Chord and FretCm7(b5) — half-diminished
Notes in Cm7(b5): C – Eb – Gb – BbFormula: 1 – b3 – b5 – b7In the formula, the numbers count steps of the major scale starting from the note that names the chord; "b" lowers a half step, "#" raises one — and a slash names the bass note.
Picture a minor chord whose fifth has been 'shrunk', that is, lowered by a half step: the result is tense and melancholic at once. In minor keys it usually announces that tension is on the way — as in Bm7b5 → E7E7E7E7 → AmAmAmAm. It is a color you hear a lot in bolero and bossa nova.
The same chord on all four instruments
Where to use it: In minor keys it is usually the chord that opens the famous ii–V — in other words, the two-chord pair that prepares the return home. Think Dm7b5 → G7G7G7G7 arriving at CmCmCmCm.
Every region of the neck hides more shapes of Cm7(b5). In Chord and Fret, you hear every shape strummed string by string, in each instrument's own voice; open every variation on the neck, grouped by bass note; and set a capo — the diagrams redraw above it. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. Plays offline.
See the whole neck in Chord and Fret →Part of the Sevenths family.