Sevenths
D♯ half-diminished 7th chord
Dark and unresolved; often the ii chord in a minor key.
D♯m7♭5 is the viiø7 chord in E major. In minor keys: iiø7 in C♯ minor.
- Notes
- D♯F♯AC♯
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th · minor 7th
How to play D♯m7♭5
About the D♯ half-diminished 7th chord
Playing it
On guitar, the usual D♯m7♭5 shape is xx1222 at the 1st fret. It has no open strings, so it’s a movable shape — slide it along the neck for other half-diminished 7th chords. Don’t strum the low E and A strings.
On piano, D♯m7♭5 has three black keys (D♯, F♯ and C♯) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual D♯m7♭5 shape is 2324, using four fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form F♯m (F♯ A C♯) — so you can think of D♯m7♭5 as F♯m with D♯ added underneath.
D♯m7♭5 contains exactly the same notes as F♯m6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and D♯m7♭5 becomes a different chord: raise A to A♯ for D♯m7, drop the C♯ for D♯dim and lower C♯ to C for D♯dim7.
