B♭m7♭5 chord
B♭m7♭5 is B♭, D♭, F♭ and A♭: 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 built on B♭. Here it is on guitar, piano and ukulele. Tap Play on any of them.
On guitar
x-1-2-1-2-x · movable · medium
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F♭ · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- First shape
- x-1-2-1-2-x
B♭m7♭5 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · B♭–D♭–F♭–A♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F♭ · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
B♭m7♭5 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
1-1-0-1 · open · easy
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F♭ · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-1-0-1
Changing out of B♭m7♭5
Three changes cover most of what B♭m7♭5 does in songs.
- B♭m7♭5 → E♭7 (the iiø7 of a minor key heads to V7)
Guitar: B♭m7♭5 (x-1-2-1-2-x) to E♭7 (x-x-1-3-2-3): the index finger slides across to the D string at the same fret, your middle finger lands on the B string, 2nd fret, move the ring finger to the G string, 3rd fret. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. B♭ and D♭ carry over from one chord to the other.
Piano: B♭m7♭5 to E♭7: play E♭7 in 2nd inversion (B♭–D♭–E♭–G) and B♭ and D♭ stay under the same fingers, while F♭ moves down to E♭ and A♭ down to G. E♭7 - B♭m7♭5 → Bmaj7 (I in B major)
Guitar: B♭m7♭5 (x-1-2-1-2-x) to Bmaj7 (x-2-4-3-4-2): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 2nd fret, the middle finger goes to the G string, 3rd fret, move the ring finger to the D string, 4th fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Shared note: B♭.
Piano: B♭m7♭5 to Bmaj7: play Bmaj7 in 3rd inversion (A♯–B–D♯–F♯) and A♯ stays under the same finger, while D♭ moves down to B, F♭ down to D♯ and A♭ down to F♯. Bmaj7 - B♭m7♭5 → E♭m7 (iii in B major)
Guitar: B♭m7♭5 (x-1-2-1-2-x) to E♭m7 (x-x-1-3-2-2): the index finger slides across to the D string at the same fret, your middle finger lands on the B string, 2nd fret, the ring finger goes to the high E string, 2nd fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. The two chords share B♭ and D♭, which is why the change sounds smooth.
Piano: B♭m7♭5 to E♭m7: play E♭m7 in 2nd inversion (B♭–D♭–E♭–G♭) and B♭ and D♭ stay under the same fingers, while F♭ moves down to E♭ and A♭ down to G♭. E♭m7
How B♭m7♭5 is built
B♭m7♭5 is a half-diminished chord (minor seventh flat five). It is the natural ii chord of a minor key: B♭m7♭5 is ii in A♭ minor, where it leads to E♭7 and then home.
Count keys (black and white) from B♭: 3 half steps up to D♭, 3 half steps up to F♭ then 4 half steps up to A♭. A♯m7♭5 is the other spelling of the same chord.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭ | root | 0 | |
| D♭ | minor third | 3 | |
| F♭ | diminished fifth | 6 | |
| A♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with B♭m7♭5
In major keys, B♭m7♭5 is viiø7 in B major. In minor keys it is iiø7 in G♯ minor.
Chords close to B♭m7♭5
- B♭m7♭5 and B♭m7 differ by one note: F♭ in B♭m7♭5, F in B♭m7. They share B♭, D♭ and A♭. B♭m7
Chords that share most of their notes with B♭m7♭5: C♯m6, F♯9, C♯m, B♭dim, C♯m7, C♯6.
Every B♭ chord
B♭m7♭5 chord: questions
What notes are in the B♭m7♭5 chord?
B♭, D♭, F♭ and A♭. B♭m7♭5 is built 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 from B♭: D♭ is the minor third, F♭ is the diminished fifth and A♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play B♭m7♭5 on guitar?
The usual shape is x-1-2-1-2-x (movable). All 4 guitar shapes.
How do you play B♭m7♭5 on piano?
Play B♭, D♭, F♭ and A♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. B♭ sits on the last black key of the group of three. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play B♭m7♭5 on ukulele?
1-1-0-1 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is B♭m7♭5 in?
In major keys, B♭m7♭5 is viiø7 in B major. In minor keys it is iiø7 in G♯ minor.
What's the difference between B♭m7♭5 and B♭m7?
B♭m7♭5 and B♭m7 differ by one note: F♭ in B♭m7♭5, F in B♭m7. They share B♭, D♭ and A♭.
Every diagram on this page is generated from the notes B♭, D♭, F♭ and A♭ and checked automatically so the sound matches the drawing. Updated September 2026.