The Bbm7b5 chord (B flat minor 7 flat 5, or B flat half diminished) contains the notes Bb, Db, Fb and Ab, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the Bb Major scale. It can be viewed as an Bbm7 chord with a flat 5 or a Bb diminished chord with an added b7.
The half diminished chord can sound like a very dissonant chord, when played in isolation. However, when played in the context of other chords, it can sound beautiful. Try playing a B chord, then a Bbm7b5 chord and then return to B. This is an example of how Bbm7b5 can sound beautiful in context.
The Bbm7b5 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 6th fret of the 6th string (2nd shape in the picture below).
10 Ways To Play The Bbm7b5 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Bbm7b5 (B flat half diminished), here they are.
Some Quick Bbm7b5 Chord Theory
- The B flat minor 7 flat 5 chord contains the notes Bb, Db, Fb and Ab.
- The Bbm7b5 chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th of the Bb Major scale.
- The Bb minor 7 flat 5 chord (just like all half diminished chords) contains the following intervals (from the root note): minor 3rd, minor 3rd, Major 3rd, Major 2nd (back to the root note).
- Bbm7b5 is a Bb diminished chord, with an added flat 7th (Ab) included, or a Bbm7 chord with the 5th lowered by a semitone.
- The Bb locrian mode can be used when soloing over the Bbm7b5 chord.
Further Reading
- A guide to half diminished chords
- Bb minor 7 flat arpeggio
- Bb diminished chord
- Chords page
- How guitar chords work
- Bb locrian mode
