{"id":87,"date":"2025-06-16T14:06:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=87"},"modified":"2025-10-24T17:24:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T21:24:26","slug":"the-augmented-diminished-triad","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/chapter\/the-augmented-diminished-triad\/","title":{"raw":"The Augmented and Diminished Triad","rendered":"The Augmented and Diminished Triad"},"content":{"raw":"The last two triads we will be working on are the <em>augmented and diminished triads<\/em>. While not as commonly used as the major and minor triads, both are important, foundational sounds found in many types of music.\r\n\r\nThe augmented triad can be compared to the major triad, as the only difference is on the top note. The augmented triad has a raised 5th when compared to major, which is what gives it a unique sound.<a id=\"retfig11.1\"><\/a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_189\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-189 size-medium\" style=\"color: #373d3f; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-300x156.jpeg\" alt=\"C augmented triad displayed harmonically. Image description available.\" width=\"300\" height=\"156\" \/> Figure 11.1 C augmented triad displayed harmonically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.1\">See Appendix C Figure 11.1<\/a>][\/caption][caption id=\"attachment_190\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"372\"]<img class=\"wp-image-190\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-300x130.jpeg\" alt=\"C augmented triad displayed melodically. Image description available.\" width=\"372\" height=\"161\" \/> Figure 11.2 C augmented triad displayed melodically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.2\">See Appendix C Figure 11.2<\/a>][\/caption][audio wav=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Augmented-Triad-S1.wav\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<a id=\"retfig11.2\"><\/a>Try singing an augmented triad. How does it sound and compare to a major triad? Use the Record button below.\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"10\"]\r\n\r\nThe diminished triad can be compared to the minor triad, as again it only has one note different, again the 5th (top note), but in this case it gets lowered by one semitone.<a id=\"retfig11.3\"><\/a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_192\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-192 size-medium\" style=\"color: #373d3f; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid-300x168.jpeg\" alt=\"C diminished triad displayed harmonically. Image description available.\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/> Figure 11.3 C diminished triad displayed harmonically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.3\">See Appendix C Figure 11.3<\/a>][\/caption][caption id=\"attachment_193\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-193 size-medium\" style=\"color: #373d3f; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-300x121.jpeg\" alt=\"C diminished triad displayed melodically. Image description available.\" width=\"300\" height=\"121\" \/> Figure 11.4 C diminished triad displayed melodically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.4\">See Appendix C Figure 11.4<\/a>][\/caption][audio wav=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Diminished-Triad-S1.wav\"][\/audio]\r\n\r\n<a id=\"retfig11.4\"><\/a>Try singing a diminished triad. How does it sound and compare to a minor triad? Use the Record button below.\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"10\"]\r\n\r\nThe diminished and augmented triads can sometimes be confused with one another. This is because they both contain two of the same intervals stacked on top of each other. The distance between the bottom and middle note of an augmented triad is a major 3rd, and the distance between the middle and top note of an augmented triad is again a major 3rd. On a diminished triad, both the distance between the bottom and middle, and the middle and top are minor 3rds. This symmetry can make these two triads hard to distinguish from one another, which is why it is important to focus on humming\/singing these triads melodically, especially focusing on singing the bottom and middle notes accurately.<a id=\"retvidtriads\"><\/a>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/streaming.macewan.ca\/media\/Triads\/1_a6vmlktg\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Video 11.1 Triads. [Video transcript \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-b-video-transcripts\/#vidtriads\">See Appendix B 11.1<\/a>]<\/p>","rendered":"<p>The last two triads we will be working on are the <em>augmented and diminished triads<\/em>. While not as commonly used as the major and minor triads, both are important, foundational sounds found in many types of music.<\/p>\n<p>The augmented triad can be compared to the major triad, as the only difference is on the top note. The augmented triad has a raised 5th when compared to major, which is what gives it a unique sound.<a id=\"retfig11.1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-189 size-medium\" style=\"color: #373d3f; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-300x156.jpeg\" alt=\"C augmented triad displayed harmonically. Image description available.\" width=\"300\" height=\"156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-300x156.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-768x398.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-65x34.jpeg 65w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-225x117.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1-350x182.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-Solid-1.jpeg 779w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-189\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 11.1 C augmented triad displayed harmonically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.1\">See Appendix C Figure 11.1<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_190\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190\" style=\"width: 372px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-190\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-300x130.jpeg\" alt=\"C augmented triad displayed melodically. Image description available.\" width=\"372\" height=\"161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-300x130.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-1024x442.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-768x332.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-65x28.jpeg 65w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-225x97.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1-350x151.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-aug-broken-1.jpeg 1054w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-190\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 11.2 C augmented triad displayed melodically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.2\">See Appendix C Figure 11.2<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]--><br \/>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-87-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/wav\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Augmented-Triad-S1.wav?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Augmented-Triad-S1.wav\">https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Augmented-Triad-S1.wav<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"retfig11.2\"><\/a>Try singing an augmented triad. How does it sound and compare to a major triad? Use the Record button below.<\/p>\n<div id=\"h5p-10\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-10\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"10\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Audio Recorder\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The diminished triad can be compared to the minor triad, as again it only has one note different, again the 5th (top note), but in this case it gets lowered by one semitone.<a id=\"retfig11.3\"><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_192\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-192\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-192 size-medium\" style=\"color: #373d3f; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid-300x168.jpeg\" alt=\"C diminished triad displayed harmonically. Image description available.\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid-300x168.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid-65x36.jpeg 65w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid-225x126.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid-350x196.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-solid.jpeg 713w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 11.3 C diminished triad displayed harmonically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.3\">See Appendix C Figure 11.3<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_193\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-193\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-193 size-medium\" style=\"color: #373d3f; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-300x121.jpeg\" alt=\"C diminished triad displayed melodically. Image description available.\" width=\"300\" height=\"121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-300x121.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-768x311.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-65x26.jpeg 65w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-225x91.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken-350x142.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/06\/C-dim-broken.jpeg 966w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-193\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 11.4 C diminished triad displayed melodically. [Image description \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-c-figure-descriptions\/#fig11.4\">See Appendix C Figure 11.4<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-87-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/wav\" src=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Diminished-Triad-S1.wav?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Diminished-Triad-S1.wav\">https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2025\/08\/C-Diminished-Triad-S1.wav<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"retfig11.4\"><\/a>Try singing a diminished triad. How does it sound and compare to a minor triad? Use the Record button below.<\/p>\n<div id=\"h5p-10\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-10\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"10\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Audio Recorder\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The diminished and augmented triads can sometimes be confused with one another. This is because they both contain two of the same intervals stacked on top of each other. The distance between the bottom and middle note of an augmented triad is a major 3rd, and the distance between the middle and top note of an augmented triad is again a major 3rd. On a diminished triad, both the distance between the bottom and middle, and the middle and top are minor 3rds. This symmetry can make these two triads hard to distinguish from one another, which is why it is important to focus on humming\/singing these triads melodically, especially focusing on singing the bottom and middle notes accurately.<a id=\"retvidtriads\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"kaltura_player\" title=\"Triads\" src=\"https:\/\/cdnapisec.kaltura.com\/p\/2141712\/sp\/214171200\/embedIframeJs\/uiconf_id\/35075851\/partner_id\/2141712?iframeembed=true&#38;playerId=kaltura_player&#38;entry_id=1_a6vmlktg&#38;flashvars[streamerType]=auto&#38;flashvars[localizationCode]=en&#38;flashvars[sideBarContainer.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[sideBarContainer.position]=left&#38;flashvars[sideBarContainer.clickToClose]=true&#38;flashvars[chapters.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[chapters.layout]=vertical&#38;flashvars[chapters.thumbnailRotator]=false&#38;flashvars[streamSelector.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[EmbedPlayer.SpinnerTarget]=videoHolder&#38;flashvars[dualScreen.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[hotspots.plugin]=1&#38;flashvars[Kaltura.addCrossoriginToIframe]=true&#38;wid=1_nvq408bb\" width=\"608\" height=\"402\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" sandbox=\"allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Video 11.1 Triads. [Video transcript \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/back-matter\/appendix-b-video-transcripts\/#vidtriads\">See Appendix B 11.1<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-87","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":56,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1859,"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/87\/revisions\/1859"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/56"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/87\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openbooks.macewan.ca\/introtoeartraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}