Piano chord
C half-diminished chord
Cm7♭5 is a half-diminished seventh chord: the root C, a minor 3rd up to E♭, a diminished 5th up to G♭ and a minor 7th up to B♭.
- Symbol
- Cm7♭5
- Notes
- C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭
Play it yourself
Tap C, E♭, G♭ and B♭ on the keys below, in any order.
- C
- E♭
- G♭
- B♭
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 Cm7♭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
C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭
- 1st inversion · Cm7♭5/E♭
E♭ – G♭ – B♭ – C
- 2nd inversion · Cm7♭5/G♭
G♭ – B♭ – C – E♭
- 3rd inversion · Cm7♭5/B♭
B♭ – C – E♭ – G♭
Keys with Cm7♭5
Cm7♭5 occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.
- viiø7 · D♭ major
- iiø7 · B♭ minor