Guitar chord · Sevenths
A♭ half-diminished 7th chord on guitar
420102 · Open position
All 6 shapes, tab & fingering ↓
6 ways to play A♭m7♭5 on guitar, with finger positions, tabs and step-by-step instructions.
Dark and unresolved; often the ii chord in a minor key.
A♭m7♭5 is the viiø7 chord in A major. In minor keys: iiø7 in F♯ minor.
- Notes
- A♭C♭E𝄫G♭
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th · minor 7th
Guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E) · 6 voicings · E string on the left · Other tunings →
How to play it · Open position
- 6th string (low E): 4th fret, pinky finger (4) A♭
- 5th string (A): 2nd fret, middle finger (2) C♭
- 4th string (D): play open E𝄫
- 3rd string (G): 1st fret, index finger (1) A♭
- 2nd string (B): play open C♭
- 1st string (high E): 2nd fret, ring finger (3) G♭
Tablature
e|--2---| B|--0---| G|--1---| D|--0---| A|--2---| E|--4---|
Top line is the high E string. x = don’t play, 0 = open string.
Every A♭m7♭5 note on the guitar neck
Bright dots are the selected voicing — the rest are other places you can find the same chord tones.
Tips for playing A♭m7♭5 on guitar
On guitar, A♭m7♭5 has an open-position shape, 420102, using four fingers alongside the open strings.
Notice the C♭ in A♭m7♭5 (A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G♭): each note of the chord takes its own letter (A–C–E–G), so the minor 3rd has to be written C♭ rather than B — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
