Sevenths
E half-diminished 7th chord
Dark and unresolved; often the ii chord in a minor key.
Em7♭5 is the viiø7 chord in F major. In minor keys: iiø7 in D minor.
- Notes
- EGB♭D
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th · minor 7th
How to play Em7♭5
About the E half-diminished 7th chord
Playing it
On guitar, Em7♭5 is one of the friendlier shapes: 010030 needs just two fingers and lets the open strings ring.
On piano, Em7♭5 has one black key (B♭) and three white keys.
On ukulele the usual Em7♭5 shape is 0201, using two fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form Gm (G B♭ D) — so you can think of Em7♭5 as Gm with E added underneath.
Em7♭5 contains exactly the same notes as Gm6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and Em7♭5 becomes a different chord: raise B♭ to B for Em7, drop the D for Edim and lower D to D♭ for Edim7.
