DESCRIPTION:
In my last Jazz Piano Harmony tutorial I've covered diminished chords. Now it's time for augmented chords to make an appearance! Augmented chords make for great transitions, and they're also great for chord substitutions. They can yield quite distinct jazz, pop and soul harmonies, and can be used to enrich any jazz piano harmonic chord progression. Check out the diminished chord tutorial here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xwny96CSLs

An augmented chord is denoted using either a + or 'aug' following the chord's name. For example, C+ means "C augmented", and Gaug means "G augmented".

We will learn how to construct an augmented chord, which consists of the root and 2 additional notes spaced 4 semitones apart from each other. For example:
C+ = C E G#
F+ = F A C#

An augmented chord can be substituted for the 5th degree. For example, suppose you're playing a 2-5-1 in which Dm (2m) leads to G (5) leads to C (1). You can substitute G for G+ which would give a similar, yet distinct jazzy sound.


Who is this Jazz Piano Lesson Aimed At?

This tutorial is aimed at piano players interested in expanding their chord voicing vocabulary. Although some theoretical concepts are discussed throughout the video, you really need to know very basic concepts (what a semitone is, for example) to make use of the forms presented! Just watch, listen and copy what I play, and enjoy! These chord voicings are not difficult to play and do not require any special piano technique.

More About Augmented Chords from Wikipedia:

The augmented triad differs from the other kinds of triad (the major triad, the minor triad, and the diminished triad) in that it does not naturally arise in a diatonic scale. Although it could be conceptualized as a triad built on the third degree of a harmonic minor scale or melodic minor scale, it virtually never occurs in this way (since any chord on the third degree is itself rare, usually being a new tonic).

This rarity makes the augmented triad a special chord that touches on the atonal. Its uses to 'suspend' tonality are famous; for example, in Liszt's Faust Symphony and in Wagner's Siegfried Idyll. However, the augmented triad occurs in tonal music, with a perfectly tonal meaning, since at least Bach (see the first chord [m. 2] in the opening chorus to his cantata Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2) and Haydn (see, for example, the Trio from Haydn's String Quartet Op. 54/2).[6] It results diatonically in minor mode from a dominant chord where the fifth (the second degree) is replaced by the third degree, as an anticipation of the resolution chord. Beethoven's 9th symphony features such a chord at key moments in the slow movement. Brahms's Tragic Overture also features the chord prominently (A-C?-E?), in alternation with the regular dominant (A-C?-E). In this example one can also see other aspect of the appeal of the chord to composers: it is a 'conflation' of the fifth degree and the third degree, the usual contrasting keys of a piece in the minor mode.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_triad

========= Other Related Videos and Playlists =========

Here are other interesting playlists from my channel which group together my different piano lessons by theme/category:

Reading Sheet Music for Beginners: a 4-Part Series
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6596DB58980FDCDA
Inspiring Piano Harmony, Chord and Voicing Tips and Tricks:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIohD9iHFXzZIjfgoe0ETzm
Exercises for Developing Piano Technique
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKqPegzd6jkoEaL7HHw8QuA
The 2-5-1 Harmonic Progression: a 4-Part Series
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE53C45D3F16F64C0
The "Piano Quickie" series, with byte-sized lessons about piano harmony and music theory in general:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKY0kV1hPE4zNosvz_Ur7wD