Chords
Bm7♭5
The half-diminished chord that sets up a minor key.
B D F A · 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7
B1
D♭3
F♭5
A♭7
The m7♭5 — also called half-diminished — is the darkest of the everyday seventh chords, and the natural doorway into a minor ii–V–i.
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Every voicing on the neck
The idea
Minor 7 with a flat 5th
Bm7♭5 is B D F A — a minor 7th chord with the 5th flattened (F instead of F#). That ♭5 gives it a hollow, unstable, tense quality.
- Notes: R ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 = B D F A.
- The ♭5 (F) is what makes it half-diminished.
- Darker and more unstable than a plain m7.
Where it lives
The ii of a minor key
Bm7♭5 is the iim7♭5 in A minor. Follow it with E7 and Am and you have the minor ii–V–i — the essential minor-key turnaround.
- Bm7♭5 → E7 → Am is the minor ii–V–i.
- Also the vii chord of C major.
- The go-to chord to set up a minor resolution.
Flatten the 5th of a minor-7 chord and you get the tense, half-diminished sound that opens every minor ii–V–i.
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