The augmented triad is the chord equivalent of that friend who insists they have "no personality type" — it's so perfectly symmetrical that it genuinely cannot tell you which note is the root. Stack two major thirds, and C augmented, E augmented and G# augmented all turn out to be the exact same three notes wearing different name tags. There are only four of these chords in the entire universe, and they are all deeply suspicious of you.
This is Exercise #29 in my voice leading series, and it's a one-minute drill that marches augmented triads through the circle of fourths, all played on the top three strings — E, B and G. The goal isn't to sound like a horror-movie score (though you will). It's to learn how to glide from one shape to the next by moving each finger the shortest possible distance instead of leaping up the neck like a startled cat.
How this augmented triad voice leading works
An augmented triad is a root, a major third and an augmented fifth — which is really just two major thirds stacked on top of each other. Because those intervals are identical, the chord slices the octave into three equal pieces, and that symmetry is the whole magic trick: any note can be the root, so the same fingering repeats every four frets. When you connect these chords around the circle of fourths, you don't need to hunt for a distant shape. You find the nearest version of the next chord on the same three strings and shift each voice by a fret or two.
The concrete takeaway: stay on the E, B and G strings, keep your eyes on the smallest movement, and let the top note sing a little melody as you go. That's why I call these "melodic" voice leading drills — the highest voice becomes a line, not just the roof of a chord. Master this and augmented harmony stops being a scary inversion puzzle and becomes a smooth conveyor belt you can drop into any solo.
Warning: after enough reps you will start hearing augmented triads everywhere, and you will annoy everyone by pointing them out during film scores. If you want the PDF and Guitar Pro file so you can annoy people accurately, they're on my Patreon.