Sevenths
E♭ half-diminished 7th chord
Dark and unresolved; often the ii chord in a minor key.
E♭m7♭5 is the viiø7 chord in E major. In minor keys: iiø7 in C♯ minor.
- Notes
- E♭G♭B𝄫D♭
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th · minor 7th
How to play E♭m7♭5
About the E♭ half-diminished 7th chord
Playing it
On guitar, the usual E♭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, E♭m7♭5 has three black keys (E♭, G♭ and D♭) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual E♭m7♭5 shape is 2324, using four fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form G♭m (G♭ B𝄫 D♭) — so you can think of E♭m7♭5 as G♭m with E♭ added underneath.
E♭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 E♭m7♭5 becomes a different chord: raise B𝄫 to B♭ for E♭m7, drop the D♭ for E♭dim and lower D♭ to D𝄫 for E♭dim7.
Where you’ll hear it
Notice the B𝄫 in E♭m7♭5 (E♭ G♭ B𝄫 D♭): each note of the chord takes its own letter (E–G–B–D), so the diminished 5th has to be written B𝄫 rather than A — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
