Practice the Caug Chord: Real-time Feedback for Guitarists

Want a structured chord roadmap instead of jumping between pages?
Go to the full guitar chords tutorial.

The C augmented chord, written Caug, is spelled C, E and G#: the root, major third and raised fifth. Looking for a scale to play over it? The C whole-tone scale contains all three notes of Caug.

Add a minor seventh and you get an augmented seventh chord, add a major seventh and it becomes a major seventh sharp five chord. The lowest voicing starts at fret 1 and the highest reaches fret 10. An augmented triad stacks two major thirds, so its notes are evenly spaced and the chord has no clear root to settle on.

Switch on the microphone in the interactive fretboard at the top, play the chord and see which strings ring.

C augmented guitar chord is also written as Caug, C+, C(#5) or Cmaj(#5).

Notes in the C aug chord:

C E G#

Chord Structure:

Formula: 1 3 #5

C Aug Guitar Chord Diagrams

Position 1 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the G and B strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the A string

Position 2 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the B string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 1 of the G string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 3 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 4 of the low E string

Position 3 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 8 of the high E string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 9 of the B string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 10 of the D string

Find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf

Play This Chord With Other Roots

Want to Learn Everything About Chords?

Check Chords Domination out: a unique ebook that shows you finger positions, note names and intervals in the chords (plus a tones fretboard maps)

You'll learn how to play 44 chords types across all the fretboard, with many voicings and fingerings

In the ebook you can also find maps show you the tones in a chord all along the fretboard. They are incredibly helpful because allow you to:

Create new voicings on the fly, across all the neck
Improvise targeting the right notes
Unlock the fretboard and expand the CAGED system.

In the new ebook, Chords Domination, you'll find the fretboard tones maps for 44 different qualities of chords. Check it out:

Download Free Excerpt Learn More Here

Created by

Giancarlo Facoetti

Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher

FAQ

What notes are in the Caug chord?

Caug is spelled C, E and G#. These are the root, a major third and a raised fifth. Each step is a major third, four semitones.

How does C augmented differ from a plain C major triad?

C major has G. Caug raises that fifth by a semitone to G#, which turns the stack into two equal major thirds.

Is Caug the same as Eaug or Abaug?

In sound, yes. Caug has the same pitches as Eaug and Abaug, because the chord is symmetrical. Each of the three notes can be named as the root.

Which scale fits Caug?

The C whole-tone scale, C, D, E, F#, G#, Bb, contains every chord note. Caug takes alternate notes from it.

How many ways are there to play Caug on guitar?

There are 3 voicings, 1 of them using a barre and none using an open string. They run from fret 1 to fret 10.