Songs that use Augmented Chords
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- Augmented chords are certainly less common than your typical major, minor and seventh chords, but that doesn't mean they aren't useful! Despite their apparent dissonance when heard in isolation, when used tastefully, augmented chords can create ear-catching, highly cohesive chord progressions.
(This video was initially uploaded on 7th May 2021 but was demonetised/partially blocked due to copyright issues.)
Thanks goes to Austin from Chord Genome for helping me find some extra examples of augmented chords. Chord Genome is a brilliant tool that lets you search for songs by which chords they use. Give it a go! www.chordgenome.com/
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SOURCES:
Medley of Beatles augmented chords: • Every Beatles Song wit...
How Stairway To Heaven was written: • Jimmy Page: How Stairw...
George Harrison’s “Naughty” Chord: qrik.io/journal/5eccgxl.php?9d...
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I just love how the beatles can be used as an example for pretty much everything
My guitar teacher once said: “It doesn’t matter what new thing you think of, The Beatles have done it before.” :)
@@indy1061 Except making songs that are enjoyable when listening in modern age.
@@tophan5146 lmao, then you haven’t listen to enough of their songs.
@@tophan5146 you not finding it enjoyable personally does not make it universally unenjoyable :)
As much as I loved the Beatles's songs, I find the production hasn't aged well. I still enjoy Bowie though...
I'm a simple musician. I see "augmented chord" and think of "Oh! Darling" immediately
Lmao I was about to say the same exact thing
Just what I was thinking!
Same
That or Greatest Love of All.
I've never heard of a simple musician before but Oh Darling's first chord is an augmented one. Also, I seem to remember one or two Chuck Berry songs begin with an augmented chord. That Berry song "Up in the morning and out to school" begins with one. Can't remember the title.
C, C+ ,C6, C7 is one of my favorite chord progressions. It has a really Beatlesque feel to it
Then you'd resolute it with an F.
@@namibia584 Then continue it with an Fm.
@@Brindlebrotherand then finally return to C
Sounds like last night on earth by greenday
That's also used in my favourite Alanis Morissette Song "Forgiven"
You are an unbelievably great teacher. I have been watching lots of music theory videos and have lots of favorite creators, but you are the best by far. The way you use examples and then change songs to show how they would sound using different chords or modes is super helpful.
Thank you! That really does mean a lot 😃😃
@@DavidBennettPiano Honestly, I like augmented chords individually, I know it is dissonant, but another way to look at it is exotic like the whole tone scale or augmented scale, yesterday, I was experimenting with augmented chords, and tried an arpeggio with it, it sounds very exotic (It was C D E C D E F# G# A# F# G# A# with both hands and so on), if you can voice them properly using arpeggios or their position between other chords, the colour of the song changes, I think this applies to diminished chords and chords which have three or more notes of the augmented scale in them like a Cb5dom7 it has C E F# and A#.
Music, as smells, is very subjective and therefore not so easy to explain to someone once it starts to get complicated. Many teachers just AVOID the qualitative description of a chord variation (augmented, 7ths, 9th...) and they just go straight to the technical theory. How beautiful and useful it is to include descriptions such as (it adds tension, it expands the chords, it resolves in the 4th note, etc...) it makes EVERYTHING SO CLEAR! Thank you fella, you are a GREAT teacher!
Agreed - this was exactly what I wanted to hear while I was trying to wrap my head around augmented chords.
Your piece with only augmented cords was real unnerving. Feels like a piece in a movie or game where they're exploring a dark cave and the suspense is just rising and just won't let up. Guess it partially explains why others like it are so rare.
I love it! See my comment above (or below, wherever it shows up on your screen.)
Spooooooky !
That fully augmented piece gave me anxiety
It made me think of a Bernard Hermann score for Hitchcock - intro of some movie
It kinda sounds like something that'd play in the terraria underground to me
"Life on Mars" is THE AUGMENTED SONG, a masterpiece.
Indeed! The most roundabout and beautifully poetic sequential modulation to the subdominant I’ve ever heard :)
Yeah also the entire Bitches Brew album (Miles Davis) uses augmented scale licks constantly.
It's been augmented with a helicopter now.
Rick Wakeman on the piano!!!
It wasn't brought up, but an augmented chord is a good intro to a key change going a whole step up. Willy Nelson uses this sometimes.
David’s augmented only song really illustrates his point that Augmented chords are used to create tension. All augmented chords are nothing but tension and create an eerie, uneasy affect like the score to a horror film where death could be around any corner.
Good Western music in general is an exercise in creating tension and then resolving it. It is one of the things that give music the "umami" (foodie term) we crave.
This song fits your description to a tee - a perfect match of music and lyrics: th-cam.com/video/4sSHoTcYbAU/w-d-xo.html
I would argue that isn’t true. My main example of where augmented chords are resolved is in sci-fi music, lots of which end on what I would call a resolved augmented major7 chord.
That's exactly the feeling that I got after whilst listening to David's augmented-only music.
"Goodbye Stranger" by Supertramp would've been another great example
YES!! Thank you.
I'm a huge Supertramp fan, but not a huge fan of this particular song (I prefer their earlier stuff). EXCEPT, I love the augmented chord; I wait for it when the song plays on the radio.
Tragically, in a very common radio mix of this song, they omit EVERY OCCURRENCE OF THE AUG CHORD!
*sigh*
@@hnnymn That's the single version...
Im starting to learn music theory and when i listened to that chord supertramp was the first thing that came to my mind haha
I know nothing about music, I never played an instrument or learned music theory, but when i listened to 0:33 I was like "Hey it's Goodbye Stranger !"
When they said oh darling I thought they were talking about Supertramp
The beginning of ‘Nobody Home’ by Pink Floyd is my favorite example of an augmented chord. That Am to Ab+ is the saddest thing you’ll ever hear.
And The Gunner's Dream on The Final Cut (Pink Floyd): G G+ Em C G D Em
"Don't Leave Me Now" from The Wall also makes some pretty atmospheric use of augmented chords...
shine on you the bridge if i can call it like that goes Gm to Daug
Nobody home has a gorgeous chord progression, it’s one of fav songs on the wall to play because the chords are so pretty
God Only Knows by The Beach Boys uses the augmented chord as well.
I can imagine that would be a very different example to demonstrate though, as it's hard to determine which key it should written in.
I love to use the augmented V instead of a dominant V to turnaround blues as well as old standards. Or augmented I on the way to a dominant V for an intro
Miles Davis' All Blues has a very nice use of the augmented chord near the end of the chorus
@@cliffpinchon2832 They "resolve" to any major or minor triad. Voice leading determines how effectively.
@@cliffpinchon2832 bII+ sounds great moving to iii if the iii has been previously framed as a probable final. It just doesn't sound like tonal progression. V+ tends to sound like an ornament to iii. It "resolves", but doesn't sound cadential.
If you're specifically talking about I+ and iii, my suggestion is to avoid all root position chords up to that point and put iii in first inversion, with the raised tone of I+ preceding it in the bass. You can actually do this both with an upward diminished octave (enharmonic major 7th) in the bass and a downward augmented unison (enharmonic minor 2nd) in the top voice. It just sounds like pure balls.
@@cliffpinchon2832 It depends on you idea of "resolve". The bII+ to iii might be a good coda event for an otherwise Phrygian middle movement of a 3 movement suite.
Round 2 :)
Good to see you again!
@@DavidBennettPiano my pleasure
Fight!
verified
Real ones will remember the original upload
I feel like we are brought closer by our shared trauma of the first upload!
Ayyy
Yup that's me yesterday lol
Why is this thought in my mind: Is there life on mars?
It disappeared in front of my eyes!
The second movement of Dvorak's "New World Symphony" comes to mind. There is a moment during the English horn solo when the accompaniment rises to an augmented chord that just melts the heart
ELO and Supertramp always come to mind for augmented chords. It is one of many reasons why the 70s music is the beginning of such rich and emotional music.
The very first example David used to show an augmented chord made me think of Goodbye Stranger by Supertramp
Another good example is John Lennon's "Just Like Starting Over". It uses the A aug throughout the song, Alternating with A in the intro and again in the verse.
Another good example is Beatles song ''Its only love''.
this was actually the first song that came to mind when I saw the thumbnail and then I fully expected it when he talked about the oasis song, thought they sounded similar...
I also think that song is the first place I encountered an A aug as a guitarist which really made me remember it for that especially (I can play it anytime now ;)
Another great example is "Isolation" by John Lennon
@@NicolaiRathjen Yeah, it uses that same "build up" as Just Like Starting Over, I expected it to be in this video actually
ALso "Isolation".
5:38 always reminds me of that Only Fools and Horses episode when that guy sings it "Cwying"
First time I saw that scene I was cwying with laughter.
Every time I hear that song I hear Cwying. Only Fools And Horses Ruined that song forever lol.
like fweedom ???
This is why I stopped doing that song at gigs... got tired of all the pub-goers singing "Cwying" in between 😂
Haha yes
The Dave Clark Five's hit "Because" uses the augmented G chord often -- especially in its upward climb from G to G+ to G6 to G7 --- great voice leading with Mike Smith's vocal of the melody. Unfortunately, the DC5 are soon to be forgotten, but for several years were the Beatles biggest rivals, especially in the US, and not the Stones.
As someone who knew a lot of scales but no idea how to use them other than just noodling up and down, these lessons have helped so much with composing actual chord movement. I have a long way to go but the melodic aspect of writing is soooo much better now thank you so much.
Muse also use lots of augmented chords in their song Take A Bow, which has a fascinating chord progression that never really repeats
First thought: "Oh darling!"
Don't even have to watch the video to know he talked about this song
Or “Oh Maria” by Beck, which sounds like exactly the same opening chord to me.
That was my thought but it was about David Bennett!
Pink Floyd's "Nobody Home" opens with an augmented chord. This video made me want to incorporate more of those into my songwriting and playing. Thanks!
I always loved that! Augs can be also found in the song right before it, Is there anybody out there.
It's a real pleasure to watch your videos. They are so clear and accurately made. Good job!
"Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys also features a G+ in the Bridge, leading to a C (it's in the key of G)
Great song!
That was the first song I thought of. Good call!
Nice song ❤️❤️
You forgot The Rutles - I Must Be in Love
He always forgets the Rutles.
@@mickeyrube6623 silly david!
Truly sad, the band that sculpted the cultural floor of modern society
That's actually a great idea for an analysis video. Which Beatle songwriting conventions/tricks/tendencies did Neil Innes use to parody them.
And unfinished words....
You explain concepts so clearly and I always learn something despite knowing most of the theory to a certain extent already. Love the examples.
Dear David: Love your videos as I learn a lot from them. I’m a seasoned musician, with a day job; about the augmented chord you should mention is that this “triad” is a series of major thirds from it’s root. As a guitar teacher, I’m adamant on teaching intervals and once a student has the basis of intervals figured out, they can create any triad when they know the root; therefore a C+ is a root, Maj 3rd plus a Maj 3rd; with a root of C, a C, E and G# or in D, a D, F# and A# and so on.
Your all-augmented chord song is brilliant!
Thanks Robert!
I just recently wrote a weird chord progression. Going Dm, Dm/G, Dm/F, Dm/G, A+, Gmadd9. Up until now I just called it "a weird A chord."
I've learned so much from this channel. I've been playing classical piano for years but only learned how to read sheet music. This channel has opened up my eyes so much.
I love David's videos. They always add something new to my understanding of music.
I get to hear new songs as well. Great research. Thank you!
My introduction to the augmented chord was via a piano piece my mother played a lot to me when I was young (1960s). It's called Shine On Harvest Moon. The opening chord of the song's chorus is an augmented chord. It's quite astringent sounding because the singer is pleading for the sun to shine.
'Oh Shine (E+) On, Shine On Harvest Moon...'
It actually looks like an E7 chord in the piano arrangement BUT the melody note on 'Shine' is C dropping down to the B for 'On'.
So because of that C melody note you get E+ immediately followed by E7.
It's really effective. I have never forgotten it!
The music was written by a woman composer, Nora Bayes Norworth in 1908. It's a little masterpiece.
I love Laurel and Hardy singing and dancing to that! Great tune.
"Laughing" by the Guess Who uses augmented chords very nicely.
That would be in the opening riff of each verse? There is something similar at the opening of "Ma Belle Ami" by Tee Set and at the end of "Big Me" by the Foo Fighters.
@@pcno2832 I think you confused those. Both songs actually have dominant 7th chords, not augmented.
Billy Joel is my favorite artist and I think something that separates him is his use of augmented chords. For example Zanzibar, tomorrow is today, big man on mulberry street, falling of the rain, through the long night, baby grand, etc all use augmented chords. Most are used as a passing chord like in falling of the rain going from F to E augmented to Cm/Eb to D7.
Billy Joel's music is pretty jazzy & melodically sophisticated.
For pop music, that is. He's one of the artists that has helped push the genre forward for a long time.
Thanks for explaining the augmented chord and its uses. I’ve always liked the sound of the chord in a song. Keep up the great work.
"(Just like) starting over" by John Lennon is mainly built on the A A+ cadence
This is WAY above my understanding but I still feel compelled to watch.
Cheers from Canada. Discovered your vids not so long ago. For a million years all I did was hear stuff in my head and then try to put it into music. Was very frustrating at times. You're a great teacher sir and I've learned a lot from you. Your approach to explanation makes my life easier and my enjoyment in playing keeps getting better. Thanks for that David. Keep doing what you do, you are improving lives and you are a true gentleman on top of all that.
Your augmented composition is so cool, I've never been so excited to feel so unsettled!
“Augmented chords are often overlooked”
Liszt: is my oeuvre a joke to you?
Augmented chords are really common in classical music, especially in the 20th century
So they're often oeuvre-looked?
@@MrDooteronomy apparently not in the 20th century
Awesome and very useful video!! Keep it up man
Cheers 😀😀😀
Baby Hold On by Eddie Money is probably the ultimate example of these chords.
I came to the comments just to write that. Now I don't have to.
That's the song I heard right at the start of the video, when he compared C to C+. Checked the chords of the song, and sure enough. Rather than just a little intro, that's the whole chorus!
Ooh, good call!
I just discovered your posts on youTube. They are interesting, clear, and very insightful. Congratulations!!
God I love augmented chords, they're so beautiful
Billy Joel in Movin Out goes from the C to the C+ on the way up to the F & puts an E on the C+ on the way to the F , Thanks for all these lessons , David.
I've seen a fair amount of your videos. I love geeking out to them. All your content is excellent!
I am not in to music but I was researching augmented chords and you video was superb. Thank you and a huge appreciation for the effort you put into making your videos. Cheers.
This was one of those chords that I didn't think I'd ever use when I first learned as a budding guitar player because its sound literally stresses me out outside of the context of a chord progression! Glad to see you got your video back!
Cheers Chris!
What I find interesting about Mamma Mia is that in the pre-chorus, there are examples of the augmented chord both just reverting back to the tonic AND resolving to the subdominant.
Keep up the great content!
So glad you mentioned Let there be Love by Oasis. Underrated as hell
Great stuff. This channel is full of interesting vids about music. You have the ability to make things understandable and you use excellent examples.
Now I have to assume Radiohead never used these naughty augmented chords, am I right? ;)
Life in a glasshouse uses one but its technically minor major 7 which is a minor 7 chord with a sharp 7, forming and augmented chord
Man of war uses diminished but jo augmented
@@jamesdiaz3339 that's right
Sail to the moon
Iron Lung, there's a G+ in the riff if I remember properly
I have a question. TH-cam claims music covers as well, how do you avoid having to share revenue for that?
I don't avoid it! Most of my videos share revenue due to using covers. 😫😅
@@DavidBennettPiano ah, I see.
@@DavidBennettPiano How does that work? Do they contact you, or them or ?
Daisy Rothschild once I publish my video, the record label/publisher submits a claim on my video. They then automatically get approximately two thirds of its ad revenue 😑😑
David you are a phenomenal music theorist. As a songwriter your TH-cam videos are invaluable
this guy, David Bennett is GREAT. i think he knows everything about music. wow, he really paid attention when it counted. thanks David.
The lesser known Queen track "Dreamers Ball" off the Jazz album is what first got me hooked on the power of augmented (and also diminished) chords. They really add a unique flavour you just can't quite replicate with dominant 7ths.
Great song. I am a big Queen fan.
If I recall You're My Best Friend uses an augmented chord as well. Really neat stuff.
Jazz is an underrated album
Excellent video. I am especially impressed by including let there be love by oasis as that was the song that immediately came to mind for me
I love your videos. They help so much to add neat transitions into my own song writing.
You have great way of explaining: very clear and focused, no sideway or distractions. Good teacher!
I know nothing about music, but I had Supertramp's Goodbye Stranger going through my head throughout the whole video. 😂
Ha! I thought the same. The midi piano sound David uses is quite similar to the sound on Goodbye Stranger
Your own fully augmented composition was quite a satisfying example.
Fantastic instruction and super clear analysis. Thanks so much David.
I put you there right up with Rick Beato. I really like your way of clear, thought out language and good graphics (note lines) and exmples.
Really good!
Thank you!
There is also more muse songs that use the Augmented Chord. "Take a bow" uses it all the song.
It's also a perfect example of when you _do_ want to use inversion notation for augmented chords. Makes the sequencing much clearer.
Also "Shine"
Very well done. Thanks for the great explanation of augmented chords. I liked how you specifically explained how to use them and gave fantastic examples. Can’t wait for the next one!
Thanks! 😃😃
John Lennon's "(Just like) Starting over"
As usual, brilliantly explained!!!!!
The symmetry of both the augmented - and the double diminished 7th chords is the first thing I noticed about them when I first discovered both augmented and double chords (and scales). There are only 3 different augmented chords and 4 double diminished 7th chords as each note in those chords can be considered the root. Also, it's useful to note that augmented chords are stacked major 3rd intervals, and double diminished 7th chords are stacked minor 3rd intervals.
The first song I noticed the augmented chord in was "Ain't No Good Life" by Lynyrd Skynyrd way back in my youth in 1977. It's just a dominant resolution, but it opened up that whole world.
Thank you for explaining the augmented chord so well. I didn't realize that it was found in so many popular songs, and had all those other uses besides the dominant use.
The Beatles also used augmented chords in the intro of I'll Be On My Way, with a progression of A - Aaug - A6 - Aaug, playing also a little with chromatism. John Lennon then repeated the same structure in the intro of Just Starting Over, with a little variation if my memory doesn't fail me (A - Aaug - F#m - Aaug)
I too was thinking of [Just Like] Starting Over
that was on the list but thanks for explaining it :)
Nice video David! (again)
Thanks Faustern (again)
Death Cab for Cutie’s use of an augmented I chord going to the IV in Passenger Seat is one of the most gut wrenching little musical moves I’ve heard
"Raining in my heart" by Buddy Holly is another good example.
Jesus what a great video! Congratulations
Thank you! 😃😃
Electric Light orchestra uses augmented chords really well. The introduction and verse to Starlight. Also in the bridge of It's Over.
Well worth remembering that Jeff Lynn like Noel Gallagher did quite nicely out of ripping off the BEATLES one way or another.😮😯😲
And in Rain is Falling.
@@seamusbrowne4909 Not even.
A couple more ELO tunes with augmented chords: Twilight (in the chorus - goes from I to IV just like David says) and All Over the World (in the verse - also I to IV).
I loved your "Augmented" song. YOU have augmented my joy and understanding! Thank you!
Excellent discussion. Your lesson on diminished chords is also really valuable.
I love your All-Augmented music! If I ever finish my novel and it becomes a miniseries or movie, I want it for the soundtrack.
😃😃😃
@@DavidBennettPiano BTW, I have no idea why TH-cam is using the Freddy the Pig account. Just because I'm president of the non-profit these days....
The chord sequences with augmented chords are an essential attribute of 50-60s music.
Yes. I think they were around in earlier pop music as well, but became a bit more rare after the 60s. Maybe time for a revival soon.
Many 50's & early 60's tunes used this chord. "Tell It Like It Is" starts with it also.
You are by far one of the best music teachers on you tube IMHO. I've learned so much from your lessons.
Wonderful video, as always... I really enjoy the concrete song examples. Thanks!
“Watch How You Go” by Keane straight up starts off with G+ resolving back to G. Very good example
Very good song. I wish David would talk more about Keane. I think their chords are really interesting.
This channel is so impressive and I’m glad I found it 👍
Thank you so much for these awesome videos!! I am learning so much!
superb!
Cheers Fran 😃😃
Guys stop saying it was reposted he explained why in a community post. The original was manually demonetized then blocked. So he had to edit it and re-upload it.
Excellent video as always and a haunting yet beautiful piece in the end!
This is so awesome ! Thanks for sharing this analysis !
You make great videos and this one is EXCELLENT - thank you !
Love the examples, really clear and pleasing to see/hear :) bravo!!!
Thanks Steve! That means a lot 😃😃
Another excellent video, thank you, David.
Thanks Peter 😃😃
I love the augmented chord and close after the diminished chord in "you've got a friend in me"
Another great video, thanks very much. Loved your composition!
Hedwig's Theme by John Williams also features many augmented chords that are used to evoke that 'magical' feeling and modulate. Augmented chords are good for modulation because there isn't a traditional scale that features one.
harmonic minor and melodic minor have an augmented chord on step 3 - I consider them traditional scales
Quality content as usual!
Thanks Jonas 😃
Examples, brilliantly chosen, presented and explained!
Great video. I love that amount of examples you give with real pop rock songs that makes it very easy to understand. Thank you.
I don't understand anything I like to listen to your talk
Was hoping to hear a mention of the Electric Light Orchestra’s “All Over the World” after “Crying.” It also has that same I - I+ - IV - iv move in the first part of the verse progression, and Jeff Lynne’s love of Roy Orbison’s music led to Orbison being in the Traveling Wilburys.
What's that "I - I+ - IV"? What's its name in theory? I would love to understand what tjat means
Twilight, also by ELO, uses the same I, I+, IV progression. They are very similar.
John Lennon loved the augmented chord in his solo career: Isolation and Just Like Starting Over are good examples.
Those chords at 9:23 from Life on Mars reminded me immediately of 'Isolation'
That's true. John Lennon used augmented chords every chance he got. And used them so well.
Ahh good. I came here for this conversation and found it! Yes, right at the start of the vid I thought "Isolation". And when Life On Mars came on, I thought - that sounds the same!
Nice that we all thought the same.
I heard "Isolation" as soon as he played the "Life on Mars" example. Same rising line cliché.
Your composition at the end is really good. I hope you work more on that.
This has to be my favorite music related channel on TH-cam.