Play Caug3 shapes
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Anatomy
Augmented Chord Formula
The 3 scale degrees that form every augmented chord — in any key.
I
Root0 st
III
Major 3rd+4 st
♯V
Augmented 5th+8 st
An augmented triad is a major chord with the 5th raised by one semitone. That leaves two major 3rds stacked on top of each other, which splits the twelve-semitone octave into three equal steps of four. Because the steps are equal, no note is more obviously the root than the others, and there is no perfect 5th to settle on — so the chord hangs in the air rather than arriving anywhere.
Applied to C: C (root) – E (major 3rd) – G♯ (augmented 5th). Applied to F: F – A – C♯. Applied to D: D – F♯ – A♯.
About this tool
About Augmented Chords on Guitar
The augmented chord — written with "aug" or a plus sign after the root letter, as in Caug or C+ — is a three-note chord built from the root, the major 3rd and the augmented 5th (formula 1 – 3 – ♯5). Start from a major chord and raise the 5th by a single fret and you have it. That one semitone removes the only perfect interval in the chord, and what is left is two major 3rds stacked, dividing the octave into three equal steps. The symmetry has a consequence worth knowing before you learn the shapes: there are only four different augmented chords in all twelve keys. One set of three pitches spells Caug (C–E–G♯), Eaug (E–G♯–B♯) and A♭aug (A♭–C–E) — which name applies, and how the notes are spelled, depends entirely on what the music around it is treating as the root. The same symmetry means every shape on these pages repeats four frets up and four frets down. The augmented triad does not occur in the major scale. It appears on the third degree of the harmonic minor scale, and most guitarists meet it as a passing chord: play C, then Caug, then F or Am, and the G climbs a semitone to G♯ and then to A while the rest of the chord holds still. It is also a stock altered dominant — an augmented chord built on the 5th degree pulls back to the tonic harder than a plain major does, which is why doo-wop, 60s pop and jazz all reach for it. The Beatles open "Oh! Darling" on an E augmented chord. Each root here gets three voicings: the A-string root form, the D-string root form, and an easy top-three-string triad that never leaves the first four frets.
- 01Built from 3 notes: root, major 3rd, and augmented 5th (formula 1 – 3 – ♯5)
- 02A major triad with the 5th raised by one semitone
- 03Written with "aug" or a plus sign: Caug, C+
- 04Two major 3rds stacked, splitting the octave into three equal steps
- 05Symmetrical, so only four distinct augmented chords exist — Caug, Eaug and A♭aug are the same three pitches, respelled
- 06Every shape repeats four frets up and four frets down
- 07Not in the major scale; it occurs on the 3rd degree of the harmonic minor
- 08Usually a passing chord, or an altered dominant leading back to the tonic
- 09Three voicings per root: A-string root, D-string root, and a top-three-string triad
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
An augmented chord is a three-note chord made of the root, the major 3rd and the augmented 5th. For example, Caug contains C, E and G♯. It is a major chord with the 5th raised by one semitone.
The formula is 1 – 3 – ♯5: root, major third (four semitones up), augmented fifth (eight semitones up). Applied to C that is C, E and G♯.
One note. C is C, E and G. Caug keeps the C and the E but raises the G to G♯. That single semitone replaces the perfect 5th with an augmented one, which is what makes the chord sound unresolved.
Because there is no perfect interval in them to rest on, and because the three notes are spaced evenly — four semitones apart each. With equal spacing no note sounds more like home than the others, so the ear hears the chord as leaning somewhere rather than arriving.
Twelve by name — one per root — but only four by sound. Because the augmented triad is symmetrical, Caug, Eaug and A♭aug are the same three pitches, as are D♭aug/Faug/Aaug, Daug/G♭aug/B♭aug, and E♭aug/Gaug/Baug. Both the name and the spelling depend on which note the music treats as the root.
The 5th keeps its letter name and takes a sharp. The augmented 5th of E is B♯, not C; the augmented 5th of B is F♯♯ (F double sharp), not G. Spelled the other way the chord would read as a root, a 3rd and a 6th rather than a raised 5th. Five roots are normally written as flats so the chord needs no double sharps — D♭aug, E♭aug, G♭aug, A♭aug and B♭aug rather than C♯aug, D♯aug, F♯aug, G♯aug and A♯aug — and that is the spelling used on those pages.
They are opposites. A diminished triad is 1 – ♭3 – ♭5: a minor chord with the 5th lowered. An augmented triad is 1 – 3 – ♯5: a major chord with the 5th raised. Both are symmetrical and both sound unstable, but the diminished chord is dark and compressed while the augmented one sounds stretched and dreamlike.
Yes — aug, +, and (♯5) are three ways of writing the same chord. Caug, C+ and C(♯5) all mean C, E and G♯. Note that Caug7 or C+7 is a different chord: that is a dominant 7th with a raised 5th, four notes rather than three.
Most often as a passing chord between two settled chords. The classic move is I → I+ → IV or vi, where the 5th climbs a semitone and then another — C → Caug → F, with G moving to G♯ and then A. It also works as an altered dominant: an augmented chord on the 5th degree pulls back to the tonic harder than a plain major.
Less so than they look. The two four-string shapes flatten one finger across the G and B strings and use three fingers in total, and the top-three-string triad on every page stays inside the first four frets. The harder part is muting the strings you are not playing.
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