The Bm7b5 chord (B minor 7 flat 5, or B half diminished) contains the notes B, D, F and A, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the B Major scale. It can be viewed as a Bm7 chord with a flat 5 or a B 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. Bm7b5 is the 7th chord in the key of C Major. Try playing a C chord, then a Bm7b5 chord and then return to C. This is an example of how Bm7b5 can sound beautiful in context.
The fact that Bm7b5 occurs in the key of C actually makes it quite a common chord, as the key of C Major is very popular.
The Bm7b5 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 2nd fret of the 5th string (2nd shape down, in the picture below).
10 Ways To Play The Bm7b5 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Bm7b5 (B half diminished), here they are.
Some Quick Bm7b5 Chord Theory
- The B minor 7 flat 5 chord contains the notes B, D, F and A.
- The Bm7b5 chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th of the B Major scale.
- The B 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).
- Bm7b5 is a B diminished chord, with an added flat 7th (A) included, or a Bm7 chord with the 5th lowered by a semitone.
- Bm7b5 is the 7th chord in the key of C.
- The B locrian mode can be used when soloing over the Bm7b5 chord.
Further Reading
- A guide to half diminished chords
- B minor 7 flat arpeggio
- B diminished chord
- Chords page
- How guitar chords work
- B locrian mode
