G+ and B+

They have the same tones.

Augmented chords are 1-3-#5, so G+ = G-B-D# and B+ = B-D-Fx (enharmonic to G)

Enharmonic chords are symmetrical - there are only four of them, and each one has three names. The other name for this set of tones is Eb+ (Eb-G-B)

They have the same tones.

Augmented chords are 1-3-#5, so G+ = G-B-D# and B+ = B-D-Fx (enharmonic to G)

Enharmonic chords are symmetrical - there are only four of them, and each one has three names. The other name for this set of tones is Eb+ (Eb-G-B)

Thanx for the explanation.
So what is the practical advantage in giving these identically- fingered -chords different names.

If I am playing a song and they refer to B+. Then I am playing another song and they call for G+ and I use identical fingering?

Isn't that the same as if I am referring to a chord as F# or a Gb depending on whether I am ascending or decending the scale?

If I call blue blue and someone else calls it a different name--the effect on the canvass is still the same--no? Or is it because of the context that the note is used in changes it somehow just as a color seems to change due to its backround?I am asking in order to learn.

BTW
Why do you sharpen the 5th for the G+ in order to call it augmented but place an X after the fifth for the B? What does that X stand for? And if it isn't a sharpened 5th, how is it still called augmented? Isn't thee supposed to be a sharpened F for the B+?

Symetrical in what sense?

Ok, I'll take 'em in order...

G+, B+ and Eb+ all sound the same, but that doesn't mean the names are interchangeable. Same thing with F# and Gb - it's true you'll call a note F# going up a chromatic scale and Gb going down, but that's just because it's easier to write - within a diatonic key, that note will only have one name (in the key of B, it's F# going up or down; in Db it's a Gb note in either direction).

Augmented chords often occur after the major chord with the same root. You'd go from G to G+; you wouldn't go from G to B+. The reason has to do with the spelling of the chords... you'd change only one note (D to D#) to go from G to G+ - you'd have to change two notes (D to D# and G to Fx) to go to the B+ chord. (I'm simplifying this a bit, but it's a good way to look at it)

You can call it whatever you want, and it'll sound the same. All by itself, it doesn't matter what the chord is called... but in the context of a progression, there will be a name that makes sense, and names that don't. If you write a series of notes C-Ebb-Fb-G-Gx-A-B-B# it'll sound identical to a C major scale... but it's not a C major scale, it just sounds like one.

You place an 'x' after the F in B+ because that's the symbol for a double-sharp. B major is B-D#-F#, so to raise the fifth you need to sharp the F-sharp... and that's Fx. It sounds the same as G, but in standard notation it's written as F with an 'x' in front of it.

Thanx for the explanation.
So it is an annotational convenience thing.
How about the symetrical part you mentioned.

They're symmetrical because you keep getting the same chord if you keep using the same interval pattern.

An octave is 12 half-steps. If you build a chord that slices this into even segments that repeat every octave, you've got a symmetrical chord.

Augmented chords are made up of all major thirds - four half steps. So if you go up from C by major thirds, you get:

C-E-G#/Ab-C-E-G#/Ab-C....

Likewise, the diminished seventh is all minor thirds - three half steps:

C-Eb-Gb-Bbb/A-C-Eb-Gb-Bbb/A-C...

If you try to do that with other patterns, you don't repeat the series directly in each octave. For instance, a major chord is major third/minor third, which gives you:

C-E-G-B-D-F#-A-C#-E-G#-B-F#-D#/Eb-G-Bb-D-F-A-C...

and you've got to cover five octaves before the pattern repeats

Thanx for the info.
Will check the chord symetry concept out on the guitar since it is a little difficult for me to understand by just reading it.