D#aug Chord on Guitar
D#aug = D# – G – B (Root, Major 3rd, Minor 6th)
D#aug stretches the major triad's fifth up a half step instead of shrinking it, the opposite move a diminished chord makes, and like the diminished-seventh chord it produces a symmetrical structure — this one built entirely from major thirds — that gives it an unusually restless, ambiguous sound at the same eleventh-fret barre position.
D#, G, and B make up the triad — root, major third, augmented fifth. Functioning as an altered dominant, D#aug often stands in for a plain D#7 chord resolving to G#(Ab) major, the raised fifth adding a chromatic, unsettled edge that makes the eventual resolution feel even more decisive than a plain dominant seventh would.
Fingerings
Barre (11th fret)
How to Practice It
Extra fingers are needed on the A, D, G, and B strings, a wider spread than the plain major triad at this fret, since the raised fifth requires its own dedicated finger rather than reusing a note already present in the barre. Because augmented chords are symmetrical in major thirds, this exact shape also works, unchanged, as the augmented triad built on either of its other two notes — a useful fact to internalize while practicing, since it means learning one augmented shape effectively teaches three.
Common Progressions
- D#aug – G# (an altered-dominant resolution, functioning like V+ – I)
- C#m – D#aug – G# (vi – V+ – I)
- G# – D#aug – G# (a chromatic color move around the tonic)
- Fm – D#aug – G# (ii – V+ – I)
FAQ
- How is D#aug different from a plain major triad?
- The fifth is raised a half step, turning the triad's normally stable perfect fifth into an augmented fifth, which is what gives augmented chords their characteristically restless, unresolved quality compared to a plain major chord.
- Why is D#aug also called a symmetrical chord?
- Its three notes are stacked in major thirds rather than a major-third-plus-minor-third like a normal triad, so the same three pitches can be read as an augmented triad built from any of the three notes, similar to how a diminished-seventh chord works with minor thirds.
- Where does D#aug typically resolve?
- It often functions as an altered substitute for D#7, resolving the same way that dominant would — down a fourth to G#(Ab) major — but with a sharper, more chromatic edge leading into that resolution.
- Is D#aug harder to finger than plain D# major?
- Yes, somewhat — it needs extra fingers spread across four strings rather than the more compact spacing plain D# major uses, since the raised fifth requires a note that doesn't overlap conveniently with the rest of the shape.
- How does the chord's symmetry show up in practice?
- The identical fingering, played unchanged, also spells the augmented triads built on the chord's other two notes, so a single memorized shape effectively covers three different augmented-chord names depending on harmonic context.
- Why are augmented chords less common than diminished ones in guitar music?
- Their unusual, unstable color makes them useful mainly as brief altered-dominant color chords rather than passing chords with a single obvious resolution, so they appear more selectively — often in jazz, musical theater, or deliberately chromatic songwriting — than diminished chords do.
- Does D#aug ever appear as a passing chord rather than a substitute dominant?
- Yes — it sometimes connects two chords a whole step apart chromatically, using the raised fifth as a stepping stone between two more stable harmonies, a technique borrowed from classical voice-leading practice.
D#aug on other instruments: D#aug on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.