Fm7♭5 chord
F half-diminished seventh. The half-diminished seventh: a diminished triad with a minor seventh. Written Cm7♭5 or Cø7, it is dark and unstable, and it is the ii chord of minor.
Click a note to hear it
- Notes
- F A♭ C♭ E♭
- Formula
- 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7
- Intervals
- P1 m3 d5 m7
- Also written
- Fø7 · Fø · Fm7♭5 · Fmin7♭5
Notes in Fm7♭5
Fm7♭5 is spelled F A♭ C♭ E♭: four notes stacked from the root F.
| Note | Interval above F | Role | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | root | 1 | |
| m3 | third | ♭3 | |
| d5 | fifth | ♭5 | |
| m7 | seventh | ♭7 |
Inversions
Putting a different chord tone in the bass gives each inversion. The chord is the same; the bass note changes how it sounds and what it can lead to.
| Position | Notes, low to high | Symbol | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | F A♭ C♭ E♭ | Fm7♭5 | |
| First inversion | A♭ C♭ E♭ F | Fm7♭5/A♭ | |
| Second inversion | C♭ E♭ F A♭ | Fm7♭5/C♭ | |
| Third inversion | E♭ F A♭ C♭ | Fm7♭5/E♭ |
On the piano
The root position voicing, with every chord tone lit in its own colour. Click a key to hear it.
On the guitar
Fm7♭5 in standard tuning. The barre shapes below slide anywhere on the neck, so the same fingers give you every root. Strings run from the lowest (left) to the highest (right); X means do not play that string.
A-shape barre at fret 8
What it sounds like
Cm7♭5 is C, E♭, G♭ and B♭: a diminished triad with a minor seventh. The lowered fifth creates a tritone between the root and the fifth, and the minor third above the root adds a dark colour. The minor seventh is a dissonance that wants to fall, so the chord is unstable without the full symmetry of the diminished seventh. It is called half-diminished because its seventh is minor rather than diminished, which makes it one semitone less diminished than the fully diminished chord.
How it is used
In minor keys the half-diminished seventh is the ii chord, iiø7, the usual predominant. In A minor it is B, D, F and A. In major keys it is the leading-tone chord, viiø7, which in C is B, D, F and A and usually resolves to I. In jazz, the minor ii, V, i progression begins with iiø7, moving to V7 and then to the minor tonic. The chord typically moves to a dominant rather than to a tonic.
How it is built
The half-diminished seventh is a root with a minor third, a diminished fifth and a minor seventh, 0, 3, 6 and 10 semitones above the root. Common symbols are Cm7♭5, Cø7, Cø and Cm7(♭5). The chord has the same notes as E♭m6, which is E♭, G♭, B♭ and C, so the two chords share one pitch set. The inversions are Cm7♭5/E♭, Cm7♭5/G♭ and Cm7♭5/B♭, with the bass moving through the chord tones.
Which keys contain Fm7♭5
Fm7♭5 is a diatonic chord in these keys, where the numeral shows its job:
Scales that fit Fm7♭5
Scales that contain every note of the chord, so they can be played over it:
- C harmonic minor
- C♯ Mixolydian
- D♭ Mixolydian
- E♭ natural minor
- E♭ harmonic minor
- F Locrian
- F♯ major
- F♯ melodic minor
- G♭ major
- G♭ melodic minor
- G♯ melodic minor
- G♯ Dorian
- A♭ melodic minor
- A♭ Dorian
Other F chords
How to practise it
Play the ii, V, i progression in C minor: Dø7, which is D, F, A♭ and C, then G7, then Cm. The C in Dø7 falls to B, the third of G7. Play the same pattern in G minor, with the chords Aø7, D7 and Gm, to hear the progression in a second key.
Further reading
- Seventh Chords and How They Resolve in Tonal HarmonyHarmony · 7 min
- The ii V I Progression in Major, Minor and Jazz StylesHarmony · 6 min
Questions
What notes are in a Fm7♭5 chord?
Fm7♭5 contains F, A♭, C♭, E♭. That is the root, third, fifth, seventh of the chord.
How do you spell F half-diminished seventh?
Stack the intervals P1, m3, d5, m7 above F: F, A♭, C♭, E♭.
What other symbols mean Fm7♭5?
Lead sheets also write it Fø7, Fø, Fm7♭5, Fmin7♭5. They are the same chord.
What is the difference between Cm7♭5 and Cdim7?
Both contain the diminished triad C, E♭ and G♭. Cm7♭5 adds a minor seventh, B♭. Cdim7 adds a diminished seventh, which sounds as A, nine semitones above the root. The fully diminished chord is the more symmetrical of the two, since every note is a minor third from the next.
Why is it called half-diminished?
The chord has a diminished fifth, but its seventh is minor rather than diminished. A fully diminished seventh chord has both. The half-diminished seventh is therefore one semitone less diminished than the fully diminished chord, and its name records that it is only partly diminished.
What is the difference between Cm7 and Cm7♭5?
Cm7 has a perfect fifth, G, and Cm7♭5 has a diminished fifth, G♭. Cm7 is C, E♭, G and B♭, and Cm7♭5 is C, E♭, G♭ and B♭. The lowered fifth creates a tritone with the root, which makes the half-diminished chord darker and less settled than the plain minor seventh.