Augmented seventh chord

The augmented seventh chord, or seventh augmented fifth chord,^[1] or seventh sharp five chord is a seventh chord composed of a root, major third, augmented fifth, and minor seventh (1, 3, ♯5, ♭7).^[2] It can be viewed as an augmented triad with a minor seventh.^[3] When using popular-music symbols, it is denoted by +⁷, aug⁷,^[2] or ^7♯5. For example, the augmented seventh chord built on A♭, written as A♭+⁷, has pitches A♭-C-E-G♭:

augmented seventh chord

Component intervals from root
minor seventh
augmented fifth
major third
root
Tuning
80:100:125:144
Forte no. / Complement
4-24 / 8-24

Augmented dominant seventh chord on C

The chord can be represented by the integer notation {0, 4, 8, 10}.

Use

The root is the only optional note in an augmented seventh chord, the fifth being required because it is raised.^[4] This alteration is useful in the major mode because the raised 5th creates a leading tone to the 3rd of the tonic triad.^[3] See also dominant.

In rock parlance, the term augmented seventh chord is sometimes confusingly and erroneously used to refer to the so-called "Hendrix chord", a 7♯9 chord which contains the interval of an augmented ninth but not an augmented fifth.^[5]

One chord-scale option for an augmented dominant seventh chord (+7th) is the whole tone scale.^[6]

The augmented minor seventh chord may be considered an altered dominant seventh and may use the whole tone scale, as may the dominant seventh flat five chord.^[7] See chord-scale system.

The augmented seventh chord normally acts as a dominant, resolving to the chord a fifth below.^[8] Thus, G aug⁷ resolves to a C major or minor chord, for example.

Overall, however, the augmented seventh chord is infrequently used, often with the raised fifth degree being the result of a chromatic passing tone.^[9]

Augmented seventh chord table

Chord	Root	Major third	Augmented fifth	Minor seventh
Caug7	C	E	G♯	B♭
C♯aug7	C♯	E♯ (F)	G (A)	B
D♭aug7	D♭	F	A	C♭ (B)
Daug7	D	F♯	A♯	C
D♯aug7	D♯	F (G)	A (B)	C♯
E♭aug7	E♭	G	B	D♭
Eaug7	E	G♯	B♯ (C)	D
Faug7	F	A	C♯	E♭
F♯aug7	F♯	A♯	C (D)	E
G♭aug7	G♭	B♭	D	F♭ (E)
Gaug7	G	B	D♯	F
G♯aug7	G♯	B♯ (C)	D (E)	F♯
A♭aug7	A♭	C	E	G♭
Aaug7	A	C♯	E♯ (F)	G
A♯aug7	A♯	C (D)	E (F♯)	G♯
B♭aug7	B♭	D	F♯	A♭
Baug7	B	D♯	F (G)	A

See also

• Augmentation (music)

References

1. Kroepel, Bob (1993). Mel Bay Creative Keyboard's Deluxe Encyclopedia of Piano Chords: A Complete Study of Chords and How to Use Them, p. 15. ISBN 0-87166-579-4.
2. Garner, Robert (2007). Mel Bay Presents Essential Music Theory for Electric Bass, p. 69. ISBN 0-7866-7736-8.
3. Kostka, Stefan; Payne, Dorothy (2004). "The Dominant with a Raised 5th". Tonal Harmony with an Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music (6th ed.). New York. pp. 446–447. ISBN 978-0-07-332713-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. Latarski, Don (1991). An Introduction to Chord Theory, p. 29. ISBN 0-7692-0955-6.
5. Radio: "Shiver down the backbone – Jimi Hendrix comes to Radio 3", The Spectator, by Kate Chisholm, Wednesday, 21 November 2007
6. Hatfield, Ken (2005). Jazz and the Classical Guitar Theory and Applications, p. 121. ISBN 0-7866-7236-6.
7. Berle, Annie (1996). Contemporary Theory and Harmony, p. 100. ISBN 0-8256-1499-6.
8. Bay, William (1994). Mel Bay Complete Jazz Sax Book, p. 64. ISBN 0-7866-0229-5.
9. Ottman 1992, p. 282.

Bibliography

• Ottman, Robert W. (1992) [1961]. Advanced Harmony: Theory and Practice (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-006016-X.