E♭7♭5

Character: edgy

  1. E♭Rtriad
  2. G3triad
  3. B𝄫♭5triad
  4. D♭♭7add
Voicings

9 ways to play E♭7♭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 E♭7♭5/D♭
2 3 4 5 6 R ♭5 3 ♭7

Frets x 4 5 2 4 xNotes D♭ G B𝄫 E♭Intervals ♭7 3 ♭5 1

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

CC shape 2nd inversion E♭7♭5/B𝄫
3 4 5 6 ♭7 3 R ♭5

Frets 5 6 5 6 x xNotes B𝄫 E♭ G D♭Intervals ♭5 1 3 ♭7

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion E♭7♭5/B𝄫
6 7 8 9 ♭7 3 R ♭5

Frets x x 7 8 8 9Notes B𝄫 E♭ G D♭Intervals ♭5 1 3 ♭7

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion AnchoredE♭7♭5
6 7 8 9 R 3 ♭7 ♭5 R

Frets x 6 7 6 8 xNotes E♭ B𝄫 D♭ GIntervals 1 ♭5 ♭7 3

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

GG shape 3rd inversion E♭7♭5/D♭
7 8 9 10 11 R ♭5 3 ♭7

Frets 9 10 7 8 x xNotes D♭ G B𝄫 E♭Intervals ♭7 3 ♭5 1

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 2nd inversion E♭7♭5/B𝄫
1 2 3 4 ♭7 3 R ♭5

Frets x 0 1 0 2 xNotes B𝄫 E♭ G D♭Intervals ♭5 1 3 ♭7

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 1st inversion E♭7♭5/G
1 2 3 4 ♭7 R ♭5 3 3 3

Frets 3 0 1 0 2 3Notes G B𝄫 E♭ D♭Intervals 3 ♭5 1 ♭7

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 3rd inversion E♭7♭5/D♭
10 11 12 13 R ♭5 3 ♭7

Frets x x 11 12 10 11Notes D♭ G B𝄫 E♭Intervals ♭7 3 ♭5 1

The ♭7th gets a string of its own.

DD shape 2nd inversion AnchoredE♭7♭5
1 2 3 4 R 3 ♭7 ♭5 R

Frets x x 1 2 2 3Notes E♭ B𝄫 D♭ GIntervals 1 ♭5 ♭7 3

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

The rules

The construction rules E♭7♭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.

  5. Alter a dominant for tension

    Raise or lower the 5th or the 9th, or add a ♯11 or ♭13, and a dominant 7th pulls harder towards the next chord: G7♯9, G7♭9, G7♭13.

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

Dominant 7th ♭5 in every key

E♭7♭5 chord questions

What notes are in E♭7♭5?

E♭7♭5 is spelled E♭ G B𝄫 D♭: E♭ is the root, G is the 3rd, B𝄫 is the ♭5th, D♭ is the ♭7th.

What is the formula of E♭7♭5?

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

How many ways can you play E♭7♭5 on guitar?

This page shows 9 voicings of E♭7♭5, filed under the five CAGED shapes and named by inversion, from the open position up to the 16th fret.