About Bbsus2 — triad voicings
Bbsus2 is Bb, C and F — Bb 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.
Bbsus2 notes and formula
| Bb | C | F |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written Bb2 or Bb suspended 2nd. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Bbsus2
Three notes on one string set. No seventh, so nothing is claimed about the chord beyond its quality.
Thin on their own, excellent over a bass line or against someone else’s harmony.
Bbsus2 has 48 of them, on the top three strings, the high-middle three, the middle four strings, the top four strings, the bottom four strings, the low-middle three, the bottom three strings, strings 5-3-2-1 and strings 6-4-3-2, from open position up to the 15th — every inversion the chord has: Bb in the bass, C in the bass and F in the bass. The one to learn first is the Bb shape at the nut, which is the easiest grip here.
6 of them sit on the middle four strings, so you can run the inversions up one set without changing strings — which is the whole reason to learn them as a family rather than as separate grips.
Start with 63356x — no barre and low, at the 3rd fret. None of the shapes for Bbsus2 uses an open string, so every one of them is movable; the lowest sits at the 1st fret. 5 of the 9 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x13311 | 1st fret | Bb, root position | F | barred |
| 63356x | 3rd fret | Bb, root position | F | all fretted |
| x33366 | 3rd fret | C, 2nd in the bass | Bb | barred |
| 6xx566 | 5th fret | Bb, root position | Bb | barred |
| 688x68 | 6th fret | Bb, root position | C | barred |
| x-x-8-10-11-8 | 8th fret | Bb, root position | C | all fretted |
| x-13-10-10-11-13 | 10th fret | Bb, root position | F | all fretted |
| x-x-10-10-11-13 | 10th fret | C, 2nd in the bass | F | all fretted |
| x-13-15-15-13-13 | 13th fret | Bb, root position | F | barred |
How to use Bbsus2
Voice by voice, Bbsus2 → Bb. No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Bbsus2 | Moves | In Bb |
|---|---|---|
| Bb, the root | stays where it is | Bb, the root |
| C, the second | falls a whole tone | Bb, the root |
| F, the fifth | stays where it is | F, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Bbsus2 belongs to C minor (the ♭VII), C# major (the vi), D minor (the ♭VI), Eb major (the V), F major (the IV), F minor (the iv), G minor (the ♭III), Ab major (the ii), Bb major (the I) and Bb minor (the i).
What to play over Bbsus2
Every note of Bbsus2 is in Bb major pentatonic, Bb major, Bb lydian, Bb mixolydian and Bb dorian.
Chords near Bbsus2
Change one note of Bbsus2 and you have Bb (the ninth becomes a major third), Bbm (the ninth becomes a minor third), Bbsus4 (the ninth becomes a fourth), Bbsus2sus4 (add the fourth), Bbadd9 (add the major third) or Bbmadd9 (add the minor third).
Bbsus2 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 Bbsus2’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.