Ab Augmented (Abaug)
Also written as G# Augmented (G# and Ab are the same key).
1+3+#5
Notes in Ab Augmented
G# (root)B#E
Inversions
Same notes as Ab Augmented, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.
Root position
G# in the bass
1st inversion
B# in the bass (Abaug/B#)
2nd inversion
E in the bass (Abaug/E)
Press G#, B# and E together on the keyboard and you're playing Ab Augmented.
Stretch the fifth of a major chord up by a semitone and the result is symmetrical: two identical major thirds stacked on top of each other. That symmetry means the chord has no clear sense of up or down, giving it a floating, slightly dizzying quality composers reach for when a moment needs to feel suspended or unresolved.