Augmented 7th Chord

We are to the last type of 7th chord! The Augmented 7th chord is often seen as a hybrid between an Augmented chord, and a Dominant 7th chord, because of its Augmented/Minor construction. The Augmented 7th chord is shamefully overlooked by most pianists, for it has an interesting color and appeal. Later, we will examine some of its uses in chord progressions and substitutions.

As an example, let's form a D Augmented 7th chord.

  1. An Augmented 7th chord is made up of an Augmented triad, and a Minor 7th interval.
  2. The name of the chord gives us the root, that is, D.
  3. We know that a D Augmented triad is made up of D, F#, and A#.
  4. The Minor 7th Interval above D is C.
  5. Therefore, the notes D, F#, A#, and C make up the D Augmented 7th chord.

D Aug 7th

Let us follow the same procedure again to form a F Augmented 7th chord.

  1. An Augmented 7th chord is made up of an Augmented triad, and a Minor 7th interval.
  2. The name of the chord gives us the root, that is, F.
  3. We know that a F Augmented triad is made up of F, A, and C#.
  4. The Minor 7th Interval above F is Eb.
  5. Therefore, the notes F, A, C#, and Eb make up the F Augmented 7th chord.

F Aug 7th

In the above examples, notice how some augmented chords will have both sharps and flats in the chord spellings. This is correct spelling for these chords. In the F Augmented 7th example (F, A, C#, and Eb), some would like to write this as F, A, Db, Eb. While the notes would sound the same, the chord would be spelled wrong. ANND ITZ UNOIEENG TOO HAV TWO REED MISPALED WERDZ! Let's see our completed chart:

Here is the chart as applied to a C chord: