Guide to Augmented Chords: How to Play Augmented Chords

Augmented chords are major triads with a sharp fifth. That raised fifth is the only difference between a major chord and an augmented chord. Each note in an augmented triad is two whole steps above the prior note. The first note is the root note, the second note is the major third, and the third note is an augmented fifth.

For example, compare the chords C major and C augmented major, which is written as C+ in most music notation. A C major triad features the notes C-E-G, which represent a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. A C augmented triad (C+) features the note C, the note E, and the note G♯. The fifth in this augmented chord is a half step higher than the fifth in the major triad.

You can include an augmented fifth on a dominant seventh chord or a major seventh chord. To produce these chords, simply add a dominant seventh or a major seventh to an augmented triad. To turn a C+ triad into a major seventh chord, add the note B; to make it a dominant chord, we would add the note B♭. You can also create a C augmented sixth chord by adding the note A to a C+ triad. However, this tends to produce a dissonant sound because of the half-step interval between the augmented fifth scale degree (G♯) and the sixth scale degree (A). As such, this type of chord is rare.

Augmented chords produce a mysterious sound that evokes a feeling of unease in the listener. Pioneered in classical music, augmented chords also appear in rock music, jazz, and fusion.

An interesting quirk of augmented triads is that they sound nearly identical in all inversions. This is because each note is always major third above the one that came before it. Consider an augmented G chord. The root position has G as the lowest pitch, B a major third above that, and D♯ a major third above that. Then when you go a major third above D♯, you are back at G. If you played the chord in first inversion (with B as the lowest note) or second inversion (with D♯ as the lowest note), you would generate the same effect.

Of the four main types of triads in music theory—major triads, minor triads, augmented triads, and diminished triads—augmented triads are the least common. However, there are a few ways to effectively use augmented chords in your songwriting to make your compositions stand out.

• Use them as substitutes for dominant seventh chords. "Oh, Darling!" by The Beatles is in the key of A, which means the V chord is E (or E7). Yet instead of using a standard dominant chord, the song leads into each verse with an E+ chord in different inversions. This adds heightened tension, in part because the augmented fifth (the note C) is not part of the A diatonic scale.
• Use them in descending line clichés. In music theory, a line cliché is a stepwise melody line against a constant chord. You can easily create an augmented chord in a line cliché that starts on a minor chord. Imagine you're starting on a C minor chord (C-E♭-G). If you start a line cliché by dropping the C down to B (and leave the other notes the same), you'll create a B-E♭-G chord. If you enharmonically change that E♭ to D♯, you have a chord spelled B-D♯-G. This is an augmented triad chord, and it slots right into your chord progression after the C minor. If you continue the line cliché and drop the B down to B♭, you'll then have an E♭/B♭ chord, and your progression can continue.
• Use them where you'd normally use diminished chords. Some songwriters and instrumentalists use a series of diminished fifths to create an unsteady feeling in a song or a solo. Instead of doing this, try using a series of augmented triads in the same place. For instance, try playing a chord progression of all augmented chords based on all the pitches of a major scale. You'll create a mysterious, dissonant sound.

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