A♭m7♭5 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The A♭m7♭5 chord is a half-diminished chord built on the root note A♭. Its notes are A♭, C♭, E𝄫 and G♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as G♯m7♭5.
Half-diminished chords (m7♭5) sit between a diminished triad and a minor seventh. They're the signature ii chord in minor keys and show up constantly in jazz standards and moody ballads.
- Notes
- A♭ · C♭ · E𝄫 · G♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- Semitones
- 0 · 3 · 6 · 10
- Note
- A♭
- Quality
- Half-Diminished (m7♭5)
- Symbol
- A♭m7♭5
A♭m7♭5 on piano
4 notes
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play A♭m7♭5 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on A♭, index finger on C♭, middle finger on E𝄫 and little finger on G♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard A♭ and G♭ are black keys and C♭ and E𝄫 are white, the keys you'd normally call B and D. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- A♭1
- C♭♭3
- E𝄫♭5
- G♭♭7
A♭m7♭5 on guitar
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, A♭m7♭5 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 4: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Don't play strings 2 and 1.
A♭ · C♭ · E𝄫 · G♭
Try A♭m7♭5 on the virtual piano
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A♭m7♭5 chord notes
Also known as G♯m7♭5
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | A♭(Ab) | |
| ♭3 | Minor third | 3 | C♭(Cb) | |
| ♭5 | Diminished fifth | 6 | E𝄫(Ebb) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | G♭(Gb) |
How to use the A♭m7♭5 chord
The A♭m7♭5 chord is built from a root, a minor third, a diminished fifth and a minor seventh. Start at the root A♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: A♭, C♭, E𝄫 and G♭. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Half-diminished chords are most common in jazz standards. They frequently act as the iiø of a minor ii-V-i, leading into the dominant that resolves to a minor tonic.
How A♭m7♭5 differs from similar chords
A♭m7♭5 differs from A♭m7 by one lowered note, the fifth, and from A♭°7 by one raised note, the seventh. That in-between position is where the name half-diminished comes from. In a minor key it is the ii chord, so it almost always leads to a dominant seventh.
Where A♭m7♭5 is used
No progression is shown for this spelling
Every key A♭m7♭5 would have a function in has a tonic that needs a double accidental, which is not a key this library teaches. The enharmonic spelling carries the same chord in a key that exists.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the A♭m7♭5 chord?
- The A♭m7♭5 chord contains A♭, C♭, E𝄫 and G♭ (Ab, Cb, Ebb and Gb in plain text).
- Is the A♭m7♭5 chord major or minor?
- A♭m7♭5 is a half-diminished chord. Half-diminished chords (m7♭5) sit between a diminished triad and a minor seventh. They're the signature ii chord in minor keys and show up constantly in jazz standards and moody ballads.
- How do you play A♭m7♭5 on piano?
- Place your fingers on A♭, C♭, E𝄫 and G♭ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard A♭ and G♭ are black keys and C♭ and E𝄫 are white, the keys you'd normally call B and D. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play A♭m7♭5 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 4: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. Don't play strings 2 and 1.
- What is another name for the A♭m7♭5 chord?
- A♭m7♭5 is enharmonically equivalent to G♯m7♭5. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.