Piano chord
A♭ half-diminished chord
A♭m7♭5 is a half-diminished seventh chord: the root A♭, a minor 3rd up to C♭, a diminished 5th up to E𝄫 and a minor 7th up to G♭.
- Symbol
- A♭m7♭5
- Notes
- A♭ – C♭ – E𝄫 – G♭
Play it yourself
Tap A♭, C♭, E𝄫 and G♭ on the keys below, in any order.
- A♭
- C♭
- E𝄫
- G♭
Half-diminished chords are a diminished triad with a minor seventh on top. They are the ii chord in minor keys and lead strongly to the dominant.
Inversions of A♭m7♭5
An inversion keeps the same notes but puts a different one at the bottom. Pianists use them to move between chords with less jumping.
- Root position
A♭ – C♭ – E𝄫 – G♭
- 1st inversion · A♭m7♭5/C♭
C♭ – E𝄫 – G♭ – A♭
- 2nd inversion · A♭m7♭5/E𝄫
E𝄫 – G♭ – A♭ – C♭
- 3rd inversion · A♭m7♭5/G♭
G♭ – A♭ – C♭ – E𝄫
Keys with A♭m7♭5
A♭m7♭5 occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.