The Sus4 Sound

A perfect 4th, then a major 2nd — and 4 near misses, each a single tone away.

The chord-quality drill loads here.

Built upward, the sus4 is a perfect 4th, then a major 2nd — 3 tones in all. In a drill it arrives in a key you did not choose, so the only thing left to listen to is that shape.

Near missesmajor triad, minor triad, sus2 and power fifth — each one is this chord with a single tone moved, which is why a wrong answer here is almost never random.

Same notes, different name. Played without a root in the bass, this is the exact pitch-class set of the sus2 — not a near miss but a genuine tie. Rounds that hide the root never put the two in the same answer list, because a question with two right answers teaches nothing.

It sits in the colour tier — one tone moved off a triad you already know.