Piano chord
B♭ half-diminished chord
B♭m7♭5 is a half-diminished seventh chord: the root B♭, a minor 3rd up to D♭, a diminished 5th up to F♭ and a minor 7th up to A♭.
- Symbol
- B♭m7♭5
- Notes
- B♭ – D♭ – F♭ – A♭
Play it yourself
Tap B♭, D♭, F♭ and A♭ on the keys below, in any order.
- B♭
- D♭
- F♭
- A♭
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 B♭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
B♭ – D♭ – F♭ – A♭
- 1st inversion · B♭m7♭5/D♭
D♭ – F♭ – A♭ – B♭
- 2nd inversion · B♭m7♭5/F♭
F♭ – A♭ – B♭ – D♭
- 3rd inversion · B♭m7♭5/A♭
A♭ – B♭ – D♭ – F♭
Keys with B♭m7♭5
B♭m7♭5 occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.
- viiø7 · B major
- iiø7 · G♯ minor