The F#m7b5 chord (F sharp minor 7 flat 5, or F sharp half diminished) contains the notes F#, A, C and E, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the F# Major scale. It can be viewed as an F#m7 chord with a flat 5 or an F# 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. F#m7b5 is the 7th chord in the key of G Major. Try playing a G chord, then an F#m7b5 chord and then return to G. This is an example of how F#m7b5 can sound beautiful in context.
The F#m7b5 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 2nd fret of the 6th string (2nd shape in the picture below).
10 Ways To Play The F#m7b5 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for F#m7b5 (F sharp half diminished), here they are.
Some Quick F#m7b5 Chord Theory
- The F sharp minor 7 flat 5 chord contains the notes F#, A, C and E.
- The F#m7b5 chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th of the F# Major scale.
- The F sharp 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).
- F#m7b5 is an F# diminished chord, with an added flat 7th (E) included, or an F#m7 chord with the 5th lowered by a semitone.
- F#m7b5 is the 7th chord in the key of G.
- The F# locrian mode can be used when soloing over the F#m7b5 chord.