The Ebm7b5 chord (E flat minor 7 flat 5, or E flat half diminished) contains the notes Eb, Gb, Bbb and Db, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the Eb Major scale. It can be viewed as an Ebm7 chord with a flat 5 or an Eb 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 an E chord, then an Ebm7b5 chord and then return to E. This is an example of how Ebm7b5 can sound beautiful in context.
The Ebm7b5 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 6th fret of the 5th string (2nd shape down, in the picture below).
10 Ways To Play The Ebm7b5 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Ebm7b5 (E flat half diminished), here they are.
Some Quick Ebm7b5 Chord Theory
- The E flat minor 7 flat 5 chord contains the notes Eb, Gb, Bbb and Db.
- The Ebm7b5 chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th of the Eb Major scale.
- The Eb 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).
- Ebm7b5 is an Eb diminished chord, with an added flat 7th (Db) included, or an Ebm7 chord with the 5th lowered by a semitone.
- The Eb locrian mode can be used when soloing over the Ebm7b5 chord.
Further Reading
- A guide to half diminished chords
- Eb minor 7 flat arpeggio
- Eb diminished chord
- Chords page
- How guitar chords work
- Eb locrian mode
