Abaug Piano Chord

A flat augmented is the Abaug piano chord. It has three notes: A flat, C and E. It is an A flat major chord with the fifth raised by one key onto a white note.

1A♭3C5EC3C4

A♭ at the bottom, then C and E. Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. The black key is A♭.

How to play Abaug on piano, step by step

  1. Start on the A♭ below middle C. That is the lowest note of the chord.
  2. Thumb (1): A♭
  3. Middle finger (3): C
  4. Little finger (5): E
  5. Press them together with the right hand. The left hand plays the same notes with fingers 5, 3, 1 an octave lower, or just A♭ on its own as a bass note.

Only the root is black here, where A flat major has two black keys. The augmented version is the simpler shape.

Inversions of Abaug

The same 3 notes with a different one at the bottom. All of them are Abaug; which you play depends on what the hand is coming from. Tap any card to hear it.

First inversionC E A♭
Abaug piano chord diagram, first inversion, C E A♭
Lighter than root position and less final. A third in the bass tips the chord forward, which is why it usually sits between two other chords rather than at the end of a line.
Second inversionE A♭ C
Abaug piano chord diagram, second inversion, E A♭ C
Open and slightly unresolved. A fifth in the bass makes the chord sound like a step on the way somewhere, which is mostly how it is used.

If it sounds wrong

The top note is E flat
That is plain A flat major. A flat augmented needs E natural, the white key above it.
The thumb slips off
It is on the only black key in the chord, so the hand has to sit further into the keyboard than the white notes alone would need.
The chord will not settle
It is a passing chord. Follow it with D flat major, or let the E fall back to E flat.

What makes it an Abaug

A♭ · C · E 1 3 ♯5

A flat augmented is A flat, C and E: the root, the third and the sharp fifth.

It leads from A flat to D flat, with the E flat climbing through E to F. Like every augmented triad it is two major thirds stacked and belongs to no key on its own.

Abaug vs Ab

The top note. A flat major has E flat, a black key; A flat augmented raises it to E, a white one.

That makes the augmented chord the easier shape, with one black key instead of two.

Questions about Abaug

Which notes are in Abaug on piano?

A flat, C and E. It is A flat major with the fifth raised by one key.

What is the difference between Abaug and A flat major?

The top note. A flat major has a normal fifth; Abaug raises it by one key, which makes the chord sound stretched and unsettled instead of finished.

Why do Abaug, Caug and Eaug contain the same keys?

An augmented chord is two major thirds stacked, and four half steps repeated three times comes back to where it started. That means the same three keys can be named from any of its notes, so Abaug, Caug and Eaug are one shape with three names.

Where is Abaug used?

Almost always as a passing chord. It appears between A flat major and D flat major, or under a melody note that is climbing, and it resolves as soon as the raised fifth moves on.

Chords to learn next

Other Ab chords