21.5: Examples with Augmented Sixth Chords
21.5.1 The Italian Augmented Sixth Chord
The first examples, from the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, shows an Italian augmented sixth chord (ItIt+6) in C minor with the “classical” spelling.
The next example from popular music has an ItIt+6 spelled enharmonically as a major-minor seventh chord with the fifth omitted.
21.5.2 The French Augmented Sixth Chord
The next example contains an example of a French augmented sixth chord (FrFr+6). Notice how the French augmented sixth chord has pre-dominant function and intensifies the drive toward the VV chord.
21.5.3 The German Augmented Sixth Chord
The following example, from Rossini's William Tell Overture, has a German augmented sixth chord leading to a chord of dominant function, the II46 chord.
John Coltrane's minor blues, “Mr. P.C.,” contains a German augmented sixth chord (spelled as VIVI7 in minor) progressing to the VV chord. (Note: The bass line in this example is a jazz “walking” bass, which doesn't stick strictly to chord tones.)
The next example is a movie theme and features a German augmented sixth chord spelled as a major-minor seventh chord (VIVI7). In this particular case, the third of the chord doesn't occur until the fourth beat of the measure.
Fiona Apple's “Criminal,” from 1996, features German augmented sixth chords in the verse (FF7 in the key of A minor) as well as in the pre-chorus, seen in the example below.
A repeating progression of AmAm–FF7–EE (ii–GerGer+6–VV in Roman numerals) occurs in “Friend Like Me” from the movie and musical Aladdin.
21.5.4 The Enharmonic German Sixth
In the following example an “Enharmonic German augmented sixth” chord occurs. While a GG♭7 chord would normally have the notes GG♭–BB♭–DD♭–FF♭, the F♭ is respelled as an E♮, creating the interval of an augmented sixth, while the fifth of the chord, D♭, is respelled as a C♯, creating the interval of a doubly augmented fourth. In fact, some music theory textbooks refer to the Enharmonic German augmented sixth chord as “the chord of the doubly-augmented fourth.” The spelling is this way because the C♯ will resolve upward to a D♮, the third of a major II46 chord.