Triads
A♯ augmented chord
Dreamy and suspenseful; the raised 5th keeps pushing forward.
- Notes
- A♯C𝄪E𝄪
- Formula
- 13♯5
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · augmented 5th
How to play A♯aug
About the A♯ augmented chord
Playing it
On guitar, A♯aug has an open-position shape, x10332, using four fingers alongside the open strings. Don’t strum the low E string.
On piano, A♯aug has two black keys (A♯ and E𝄪) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual A♯aug shape is 3221, using four fingers.
Related chords
A♯aug is symmetrical — its notes are evenly spaced — so Daug and F♯aug contain exactly the same notes. There are only four different-sounding augmented chords in all.
Move a single note and A♯aug becomes a different chord: lower E𝄪 to E♯ for A♯.
Where you’ll hear it
Notice the C𝄪 in A♯aug (A♯ C𝄪 E𝄪): each note of the chord takes its own letter (A–C–E), so the major 3rd has to be written C𝄪 rather than D — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
