Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
What are these strange triads? Augmented triads have a wacky, zany sound that’s a good fit for the dissonance found in cartoon film scores. Keep reading to learn how to build wacky augmented chords.
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How to Build Augmented Chords: The Triad Defined
An augmented chord has a collection of three pitches that’s most often played together at the same time.
- The three notes are: root, 3rd, and 5th.
- The augmented triad gets its name from the root – i.e., the root note C names the C augmented chord (C+).
- Moreover, the note E is the 3rd and G# is the 5th of the triad. In other words, E is three notes above the root and G# is five notes above the root. (See the keyboard diagram below.)
How to Build Augmented Chords: Triad Construction
Mobile users: for best results reading the example, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
You’ll construct the chords using intervals – especially semitones (i.e., half steps). A semitone measures the span of one key to the very next key, up or down, whether black or white.
Look at the piano diagram above.
- There are three semitones between the C and E. We call this a major (or large) 3rd.
- In the same way, the interval between E and G# is also a major 3rd.
- When you pile two major 3rds one on top of the other, they make an augmented 5th containing eight half steps. This gives the triad both its name and its sound.
You can construct an augmented chord by stacking two major thirds. Furthermore, you can invert the intervals to give you even more possibilities as you write your music.
How to Build Augmented Chords: Here Are the Triads
There are twelve augmented chords. I have shown them in their simplest forms (i.e., spellings that avoid double sharps and double flats when possible).
- C+ = C E G#
- Db+ = Db F A
- D+ = D F# A#
- Eb+ = Eb G B
- E+ = E G# B# (B# = C)
- F+ = F A C#
- Gb+ = Gb Bb D
- G+ = G B D#
- Ab+ = Ab C E
- A+ = A C# E# (E# = F)
- Bb+ = Bb D F#
- B+ = B D# FX (FX = G)
- C+ = C E G#
Every chord in the chart above is built with the same intervals you’ll find in the C+ chord in the earlier section.
For more about harmony
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- You build augmented triads with intervals.
- Intervals measure the keys on the piano in semitones.
- Semitones span the distance between neighboring white and black keys.
Related Posts
- How to Build Happy Major Triads
- How to Build Evil Diminished Triads
- How to Build Mysterious Minor Triads
© 2026 Geoffrey Keith
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