Music analysis question: German and French augmented 6ths!

[bbernardini]

I'm getting extremely frustrated with my grad class. I haven't done this kind of analysis work in at least 10 years, and with every consecutive week, my assignment grades get worse instead of better, no matter how hard I try.

Anyway, I'm really having trouble grasping the concept of the German and French aug. 6th chords. Is there somebody out there who might be able to clarify them for me?

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Crap, I wish I had my books! I was totally all over on analysis,

including those, but that was more than ten years ago, and now I don't remember what they are, other than the names. The only "named" sixth I still remember is the Neopolitan.

Try wikipedia, perhaps. I was checking it out today about Messiaen's tonal systems, and hot damn, but it was full of information.

I'm sure they have info on French and German augmented sixths.

[RevCheesehead]

2. What do you need to know?

[Telly Savalas]

3. This link seems to have a fairly lucid explaination

http://www.tonalityguide.com/xxaug6.php

As a jazz-head, I'd interpret them as tri-tone subsitutions for the dominant of the dominant.

e.g. in their examples we wanna "resolve" to the G chord (the dominant in the key of C). Instead of setting this up with the D7, the dominant of the G, we use its tritone substitution the Ab7. (The classical folks like calling that F# an augmented sixth, but I just assume think of it as the 7th of an Ab7 chord.)

The Italian Augmented sixth would be a straight rendering of this (only leave out the Eb), whereas the German Augmented Sixth is more like an Ab(b5) ---that D in the chord could be thought of as a flat 5 for the chord, adding some color.

If what I've written doesn't make any sense, ignore it and rely on the link.

[bbernardini]

4. Perhaps some of you would like to check my work before I submit it tonight

:) I have to scan it anyway...