E Half-Diminished Seventh Chord (Em7♭5)

1Composition: what it contains

E – G – B♭ – D

Symbol

Em7♭5

Also written

Em7♭5, Eø, Eø7, E-7♭5, Emi7(♭5)

Formula

1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7

2Appearance: diagrams and sound

On the guitar

On the ukulele

On the piano

On the staff

On bass and as an arpeggio

3Indications: what it is used for

The iiø7 chord of a minor key: in a minor ii–V–i it leads to V7(♭9) and then to i. It is also the vii chord of a major key (viiø7), used as a dominant-function chord resolving to I. In jazz it appears in minor ii–V's and as a passing chord; in classical music it is a common pre-dominant. Locrian or Locrian ♮2 is the usual scale. It shares notes with the minor sixth chord built a minor third above its root.

4Dosage: how to practise it

On guitar, learn the shape rooted on the fifth string (the most common), the shape rooted on the sixth string with the fifth string muted, and drop-2 voicings. On piano, play it in all inversions and in the minor ii–V–i progression with smooth voice leading. Practise the minor ii–V–i around the circle of fifths at 70–120 BPM. Arpeggiate 1-♭3-♭5-♭7. Five to ten minutes daily, alternating with the diminished seventh to hear the difference.

5Warnings and common mistakes

Do not confuse m7♭5 (half-diminished) with dim7 (fully diminished): the seventh is minor here and diminished in the dim7. On guitar, check that the fifth is really flat; muscle memory from m7 shapes often keeps a perfect fifth. Do not mix up the symbol ø (half-diminished, slashed circle) with ° (diminished). When improvising, the flat second (♭9) is the avoid note.

6Interactions with chords, scales and keys

Inversions

• Inversion 1 · Em7♭5/G · G – B♭ – D – E Play
• Inversion 2 · Em7♭5/B♭ · B♭ – D – E – G Play
• Inversion 3 · Em7♭5/D · D – E – G – B♭ Play

Scales to play over Em7♭5

• E Locrian Mode
• E Blues Scale
• E Half-Whole Diminished Scale
• E Altered Scale

Where it appears (keys and Roman numerals)

• viiø7 – Key of F Major
• iiø7 – Key of D Minor

7Other presentations available

The same chord from every note

Cm7♭5 C♯m7♭5 Dm7♭5 E♭m7♭5 Fm7♭5 F♯m7♭5 Gm7♭5 A♭m7♭5 Am7♭5 B♭m7♭5 Bm7♭5

Other chords on E

E Em Edim Eaug Esus2 Esus4 E5 E6 Em6 E7 Emaj7 Em7 Edim7 Em(maj7) E7sus4 Eadd9 Em(add9) E6/9 E9 Emaj9 Em9 E11 Em11 E13 E7♭9 E7♯9 E7♯5 E7♭5