Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Music Theory Tips - Augmented

Stu's Music Theory Tip of the Day.
Today's Topic - Augmented Chords:
"What!?" and "Why!?" 
WHAT!? - An Augmented Chord is
a Triad in which the 5 note is raised
a half-step. Awkward, right? The rest of
the chord is normal, though. In the key of C,
it consists of C, E, and G#. This is the
"Caug", or "C#5" chord. The G# is the
"augmented" aspect of the chord. You'll
see these chords with a 7 and stuff, too,
but we'll get back to that. 
WHY!? - The purpose of the Augmented
Chord, also known as the #5 chord, is
movement. This chord is not cozy. It makes
you want to get on to the next chord!
The augmentation of the 5 creates a tension
which propels the chord UP A FOURTH.
Just like Minor Seven chords, and 9, and 11,
and 13 chords, Augmented chords create
a tension which propels chords upward
by a fourth. 
Augmentation is usually done to Major chords,
and most commonly on the V chord back to
the I. It's not usually done on the I to the IV,
but of course there are exceptions to that.
It can be used on a 6 to the 2, if the 6 is
major, and 2 to 5, if the 2 is Major. 
So in the Key of C, when your chord
progression brings you around to your G,
and it's almost time to go back to the top,
back to the C...the Augmentation of the
G gives more tension drawing us home,
back to the One. That sounded a bit,
spiritual, didn't it? 
In the above situation, the Gaug might
also include a 7, or a 9 (so...1,3,#5,7,9),
etc...these all work together to propel us
upward by a fourth. G7#5, is G7Aug,
which consists of G, B, D#, and F,
which propels us upward by a fourth,
which means going back to the One, C. 
In the Song "Ophelia", by The Band,
it's the Augmented 5, the G7#5, that
gives it that crazy tension over the
"I'd die for you" part. And you know in
"Moondance", how the three hits on
the 5 Chord sound so tense? That's
at Augmented chord. And it's everywhere
in Jazz, Blues, American Songbook, etc. 
So, as in Ophelia, in C, the #5 of the
5 Chord, the D#, draws the ear from the
D to the E, the 3 of the One Chord.
Did you catch that? So you can do a
5 chord, 5aug, then 1, and the #5 creates
a bridge between the 5 of the 5 and
the 3 of the 1. Sometimes you'll just
skip the proper 5, through, and go
straight for the 5aug. When you do
that, the ear can hear the tension,
and naturally wants to go home to the 1. 
In a 1 6 2 5 progression where the 6 is
Major and the 2 is Minor, you could use
the Aug on the 6 back to the 2, and then on
the 5 back to the 1. 
Since the #5 is typically used on Major
chords, in the above example, you
wouldn't use it on the Minor ii going to
the V. In that case, you would use the
opposite approach, the Flat 5, which
serves the same purpose for propelling
Minor chords upwards by a fourth. 
But in Major chords, the Augment is a
strrrreeeetttcchhiiinnnggg of the chord...
itching to shed it's skin
it's not a comfy chord
not a soothing sound
it begs to be resolved
begs to swim ashore
be pulled up the ladder
it says look at me
i can see ahead
four steps
i'm ready
to jump!

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