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Augmented 6th chord
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A type of
diatonic chord
that contains an
interval
of an
augmented 6th
. Augmented 6th chords are often used in classical and romantic music, usually in
minor keys
. These chords come in a few different varieties: the
Italian 6th
,
French 6th
, and
German 6th
(or It
6
, Fr
6
, and Gr
6
respectively). The geographic names don't appear to have any actual relation to where the chords are used, or where they came from.
The root of an augmented 6th chord is generally a
major 3rd
below the
tonic
in a key, and is made of a stacked major 3rd and an augmented 6th.
For example: Ab-C -F# or F-A-D#
Depending on the variety of the chord, other notes might be used. The Italian 6th uses only the basic 3 notes, while the French 6th contains an
augmented 4th
and the German 6th contains a
perfect 5th
.
Italian 6th: Ab-C-F# or F-A-D#
French 6th: Ab-C-D-F# or F-A-B-D#
German 6th: Ab-C-Eb-F# or F-A-C-D#
Notice that the German 6th is
enharmonically equivalent
to a
dominant 7th
(is made of the same notes but is spelled differently). This is because the
function
of the two chords is completely different. The dominant chord wants to resolve to the tonic, but the augmented 6th chord wants to resolve to the dominant or to the tonic in
second inversion
. This duality between the German 6th and the dominant 7th will be important later.
A typical
harmonic progression
involving an augmented 6th:
i - VI - It
6
- V - i
In c minor, this would be:
c - Ab - It
6
(Ab-C-F#) - G - c
Notice that the root of the Italian 6th chord is a major 3rd below the tonic (in this case, the Ab below C).
Now for that German 6th. A common practice in the romantic and post-romantic periods was to use the German 6th as a
pivot chord
in a
modulation
. A composer could insert a German 6th chord or a dominant chord, then
alter the function
of the chord. The German 6th could function as the enharmonically equivalent dominant 7th and lead us into a new key and vice-versa. So, instead of going where we, the listeners, might expect, the composer would surprise us and move us into a completely new tonal arena.
Using the above example:
c - Ab - Gr
6
- Db (surprise!)
The Gr
6
made us want to hear a G major chord, but instead we were given Db! The Gr
6
functions as a dominant chord in the key of Db.
printable version
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Guide to Chord Formation : 6th Chords
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