Em7♭5 guitar chord

The shape

Tap the diagram to hear Em7♭5 strummed. Em7♭5 is played as a barre chord around fret 7: lay a finger across the strings at that fret and build the shape on top. Movable, so the same grip works up and down the neck.

The notes in Em7♭5

A half-diminished (minor 7 flat 5) chord is spelled from its root up: E (R), G (♭3), B♭ (♭5), D (♭7). Those are the only notes in Em7♭5 — play them in any order, in any octave, and it's still Em7♭5.

What a half-diminished (minor 7 flat 5) chord is

In plain terms, a half-diminished chord (m7♭5) is a diminished triad with a flat seventh on top (root, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7) — tense, but not as brittle as a full diminished.

How it's used: It's the viiø7 of a major key and, more usefully, the iiø7 that opens a minor ii–V–i. If you play minor jazz, this is the chord that starts the cadence.

The sound: Dark, unstable, yearning — tension looking for a way home. Where you'll hear it: Jazz (especially minor ii–V–i), film noir, moody progressions.

Hear Em7♭5 in a progression

The chord that opens a minor ii–V–i — the classic minor-jazz cadence. Press play, and drag the Key control to move it anywhere.

Keys that use Em7♭5

Em7♭5 appears naturally in these keys — click any to see all seven of its chords and how Em7♭5 fits in:

Other E chords

half-diminished (minor 7 flat 5) chords on other roots

Chords and their spellings are shared facts of music theory. Every diagram and sound here is generated by ThunderFret's own engine — no tabs, lyrics or recordings are reproduced.