What notes are in the Abaug chord?

Abaug is made of Ab, C and E — the 1, 3 and #5 degrees of an augmented chord built on Ab.

What keys use the Abaug chord?

No major or natural-minor key contains all 3 notes of Abaug. Chords like this arrive as borrowed harmony — secondary dominants, harmonic-minor colour, or chromatic passing chords — rather than as one of a key's native chords.

How do you play Abaug on guitar and piano?

This page shows Abaug on guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin and banjo — 8 voicings in total. Each diagram links to the full instrument page with alternate shapes, audio and common mistakes.

Is Abaug the same as G#aug?

Yes. Abaug and G#aug are enharmonic — identical pitches written two different ways. Which spelling you use depends on the key you are in; Abaug is the spelling this site treats as canonical.

Chord · Ab Augmented

A♭aug Chord

A♭aug is Ab, C and E — unsettled, dreamlike; symmetrical.

Hear it

A♭aug on every instrument

The same 3 notes, 6 sets of hands. Open a diagram for alternate shapes, audio and the mistakes to avoid.

What A♭aug is made of

Ab Augmented (Ab augmented) is built from the notes Ab, C, E, with the interval pattern 1, 3, #5. A common augmented chord across many styles.

Stack 1, 3 and #5 on a root of A♭ and you get Ab, C and E. That interval recipe is what makes the chord an augmented chord — move the same shape to another root and the character travels with it, which is why Caug sounds like a transposed A♭aug.

Augmented: Unsettled, dreamlike; symmetrical.

Spelling: the notes above are written the way a score would write them, not simplified to the nearest piano key. That is why this chord is spelled with A♭ rather than its enharmonic equivalent.

Keys that contain A♭aug

No major or natural-minor key contains all 3 of these notes — this one gets borrowed.

Chords like this one sit outside the diatonic set — they arrive as secondary dominants, borrowed chords or passing harmony. Browse every key to see which progressions pull it in.

Other chords on A♭

Same root, different colour.

A♭Ab Major A♭sus2Ab Suspended 2nd A♭sus4Ab Suspended 4th A♭5Ab Power Chord A♭6Ab Major 6th A♭6/9Ab 6/9 A♭7Ab Dominant 7th A♭maj7Ab Major 7th

The same augmented shape, moved

The identical interval recipe, built on other roots.

CaugC Augmented DaugD Augmented EaugE Augmented FaugF Augmented GaugG Augmented AaugA Augmented BaugB Augmented F♯augF# Augmented

Questions people ask about Abaug

What notes are in the Abaug chord?: Abaug is made of Ab, C and E — the 1, 3 and #5 degrees of an augmented chord built on Ab.
What keys use the Abaug chord?: No major or natural-minor key contains all 3 notes of Abaug. Chords like this arrive as borrowed harmony — secondary dominants, harmonic-minor colour, or chromatic passing chords — rather than as one of a key's native chords.
How do you play Abaug on guitar and piano?: This page shows Abaug on guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin and banjo — 8 voicings in total. Each diagram links to the full instrument page with alternate shapes, audio and common mistakes.
Is Abaug the same as G#aug?: Yes. Abaug and G#aug are enharmonic — identical pitches written two different ways. Which spelling you use depends on the key you are in; Abaug is the spelling this site treats as canonical.

Learn the theory behind it

Why A♭aug behaves the way it does — the guides that explain the chord instead of just spelling it.

Borrowed Chords and Modal Mixture — Stealing from Parallel KeysThe raised fifth comes from outside the key. This is where chords like it are borrowed from.7 min read Functional Harmony: Three Roles, One EngineThat sharpened fifth is a pull toward the next chord — here is the mechanism.6 min read Intervals — The Only Music Theory You Actually NeedTwo stacked major thirds, and the symmetry that makes it feel homeless.5 min read