Guitar · augmented
Eaug Chord on Guitar
E Augmented is E, G#, B# — the 1-3-#5 pattern of a augmented chord. There are 2 ways to play it on guitar, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
Good news: Eaug has an open shape on guitar, so you can play it without barring anything. Start there and work up the neck later.
Start here — E Shape Barre (1st fret)
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Easier ways to play it — 2 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
E Shape Barre (1st fret) Way 1 of 2
E Shape Barre (1st fret)
Easiest here· advanced· the standard shape
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Movable Root-5 Shape (7th fret) Way 2 of 2
Movable Root-5 Shape (7th fret)
advanced
Sits at fret 7 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: E Shape Barre (1st fret) — open position, so several strings ring unfretted.
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Eaug on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.
Eaug on Guitar — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Eaug on guitar?
“E Shape Barre (1st fret)” — which we rate advanced — is the easiest Eaug shape on guitar. Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
What notes are in the E Augmented chord?
E Augmented is E, G#, B# — the 1-3-#5 interval pattern of a augmented chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play Eaug on guitar?
This page has 2 Eaug voicings for guitar, ranked from easiest to hardest: E Shape Barre (1st fret), Movable Root-5 Shape (7th fret). They all sound like Eaug; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of Eaug?
The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are E5, Esus4, Esus2. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play Eaug on other instruments?
Yes. Eaug is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind Eaug
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Borrowed Chords and Modal Mixture — Stealing from Parallel Keys
The raised fifth comes from outside the key. This is where chords like it are borrowed from.
7 min read
Functional Harmony: Three Roles, One Engine
That sharpened fifth is a pull toward the next chord — here is the mechanism.
6 min read
Intervals — The Only Music Theory You Actually Need
Two stacked major thirds, and the symmetry that makes it feel homeless.
5 min read