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The F#aug chord

Hear the F#aug and you hear uncanny and lifted, like a chord on tiptoe, courtesy of the augmented triad spelling (F# - A# - D). Players use it to lift the line by a half-step, which is why it turns up across Beatles bridges and James Bond themes. Common voicings on guitar and piano, the theory in plain language, the progressions where the chord earns its place, and a list of real song references are all in the sections that follow.

Hear the F#aug in the chord builder →

Voicings for F#aug

Common ways to grip the F#aug on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for F#aug across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: A-string aug at fr.9
Notes: F# - A# - D (chord tones)
Guitar: E-shape aug at fr.2
Notes: F# - A# - D (chord tones)
Guitar: D-string aug at fr.4
Notes: F# - A# - D (chord tones)
Guitar: top-4 voicing
Notes: F# - A# - D (chord tones)
Guitar: high top-4 voicing
Notes: F# - A# - D (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note triad shapes on each string set, shown moving up the neck. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.2
Notes: top-string triad, fr.2
Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.6
Notes: top-string triad, fr.6
Triad: top strings (G-B-e) · fr.10
Notes: top-string triad, fr.10
Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.3
Notes: middle-string triad, fr.3
Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.7
Notes: middle-string triad, fr.7
Triad: middle strings (D-G-B) · fr.11
Notes: middle-string triad, fr.11
Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.3
Notes: bass-side triad, fr.3
Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.7
Notes: bass-side triad, fr.7
Triad: bass strings (A-D-G) · fr.11
Notes: bass-side triad, fr.11

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position
Notes: F# - A# - D. Root F# at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a augmented triad.
Piano: first inversion
Notes: A# - D - F#. A# at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.
Piano: second inversion
Notes: D - F# - A#. D at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

The theory behind F#aug

F#aug is a augmented triad built on F#. Its three or four notes (F# - A# - D) sit a specific distance apart: root, major third, augmented fifth. That makes it a passing chord in the key of a closely related major key, and the same chord works as the passing chord in a closely related major key. The simplest rule of thumb: the F#aug wants to resolve up a half-step into the next major chord.

Progressions that use F#aug

Short progressions that put the F#aug to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

IIVV key of C major
F#aug (as passing colour)

This chord appears as a borrowed or passing chord in many major-key progressions.

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Songs that feature F#aug

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the F#aug in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

Keys where F#aug lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

Related references

Other ways to put the F#aug to work across the reference library.

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the F#aug fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the F#aug. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.