Today in pop aural skills, we identified suspensions, that is, melodies that place unexpected non-chord tones on strong beats, before resolving to the expected chord tones. These are melodic suspensions, which are not the same thing as sus4 or sus2 chords, but they are related concepts.
Western European classical theory has a lot of clear and unambiguous rules for suspensions. Pop follows those rules to varying extents, but not strictly. There is less of an expectation that the chord tones will be on strong beats in the first place, or that the chord tones are even the main melody notes. So some (maybe all) of these examples are debatable.
“You Never Give Me Your Money” by the Beatles
The suspension is in the very first line of the song. The words “You never give me your” are all sung on E over an Am chord. On the word “money”, the chord changes to Dm, but the “mo-” is still on E, the second of the chord, a non-chord tone. Then it resolves down to the chord root D on “-ney”.
Listen to the line “and the papers want to know whose shirts you wear” at 1:33. The words “know whose shirts” are sung on C over a C chord. On “you wea-ear”, the chord changes to F. The words “you wea-” are sung on D, the sixth of the F chord, a non-chord tone. The second syllable “-ear” resolves down to C, the fifth of the F chord. Bowie does the same 6-5 suspension on “now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare.”
“Dark Star” by the Grateful Dead
Once again, the suspension is in the first line. Listen at 0:15 to the line “Dark star crashes.” The whole verse is in A Mixolydian, and the line is sung over an A7 chord. The word “Dark” is sung on E, the fifth of A7. The words “star crash-” are sung on D, the fourth, a non-chord tone. The second syllable “-es” resolves down to C-sharp, the third of A7.
“Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads
Listen to the first chorus at 0:53, to the line “Letting the days go by”. The whole chorus is over a D chord. The words “Letting the” are sung on D, the root. The word “days” is sung on E, the second, a non-chord tone. The words “go by” resolve to F-sharp, the third.
There’s another suspension in the next line, “let the water hold me down.” The words “let the” are sung on A, the fifth of the D chord. The words “water hold me” are sung on B, the sixth, a non-chord tone. The word “down” resolves back down to A.
Listen to the line “ain’t no hold ’em” at 0:15. It’s sung over a D chord. The words “no hold” are sung on D, the root. The first half of the word “’em” is sung on B, the sixth, a non-chord tone. The second half of the word resolves down to A, the fifth. Beyoncé does this same 6-5 suspension many more times in the song.
“Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” by Stevie Wonder
There’s an extraordinary series of 4-3 suspensions at 1:40, on the line “when you check it out.” Everything I’m discussing is sung on the word “out”. Stevie begins the word on C-flat, the fourth of the underlying Gb7 chord, a non-chord tone. Then he resolves down to B-flat, the third. But here comes the twist. The chord now changes to F7. Stevie continues to sing the B-flat, which now becomes the fourth of F. Then he resolves down to A, the third of F7. But then he changes the chord to E. Now his A is the fourth of the E chord. He resolves it down to G-sharp, the third of E. This same cycle repeats through Eb7sus4 and Eb7, D7sus4 and D7, and Db7sus4 and Db7. Pretty amazing!
Notice something else about this passage: after the first chord, everything is anticipated. Everything is on a weak subdivision! Suspensions are supposed to place non-chord tones on strong beats, but Stevie doesn’t even use any strong beats after that first downbeat. So are these not really suspensions? Or is the strong beat rule not important? My preferred interpretation is that Stevie does the syncopated rhythm so consistently that those weak subdivisions become functionally “strong”.
“Up For The Down Stroke” by Parliament
Now we get into controversial territory. Does this song have suspensions in it? I think that it does, but it’s highly debatable. The song’s intro is in E Mixolydian/blues. The bassline plays E, then jumps up to D and a higher E. If you think of the underlying chord as E (or Em, it’s ambiguous), then D is the flat seventh, a non-chord tone. Then it resolves up to the root E. But if the chord is E7, or Em7, or E7#9, then D is a chord tone. Either way, I feel it as a kind of suspension, because the D creates tension that the E resolves. Or does it? Those high E’s are on the “and” of two and the “and” of four, both weak subdivisions. So E is harmonically stable but rhythmically unstable. That’s funk!
How about the vocal melody? Listen to the first chorus at 0:10, the line “Get up for the down stroke.” I hear the chord as being more of a clear E7. The word “Get” is on B, the fifth of E7. The words “up for” are on E, the chord root. The word “the” is on D, the seventh of the chord (now I really do hear it as a chord tone.) The word “down” is on F-sharp, the second, a non-chord tone. Then it resolves down to E on the word “stroke.” This is a clear melodic suspension being resolved, but the word “stroke” is on the sixteenth note subdivision before beat four, an extremely weak metrical position. Once again, harmonic resolution contrasts with rhythmic non-resolution.
I feel like I’m only in the earliest stages of being able to articulate how harmony and melody interact in a tune like this. It’s a major growth area for musicology and music theory pedagogy.