | stays where it is | Eb, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Absus2 belongs to C minor (the ♭VI), C# major (the V), Eb major (the IV), Eb minor (the iv), F minor (the ♭III), F# major (the ii), Ab major (the I), Ab minor (the i), Bb minor (the ♭VII) and B major (the vi).
What to play over Absus2
Every note of Absus2 is in Ab major pentatonic, Ab major, Ab lydian, Ab mixolydian and Ab dorian.
Chords near Absus2
Change one note of Absus2 and you have Ab (the ninth becomes a major third), Abm (the ninth becomes a minor third), Absus4 (the ninth becomes a fourth), Abadd9 (add the major third), Abmadd9 (add the minor third) or Ab5 (drop the ninth).
Absus2 is a suspended chord — root and fifth, with a second or fourth where the third would be — or nothing at all. Suspended and power chords on every root.
On Absus2’s sound and use this page follows Robert Rawlins & Nor Eddine Bahha, Jazzology (Hal Leonard, 2005). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.