The Gbm7b5 chord (G flat minor 7 flat 5, or G flat half diminished) contains the notes Gb, Bbb, Dbb and Fb, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the Gb Major scale. It can be viewed as a Gbm7 chord with a flat 5 or a Gb 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 G chord, then an Gbm7b5 chord and then return to G. This is an example of how Gbm7b5 can sound beautiful in context.
The Gbm7b5 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 2nd fret of the 6th string.
10 Ways To Play The Gbm7b5 Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Gbm7b5 (E flat half diminished), here they are.
Some Quick Gbm7b5 Chord Theory
- The G flat minor 7 flat 5 chord contains the notes Gb, Bbb, Dbb and Fb.
- The Gbm7b5 chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th of the Gb Major scale.
- The Gb 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).
- Gbm7b5 is an Gb diminished chord, with an added flat 7th (Fb) included, or an Gbm7 chord with the 5th lowered by a semitone.
- The Gb locrian mode can be used when soloing over the Gbm7b5 chord.
Further Reading
- A guide to half diminished chords
- Gb minor 7 flat arpeggio
- Gb diminished chord
- Chords page
- How guitar chords work
- Gb locrian mode
