How to Play Augmented Fifth Triads in Jazz Guitar

Video Transcript

" Hi! My name is John Armstrong with expertvillage.com. I'm a professional guitar instructor and today we are going to be studying beginning jazz guitar. Okay next I would like to discuss the augmented triad. Now there is really no good way I know of doing augmented triad based off of the low E string, so we are going to start with the root note on the 5th string or A string. Let's start off using once again the D major chord as our base, kind of our home base or departure point. Augmented triad is created by having once again the root, the 3rd and 5th notes but we are going to sharp the 5th. We are going to raise it up one fret. So here's our D major triad and in this D major triad, we have root 5th, root and 3rd, our D major chord, root 5th and root 3rd. So what we have to do is sharp the 5th's. So root 5th, sharp, root and 3rd. Root sharp 5th and root 3rd. Well that works out. That's an augmented triad or its kind of a difficult voicing. You've got a lot of stretching going on there, not that it's not doable. There is a better one available and that is think of it as if you have an open position C chord. Okay and in this open position C chord you have a root, a 3rd, a 5th and a root. Let's just forget about the E on the first string which is another 3rd. Root 5th and root 3rd. Root 3rd, 5th root. Take and sharp the 5th and here we have a C augmented chord. It's kind of like taking your up major, your open position F major chord and moving it down a fret, moving it down a string. Your C augmented, C sharp or D flat augmented. D augmented. Little bit easier of voicing to have to deal with so I like to use that one. If I'm encountered with it, augmented triad or augmented chord that I have to play. I like that voicing. I think the sounds are good. If not, even better and it is a little bit easier to play. "