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A♭m7♭5

Character: wistful

  1. A♭Rtriad
  2. C♭♭3triad
  3. E𝄫♭5triad
  4. G♭♭7add
Open A♭m7♭5 in the chord libraryDownload the A♭m7♭5 chart (PDF)
Voicings

10 ways to play A♭m7♭5

Every voicing sits inside one of the five CAGED shapes, low to high on the neck, with its octave doublings in grey.

  • Triad note
  • Substitute
  • Added
  • Anchored root
  • Bass
  • Doubling
CC shape 3rd inversion A♭m7♭5/G♭
7 8 9 10 11 R ♭5 ♭3 ♭7

Frets x 9 9 7 9 xNotes G♭ C♭ E𝄫 A♭Intervals ♭7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadA♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

CC shape Root position A♭m7♭5
7 8 9 10 11 ♭7 ♭5 ♭3 R ♭3

Frets x 11 9 7 7 7Notes A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G♭Intervals 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7Base triadA♭ diminished, root position

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

CC shape 2nd inversion A♭m7♭5/E𝄫
8 9 10 11 ♭7 ♭3 R ♭5 ♭5 ♭3

Frets 10 11 9 11 0 10Notes E𝄫 A♭ C♭ G♭Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 ♭7Base triadA♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion A♭m7♭5/E𝄫
1 2 3 4 ♭7 ♭3 R ♭5

Frets x x 0 1 0 2Notes E𝄫 A♭ C♭ G♭Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 ♭7Base triadA♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

GG shape 1st inversion A♭m7♭5/C♭
1 2 3 4 ♭7 R ♭5 ♭3 ♭3

Frets x 2 0 1 0 2Notes C♭ E𝄫 A♭ G♭Intervals ♭3 ♭5 1 ♭7Base triadA♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

GG shape 3rd inversion A♭m7♭5/G♭
1 2 3 4 R ♭5 ♭3 ♭7

Frets 2 2 0 1 x xNotes G♭ C♭ E𝄫 A♭Intervals ♭7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadA♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 3rd inversion A♭m7♭5/G♭
3 4 5 6 R ♭5 ♭3 ♭7

Frets x x 4 4 3 4Notes G♭ C♭ E𝄫 A♭Intervals ♭7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadA♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 2nd inversion A♭m7♭5/E𝄫
4 5 6 7 ♭7 ♭3 R ♭5 R R

Frets 4 5 6 4 7 4Notes E𝄫 A♭ C♭ G♭Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 ♭7Base triadA♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 2nd inversion AnchoredA♭m7♭5
4 5 6 7 R ♭3 ♭7 ♭5 R R ♭3

Frets 4 5 4 4 0 4Notes A♭ E𝄫 G♭ C♭Intervals 1 ♭5 ♭7 ♭3Base triadA♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The root drops to the string below the triad. The ♭7th takes the root’s string.

DD shape 2nd inversion AnchoredA♭m7♭5
6 7 8 9 R ♭3 ♭7 ♭5 R

Frets x x 6 7 7 7Notes A♭ E𝄫 G♭ C♭Intervals 1 ♭5 ♭7 ♭3Base triadA♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The root drops to the string below the triad. The ♭7th takes the root’s string.

The rules

The construction rules A♭m7♭5 follows

  1. Start from a triad

    Root, 3rd and 5th, stacked in thirds. The 3rd makes it major or minor; the 5th makes it diminished or augmented when it moves.

  2. A third on top makes a 7th chord

    A major 7th over a major triad is maj7, a ♭7 is a dominant 7. Over minor you get m7 or m(maj7); over diminished, m7♭5 or the °7, whose 7th is lowered twice.

  3. On guitar, something has to give

    Each extension takes the string of a triad note that matters less, usually the 5th, or gets a string of its own. The root and 3rd stay: they say what the chord is.

  4. The root can move down

    When an extension needs the root’s string, the root can drop to the string below the triad: an anchored voicing keeps the bass and frees a string on top.

All the rules, with examples, in the guide to the chord library.

Minor 7th ♭5 (half-diminished) in every key

More chords on A♭

A♭m7♭5 chord questions

What notes are in A♭m7♭5?

A♭m7♭5 is spelled A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G♭: A♭ is the root, C♭ is the ♭3rd, E𝄫 is the ♭5th, G♭ is the ♭7th.

What is the formula of A♭m7♭5?

1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7. It is a A♭ diminished triad with the ♭7th stacked on top.

How many ways can you play A♭m7♭5 on guitar?

This page shows 10 voicings of A♭m7♭5, filed under the five CAGED shapes and named by inversion, from the open position up to the 16th fret.