Augmented chords do not occur naturally within the diatonic scale. They are composed of major thirds stacked upon each other and are notated either with the abbreviation, aug (ex. Caug) or with a small plus sign located at the top right of the chord (ex. C+).
Augmented chords typically occur as triads. but the same augmented triad can also occur within seventh chords.
Building the Chord
Augmented chords are the largest chords built upon triads. The word, augmented, itself means larger. When not occurring in seventh chords, the chord looks like the following: C E G# C. Notice that the chord contains the root, a major third above, an augmented fifth and a major third above the augmented fifth, which results in a naturally occurring octave.
Augmented triads can also occur in seventh chords. For example, a C7 chord (C E G Bb) can be altered to be augmented. This is done by simply raising G to G#. The chord can now be notated as: C7aug, C7+ or, more commonly, C7#5, the #5, of course, referring to the G#. This now looks like C E G# Bb.
Notice that enharmonically, G# is also Ab, therefore it is important to see that the interval between G# and C is actually a major third.
Moveable Chords
Due to the consistent repetition of major thirds, augmented triads, like diminished triads, are movable. This is much more useful on stringed instruments than it is on the piano. It is clear to see on a guitar that it is quite easy to take an augmented shape and move it up and down the neck. An augmented C chord can be played with the same shape on C, E or G#. Notice the cyclical nature of the triad.
Another moveable shape that contains an augmented triad is the minor major chord. Minor major chords are minor triads with a major seventh added above the root. They are notated with the extension: mMaj7. For example, CmMaj7 is built with the notes: C Eb G B. Notice the C minor triad and the major seventh.
Within CmMaj7 there is also an augmented chord built on the notes Eb G and B. Notice that there is the interval of a major third separating each of these chord tones. Therefore, when presented with a CmMaj7 chord, which typically occurs in passing or as chord to build suspense, (the nature of augmented chords has an unsettling and unbalanced feel) it is possible to substitute an Ebaug, Gaug, or Baug chord in its place.
The Augmented Scale
Also called the whole tone scale, the augmented scale consists of nothing but whole tones. Composers and improvisers alike use this scale commonly to produce an atonal atmosphere since its cyclical nature lends itself to no true tonal center Wayne Shorter's Juju and many of Thelonius Monk's compositions employ elements of the whole tone scale.
The augmented scale is usually played over dominant seventh chords. For example, the whole tone scale, played over C7 includes many of the alterations that are possible over the chord. There are only two whole tone scales and they contain all twelve notes. C whole tone is as follows: C D E F# Ab Bb C. Starting on any of these tones when playing a corresponding dominant chord works well. The other whole tone scale is A B C# Eb F G A.
It is apparant that playing a C whole tone scale over C7 superimposes extensions on the chord. C7 can be:
C9, C7#11 and C7#5 as well as others and it is possible to switch back and forth between whole tone scales depending on which extensions are desired.
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