F#aug Piano Chord
F sharp augmented is the F#aug piano chord. It has three notes: F sharp, A sharp and D. The lower two are black keys and the top note is white.
F♯ at the bottom, then A♯ and D. Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. The black keys are F♯ and A♯.
How to play F#aug on piano, step by step
- Start on the F♯ above middle C. That is the lowest note of the chord.
- Thumb (1): F♯
- Middle finger (3): A♯
- Little finger (5): D
- Press them together with the right hand. The left hand plays the same notes with fingers 5, 3, 1 an octave lower, or just F♯ on its own as a bass note.
F sharp major is three black keys; raising the fifth brings the little finger forward onto D, a white key. That single change is what makes this chord feel different under the hand.
Inversions of F#aug
The same 3 notes with a different one at the bottom. All of them are F#aug; which you play depends on what the hand is coming from. Tap any card to hear it.
If it sounds wrong
- The top note is C sharp
- That is plain F sharp major. F sharp augmented needs D, the white key above it.
- The little finger drags the hand out
- It is the only finger on a white key. Let the wrist tilt so it can reach forward without pulling the others off the black keys.
- The chord sounds tense
- That is the point. Follow it with B major and the raised fifth resolves upward.
What makes it an F#aug
F♯ · A♯ · D 1 3 ♯5
F sharp augmented is F sharp, A sharp and D: the root, the third and the sharp fifth. Strictly the top note is C double sharp, which is the key called D.
It leads from F sharp to B, with the C sharp climbing through D to D sharp. Like every augmented triad it is symmetrical and belongs to no key of its own.
F#aug vs F#
The top note. F sharp major has C sharp, a black key; F sharp augmented raises it to D, a white one.
F sharp major is one of the most comfortable chords on the piano, being all black keys. The augmented version breaks that pattern, which is the only awkward thing about it.
Questions about F#aug
Which notes are in F#aug on piano?
F sharp, A sharp and D. It is F sharp major with the fifth raised by one key.
What is the difference between F#aug and F sharp major?
The top note. F sharp major has a normal fifth; F#aug raises it by one key, which makes the chord sound stretched and unsettled instead of finished.
Why do F#aug, Daug and Bbaug 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 F#aug, Daug and Bbaug are one shape with three names.
Where is F#aug used?
Almost always as a passing chord. It appears between F sharp major and B major, or under a melody note that is climbing, and it resolves as soon as the raised fifth moves on.
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