[Dave Pollack]

Hey everyone! I'm back with another video in my "Simple Steps" series. I made this series because I want to simplify musical concepts and teach them in a way that is more concise and clear. Many people are overwhelmed by the complicated approach some educators take in explaining concepts, so I'm here to try to make easier for you!

I've gotten a bunch of message asking to explain the concept of sus chords and how to improvise over them, and it's a pretty easy concept once you hear/see it a certain way! I hope you enjoy this one, and let me know what you think.

 

[J-Moen]

Wow! That really is a simple answer to this and that's an awesome trick for getting the extension of the chord out!

I have read about 10 different ways of tackling the sus chords, but you really did simplify it to something I can hold without being stuck thinking and researching Everytime I see one!

 

[paulwl]

Many people are overwhelmed by the complicated approach some educators take in explaining concepts ...

The educators' approach is actually simple, but rigid. Theory is approached like math - it's about the logic, and the spelling of a chord or scale.

Our ears do not enter into learning the concept. That's "cheating." They are brought in at the last step, only after the fingers, by means of lots and lots of repeated written drill.

 

[Dave Pollack]

The educators' approach is actually simple, but rigid.

Really? I've seen things from students where teachers write out an entire page explaining which notes to play or which notes to "avoid" while improvising over certain chords. It's brutal. So many teachers have no idea what they're doing when teaching improvisation - it really messes some of these kids up, especially the ones who really care and want to pursue music beyond high school.

 

[Dave Pollack]

Wow! That really is a simple answer to this and that's an awesome trick for getting the extension of the chord out!

I have read about 10 different ways of tackling the sus chords, but you really did simplify it to something I can hold without being stuck thinking and researching Everytime I see one!

I appreciate that! That's the exact reason I started this series.

 

[Just Joe]

Thanks for sharing the helpful concept, Dave. It's a confidence builder.

 

[A Greene]

Thanks Dave. Always looking for way to apply what I already know in different ways. Maj7 over Sus. Not something I would think to do but sounds very ‘hip.’

 

[The Coctor]

Very helpful ! Thanks.

 

[MusicDude]

Hey everyone! I'm back with another video in my "Simple Steps" series.

This came up on the “Recommended Reading” list at the bottom of another thread.
Thanks Dave for your videos. Looks like 2 years later after this you are going strong.
Keep up the great work!

 

[J-Moen]

This came up on the “Recommended Reading” list at the bottom of another thread

That's good the feature is working, but there's no need to mention that it was in the recommended reading section everytime you comment on something from there.

 

[Dave Pollack]

This came up on the “Recommended Reading” list at the bottom of another thread.
Thanks Dave for your videos. Looks like 2 years later after this you are going strong.
Keep up the great work!

Thanks so much - I’m glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Zasterz]

This is a terrific video as all Dave's videos are. 👍

I would also like to humbly suggest that another (possibly quicker for some people) way to think of sus chords is "Just don't play 3". As a pianist and longtime piano teacher, I've known and taught the "chord a whole step below over the same root" approach for decades and it's awesome, standard, appears at the beginning of pretty much any jazz piano book and I'm not knocking it whatsoever!

But there is still a mental calculation, right? Of having to think down to another chord. Whereas "don't play the third" instantaneously gives you the same result and has the benefit of sort of following the raison d'etre of the sus chord in the first place imo, that the 3rd is too much information or "giving away the punchline" (resolution). I find even little kids can comprehend sus chords this way: "What is suspense in a movie? You don't know what's gonna happen yet!" (i.e. whether the chord will be major or minor.)

Anyway just adding in a quick 2 cents fwiw. I have definitely encountered students where "think down a whole step" was more theory than they wanted to deal with (especially on the fly while reading a chart) and "just don't play 3" worked better.