Bad news for anyone who likes variety: there are only four augmented triads in the entire chromatic universe. Four. That's it. Learn these and you have technically conquered an entire chord type, which is the kind of efficiency I can get behind on a Monday.
This one-minute clip is a melodic voice-leading study built on augmented triads, marched through the circle of fourths on the D, A and E strings. PDF and Guitar Pro are on Patreon if you want to steal my exact fingerings.
How augmented voice leading works
An augmented triad is just three major thirds stacked on top of each other: C, E, G#. Because major thirds slice the octave into three perfectly equal pieces, the shape is completely symmetrical — move it up four frets and you get the exact same chord with the notes reshuffled (if inversions are new to you, start with triads and inversions). That symmetry is also why there are only four of them: everything else is a repeat.
Here's the useful part. Run the triads around the circle of fourths and something gorgeous happens: to get from one chord to the next, every single voice climbs exactly one half step. C-E-G# becomes F-A-C#, and all three notes just walked up one fret together. That parallel chromatic creep is the whole trick — this is voice leading in its purest form. Practice hearing each line move, not just fretting it, and your ear starts tracking three independent voices at once.
Play it too many times in a row and your neighbours will assume you're scoring a horror film. Worth it. Full PDF and Guitar Pro on my Patreon.