dsus2

[VitaminD]

I'm learning some chords (very much the beginner in this realm) and found an online chord chart that tells me dsus2 is 'D E A' and thats great.

(heres where the facepalm question starts) If I wanted to play it as a 4 note chord instead, could I also play a lower D? Can I play a lower A with it and have it still be 'Dsus2' ? Obviously D is the root so I'm thinking it would be ok to play another D with it.. I mean it sounds fine but yet it doesn't at the same time.. hmm.

Yes this question may make me seem obtuse but please don't tell me to google.. thats the only reason I found dsus2 in the first place

[k-bird]

If you play it with a lower A that kind of turns it into Dsus2/A, so you can certainly throw another D over the top of the chord (bit dull but you'll get your four-note Dsus2).

Another option for a 4 note chord is to drop the D and A one octave to establish the root note more firmly, then add other suspended-chord-friendly notes (e.g. D A B E to get a neutral 6/9 chord) to tweak the sonority of the chord.

If you want the same sonority though, D A D E works fine. Sounds nice with the second on the top.

[Aleatoriac]

It can be played any way you like. Playing with A in the bass is a "second inversion" of the chord.

Or have the bass instrument play a low D, play an E on your instrument of choice, and sing the A.

Any way one would like to play a chord is a way to play it.

Maybe, I don't know, I am not an authority on anything!

[VitaminD]

Thanks guys for the responses and insight.. so any extra note I play with it becomes /<note> ? If I played D DEA then it would be a Dsus2/D ?

I guess there isn't a 'wrong' way to play it persay as long as I play the true dsus2 (D E A) correct?

[buscemi]

You wouldn't normally specify /D in that instance because it is already the root and assumed but in real-world playing and depending on the situation, other orchestration/players, etc, you'll play whatever inversion works for you and the overall sound. Sometimes chord fragments and inversions are handy in not overpowering or making the whole thing sound muddy.

Edit - to put some perspective, it is all open to interpretation and your discretion as a player. For example, even though I'm formally-trained (thus should know better, but don't) I'm sometimes either lazy or rusty and the best choice may be what falls under my fingers. That can either be the barre chord version which makes my Neanderthal brain not hurt, or a triad that happens to share two common notes from the last thing that was under my fingers which makes the lazy (oops, "efficient") part of my brain happy... or whatever inversion may be easiest to move within the progression and rely on the bass player to lay down the root, etc, etc, etc.

[k-bird]

Thanks guys for the responses and insight.. so any extra note I play with it becomes /<note> ? If I played D DEA then it would be a Dsus2/D ?

The /D is redundant. Also depending on which notation someone's using, Dsus2/A could be either an A in the left hand and Dsus2 in the right hand (keyboard-wise), or it could be the second inversion of Dsus2 (A D E).

I guess there isn't a 'wrong' way to play it persay as long as I play the true dsus2 (D E A) correct?

Pretty much. There's subtle but useful changes in the sonority of any chord depending what pitch order the notes are in - i love my spread-out pad chords so i like playing the fifth in the left hand and doing any extra notes in the right.

[Basjoe]

This chord with A in the bass could easily be called Asus4.


Basjoe

[jlocri]

With any triad, you can use any note in the bass and double any other note, although the third (that's the E in a C major chord, or F in a D major chord) and tonic (C in a C major chord) are more often doubled than the octave. Also, it's sort of rare in traditional music to have the fifth (that's the G in a C major chord, or A in a D major chord) doubled.

I think you'd do the same sort of thing, I think. The way most people these days use suspended chords is a little different to how I do it.

[Opax]

Dsus2 can be played in several different ways:

D E A - Root
E A D - 1st inversion
A D E - 2nd inversion

If D is being played in the bass, then the chord is written as Dsus2, no matter which chord shape is played.

Of course if you play a different note in the bass, that changes things. If you play any note other than D in the bass, the chord is written differently as it affects the overall feel of the sound.

For example, if you played G in the bass whilst playing Dsus2 it would be written as, Dsus2/G. If you played Bb in the bass whilst playing Dsus2 it would be written as, Dsus2/Bb. And so on.

I hope this helps.

[wrench45us]

or a triad that happens to share two common notes from the last thing that was under my fingers which makes the lazy (oops, "efficient") part of my brain happy... or whatever inversion may be easiest to move within the progression and rely on the bass player to lay down the root, etc, etc, etc.

It's been my contention for some time that good voice leading is almost always the laziest and most efficient least amount of finger movement from one chord to another. It really shouldn't be all that mysterious.
otoh use of barre chords and block chords may be easier on the brain sometimes, but can contain a lot of voice leading rule violations.
I'm often amazed when I work out a song for nice smooth movement by starting in one inversion how easy it is to move the whole starting from another inversion. Then it comes down to what you want in the upper melody line -- and the 2 or 9 almost always sounds good, if not best, up there.

[Audiosprite]

If you play it with a lower A that kind of turns it into Dsus2/A

nah, it'd be an Asus4