The augmented chord is constructed from the major scale using the first (1), third (3), and the sharpened fifth (#5) notes of the scale. The symbol for an augmented chord is + or the letters aug, placed after the letter name of the chord.
In this lesson, three augmented chords are introduced in root position. There are two inversions for each augmented chord which you should practice and become familiar with. For a full listing of augmented chords see the chord chart section. Augmented chords are useful as a bridging chord between two other chords. The following two exercises contain three augmented chords. In each case the left hand plays a swing rhythm.