Piano chord
F half-diminished chord
Fm7♭5 is a half-diminished seventh chord: the root F, a minor 3rd up to A♭, a diminished 5th up to C♭ and a minor 7th up to E♭.
- Symbol
- Fm7♭5
- Notes
- F – A♭ – C♭ – E♭
Play it yourself
Tap F, A♭, C♭ and E♭ on the keys below, in any order.
- F
- A♭
- C♭
- E♭
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 Fm7♭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
F – A♭ – C♭ – E♭
- 1st inversion · Fm7♭5/A♭
A♭ – C♭ – E♭ – F
- 2nd inversion · Fm7♭5/C♭
C♭ – E♭ – F – A♭
- 3rd inversion · Fm7♭5/E♭
E♭ – F – A♭ – C♭
Keys with Fm7♭5
Fm7♭5 occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.