D Augmented
aug
0 - 4 - 8Root + major 3rd + augmented 5th
About D Augmented
D augmented raises the fifth of a D major chord: D, F♯, A♯. Like every augmented triad it divides the octave into three equal parts, which means it has no settled root and can resolve in several directions — a property that made it a favourite of film composers and of songwriters looking for a hinge.
The notes
D, F♯, A♯. Two major thirds stacked. Invert the chord and the shape repeats, which is why D augmented, F♯ augmented and A♯ augmented contain the same three notes.
That symmetry is also why the chord sounds suspended rather than dissonant: nothing clashes, but nothing settles either.
How it is used
Almost always in motion, and usually with one voice rising. A common figure holds D major, raises the A to A♯, then continues to B — the augmented chord being the middle step of a line rather than a harmony in its own right.
On guitar the shape is small and awkward, played on three or four strings. It appears more often as a passing sound in fingerstyle than as a strummed chord.
Where it shows up
Between D and a chord containing B — most often B minor or G. The rising fifth is the point, and the augmented chord is what makes the movement audible.
It also appears at the end of introductions in jazz and in mid-century pop, where its instability sets up the first proper chord of the song.
The chord is also a useful diagnostic for the ear: because it contains no perfect fifth, it is the clearest demonstration of how much stability that one interval provides. Remove it and a triad stops sounding like a place at all.