E♭°7

Character: suspense

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

7 ways to play E♭°7

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/D𝄫
2 3 4 5 6 R ♭5 ♭3 𝄫7

Frets x 3 4 2 4 xNotes D𝄫 G♭ B𝄫 E♭Intervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadE♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

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

Frets 5 6 4 5 4 5Notes B𝄫 E♭ G♭ D𝄫Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadE♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

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

Frets x x 7 8 7 8Notes B𝄫 E♭ G♭ D𝄫Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadE♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

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

Frets x 6 7 5 7 xNotes E♭ B𝄫 D𝄫 G♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadE♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

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

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

Frets 8 9 7 8 x xNotes D𝄫 G♭ B𝄫 E♭Intervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadE♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

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

Frets x x 10 11 10 11Notes D𝄫 G♭ B𝄫 E♭Intervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadE♭ diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

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

Frets x x 1 2 1 2Notes E♭ B𝄫 D𝄫 G♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadE♭ diminished, 2nd inversion

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

The rules

The construction rules E♭°7 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.

Diminished 7th in every key

E♭°7 chord questions

What notes are in E♭°7?

E♭°7 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?

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

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

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