Whats the proper resolution of a german augmented sixth chord?

Answer 1

Dan, as you probably already know the German Aug. Sixth is enharmonically equivalent to a dominant Seventh-specifically the applied dominant V of (flat) II. Beethoven used them alot. That said it is hard to avoid parallel fiths when proceeding to V. Many times it is written with a Suspension in order to avoid them all together. One other way to get around the parallel fifth problem is proper resolution of the German Aug. Sixth to the tonic. This allows for two common notes for a minor tonic or one common note for the major. Remember, Aug. Sixths are NOT triadic and the German Sixth may sometimes appear in "inversion", but in reality the concept of root and inversion really don't apply-although the terms are still freely used. Hope this helps.