Piano chord
A half-diminished chord
Am7♭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
- Am7♭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 Am7♭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 · Am7♭5/C
C – E♭ – G – A
- 2nd inversion · Am7♭5/E♭
E♭ – G – A – C
- 3rd inversion · Am7♭5/G
G – A – C – E♭
Keys with Am7♭5
Am7♭5 occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.