How To Build Augmented Chords In Less Than 10 Minutes
Knowing how to build these
types of chords are essential for completing your education in music theory;
and you can do it in less than 10 minutes!
Augmented chords
have a unique sound and might require your musical palette to become a little
more seasoned before you embrace them. Augmented chords have an eerie and unsettling sound
quality, and they aren’t widely used in popular music. However, learning how to build
augmented chords will prove to be a valuable skill under your belt. I have broken down and simplified
augmented chords so that you’ll be able to construct them in less than 10
minutes.
Augmented
chords are similar to major, minor, and diminished triads in the sense that are
made up of 3 notes. The lowest
note is called the root, the middle note is called the third, and the highest
note is called the fifth. While
the notes will change depending on which note you start on, the distance between the notes will never
change. The first step in building
an augmented chord is to select a starting note, or root. Once you have
picked your root note, follow this formula to figure out the other two notes…
(Root) —- 4 half steps up–> (Third) —- 4 half steps up —-> (Fifth)
For this exercise,
I’ll pick the root note as C. Start
on the note C and count up 4 half steps:
One (C#), two (D), three (D#), and four (E). I landed on E, which make that the middle note in the chord,
or the third. Next, start on the third (which was
just calculated to be E) and count up 4 half steps: One (F), two (F#), three (G) and four (G#). The last note in the chord, or fifth, is calculated as G#.
The three notes
I ended up with are C, E, and G#.
I would call this a C augmented chord because all augmented chords are
named after the root note they start on.
If you were to play the notes C, E, and G# at the same time, and you
will sound a C augmented chord.
The easy part
about figuring out any augmented chord is that no matter which note you decide
to start on, the formula will never change. Once you figure out the root , the third and fifth are easily
calculated by simply sticking to the formula.
About the author
Kyle Morrison
Lovely is the author of “Music Theory For The Modern Rockin’ Metalhead: Write
Better Songs, Right Now!? More
information can be found at http://www.shattersphere.net.
