A suspended 4th chord

What each note does

• A is the root. It names the chord and is the note your ear hears as home.
• There is no third. D, the fourth, sits in its place, so the chord is neither major nor minor. It wants to resolve to A or Am.
• E is the fifth. It adds weight without changing the character, so it is the first note to drop when a voicing gets crowded.