Songs that use Augmented Chords
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- Опубліковано 21 тра 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/
To watch the exclusive behind the scenes vlog sign up to my Patreon on any tier: / davidbennettpiano Thanks for your support! 😀
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...
"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!!!
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"
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.
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
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.
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.
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: ua-cam.com/video/4sSHoTcYbAU/v-deo.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
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
Muse also use lots of augmented chords in their song Take A Bow, which has a fascinating chord progression that never really repeats
"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 ❤️❤️
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.
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.
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".
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!
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.
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 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."
"(Just like) starting over" by John Lennon is mainly built on the A A+ cadence
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.
It's a real pleasure to watch your videos. They are so clear and accurately made. Good job!
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!
Round 2 :)
Good to see you again!
@@DavidBennettPiano my pleasure
Fight!
verified
You explain concepts so clearly and I always learn something despite knowing most of the theory to a certain extent already. Love the examples.
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.
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
Your all-augmented chord song is brilliant!
Thanks Robert!
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!
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.
“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
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.
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.
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.
"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 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 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.
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.
This is WAY above my understanding but I still feel compelled to watch.
God I love augmented chords, they're so beautiful
You have great way of explaining: very clear and focused, no sideway or distractions. Good teacher!
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!
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 just discovered your posts on youTube. They are interesting, clear, and very insightful. Congratulations!!
I've seen a fair amount of your videos. I love geeking out to them. All your content is excellent!
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"
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 :)
"Raining in my heart" by Buddy Holly is another good example.
So glad you mentioned Let there be Love by Oasis. Underrated as hell
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!
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
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!
I love your videos. They help so much to add neat transitions into my own song writing.
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).
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.
Great stuff. This channel is full of interesting vids about music. You have the ability to make things understandable and you use excellent examples.
Fantastic instruction and super clear analysis. Thanks so much David.
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 UA-cam is using the Freddy the Pig account. Just because I'm president of the non-profit these days....
“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.
David you are a phenomenal music theorist. As a songwriter your UA-cam videos are invaluable
Your augmented composition is so cool, I've never been so excited to feel so unsettled!
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!
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.
Great stuff as always. That's put a label to something I've been playing with for years on guitar where an Em shifts one note up to become Cmaj7. 022000 to 032000. Now I know that's also Em+ it's opened up lots more ways of progressing that riff to produce lots of cool variations. Thanks DB.
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.
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
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....
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.
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! 😃😃
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
As soon as I heard that first example 30 seconds in I immediately thought of Let There Be Love. So cool to know what’s happening there now. Thank you for the awesome videos!
First video I watch that describes this chord in such detail. Thank you!
Wonderful video, as always... I really enjoy the concrete song examples. Thanks!
Your own fully augmented composition was quite a satisfying example.
This is so awesome ! Thanks for sharing this analysis !
Nice video, David. Thanks for sharing
Nice video David! (again)
Thanks Faustern (again)
I’ve always thought of augmented chords as “50s mystery movie score” chords as that’s where they tend to be found most, in older dramatic film soundtracks. I feel like they show up a lot in Bernard Hermann’s scores for Hitchcock films
Excellent video as always and a haunting yet beautiful piece in the end!
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
The sweetest use of augmented chords IMHO is "Us and them" of Pink Floyd's "Dark side of the moon", because it's not a chord which "precedes" something else. It has it's own personality and strenght. The progression is "D9 - E9/D - F+/D - G/D" It's the real taste of ethereal stuff.
You could argue that F+/D is just Dm(Maj7).
@@hoist8111 Yeah, but it's clear that D is a pedal note, present in all the chord progression just to emphasize the tonic. In fact you can remove that pedal note in the whole progression and the sound is almost the same. Another point is that the melody of the song also emphasizes the C+ which is the note that converts F in F+.
This is NOT the chord progression.
Here it is: Dsus2, D6add9, DmMaj7, G/D, Dsus2
@@rc4a0frios My mistake. The first two chords were not minor. The third one can be seen as augmented or a minor major seventh. I think my considerations are still valid
@@rc4a0frios sus2 and 9th chords are almost the same chords. They share the same notes. When say "sus" is to "substitute" the third by the second, but I use to add (and not sus) the 2nd when I play this song
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 😃😃
This channel is so impressive and I’m glad I found it 👍
So look forward to these excellent videos! Thanks again, David. Probably already mentioned, but another good example of the use of a major/augmented chord in a song is Eddie Money's Baby Hold On.
Aha, good one!
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.
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.
The piece you wrote for this video is probably my favorite you've done for your channel. Nicely done! I was hoping you'd mention that nearly every spy show/movie has an aug chord, especially at the end.
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing this one with us! Congratulations!!!
2 songs immediately come to mind, Because by Dave Clark 5 with g+ and d+. Then Hold On by Eddie Money d to d+ verses
Awesome and very useful video!! Keep it up man
Cheers 😀😀😀
Brilliant analysis, GREAT EARS👂 . Always an insightful lesson on Harmony. Thank you.
Thanks Richard! 😃
Your composition at the end is really good. I hope you work more on that.
Thank you so much for these awesome videos!! I am learning so much!
Great video! I like your song. It has that feeling of a movie sequence with someone walking along the street, unaware of the danger lurking behind them.
Your original composition reminds me a lot of Brian Eno’s stuff! Great video, as always.
this guy, David Bennett is GREAT. i think he knows everything about music. wow, he really paid attention when it counted. thanks David.
You are by far one of the best music teachers on you tube IMHO. I've learned so much from your lessons.