Substitute

This Issue: Augmented 5ths & Moving Voices

The title might sound foreboding, but this way of looking at chord voicings has given us classics such as Buddy Holly’s Raining In My Heart and Barbra Streisand’s Evergreen.

Having looked at the diminished 5th (aka #4) last time, it seems only right to redress the balance and look at what happens when you raise (augment) the 5th in a chord. Understanding the harmonic implications of this will give you a wider vocabulary of ideas to call upon when improvising, too.

Though these examples stick with basic E, A and D voicings, they can be transposed all over the fretboard and applied to any type of chord. It would be a good use of time to seek these out and become familiar with them in the contexts of both chords and scales. This is easier to do in practice rather than explain on paper! The last two examples move the 5th even further up in pitch, giving us a 6th and dominant 7th chord. This is where we get into composition rather than playing with interesting chords, so let’s leave it there for now!

Example 1

The unassuming E major chord takes on a more menacing tone when raising the 5th. You’ll notice this is done not only on the fifth string but on what would normally be the open second. Alternating between this and a regular E major gives a ‘tension/ release’ effect, which has been used by many great composers.

Example 2

This A (aug5) chord could be further expanded by adding an F at the 1st fret of the top E string. This voicing sounds more compact with the C# on top and may lend itself to George Harrison-style arpeggiated playing, especially when combined with the regular A major chord.

Example 3

Raising the 5th within this D chord gives what will hopefully now be a familiar effect. This sounds great with an open top E string ringing on top, or adding another augmented 5th at the 6th fret on that same string. It’s all about knowing where these things are, and you can vastly expand your chord playing.

Example 4

Raising the augmented 5th a further semitone gives this D6 chord. We could also call this a Bm/D, but it’s all about context, especially given the next example. An alternative voicing can be found by reverting to a standard D major shape with the second string left open…

Example 5

This unusual D7 chord can be created by moving the 6th up a further semitone to the 5th fret. By alternating between the regular D major, augmented, 6th, 7th and back down, you’ll recognise that this device has featured in all sorts of music, from film themes to pop songs!