C Augmented 7th (C7#5)

Download MIDI
1+3+#5+b7
C1E2G#3Bb5
4 4

Notes in C Augmented 7th

C (root)EG#Bb

Inversions

Same notes as C Augmented 7th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

C in the bass

C1E2G#3Bb5

1st inversion

E in the bass (C7#5/E)

E1C5G#2Bb4

2nd inversion

G# in the bass (C7#5/G#)

C3E5G#1Bb2

3rd inversion

Bb in the bass (C7#5/Bb)

C2E3Bb1G#5

Open voicings

A close-position chord like C Augmented 7th can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

G# on the bottom

C1E2G#3Bb5

Drop 3

E on the bottom

E2C1G#3Bb5

Press C, E, G# and Bb together on the keyboard and you're playing C Augmented 7th.

A dominant seventh with the fifth raised a semitone, borrowing the floating quality of an augmented triad while keeping the pull of a dominant chord underneath it. Jazz players use it to add an extra streak of tension right before a resolution.

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Seventh chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.