D♭m7♭5 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D♭m7♭5 chord is a half-diminished chord built on the root note D♭. Its notes are D♭, F♭, A𝄫 and C♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as C♯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
- D♭ · F♭ · A𝄫 · C♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- Semitones
- 0 · 3 · 6 · 10
- Note
- D♭
- Quality
- Half-Diminished (m7♭5)
- Symbol
- D♭m7♭5
D♭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 D♭m7♭5 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D♭, index finger on F♭, middle finger on A𝄫 and little finger on C♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard D♭ is a black key and F♭, A𝄫 and C♭ are white, the keys you'd normally call E, G and B. 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.
- D♭1
- F♭♭3
- A𝄫♭5
- C♭♭7
D♭m7♭5 on guitar
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D♭m7♭5 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 9: 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.
D♭ · F♭ · A𝄫 · C♭
Play D♭m7♭5 on the online piano
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D♭m7♭5 chord notes
Also known as C♯m7♭5
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♭(Db) | |
| ♭3 | Minor third | 3 | F♭(Fb) | |
| ♭5 | Diminished fifth | 6 | A𝄫(Abb) | |
| ♭7 | Minor seventh | 10 | C♭(Cb) |
How to use the D♭m7♭5 chord
The D♭m7♭5 chord is built from a root, a minor third, a diminished fifth and a minor seventh. Start at the root D♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D♭, F♭, A𝄫 and C♭. 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 D♭m7♭5 differs from similar chords
D♭m7♭5 differs from D♭m7 by one lowered note, the fifth, and from D♭°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 D♭m7♭5 is used
No progression is shown for this spelling
Every key D♭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 D♭m7♭5 chord?
- The D♭m7♭5 chord contains D♭, F♭, A𝄫 and C♭ (Db, Fb, Abb and Cb in plain text).
- Is the D♭m7♭5 chord major or minor?
- D♭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 D♭m7♭5 on piano?
- Place your fingers on D♭, F♭, A𝄫 and C♭ 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 D♭ is a black key and F♭, A𝄫 and C♭ are white, the keys you'd normally call E, G and B. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play D♭m7♭5 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 9: 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 D♭m7♭5 chord?
- D♭m7♭5 is enharmonically equivalent to C♯m7♭5. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.