Cm7♭5 chord
Cm7♭5 is C, E♭, G♭ and B♭: 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 built on C. Below: guitar, piano and ukulele, each playable.
On guitar
x-3-4-3-4-x · movable · medium
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G♭ · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- First shape
- x-3-4-3-4-x
Cm7♭5 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · C–E♭–G♭–B♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G♭ · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
Cm7♭5 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
3-3-2-3 · movable · medium
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G♭ · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 3-3-2-3
Changing out of Cm7♭5
The moves below are the ones you'll meet most, shown for guitar and piano.
- Cm7♭5 → F7 (the iiø7 of a minor key heads to V7)
Guitar: Cm7♭5 (x-3-4-3-4-x) to F7 (1-3-1-2-1-1): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 1st fret, your middle finger lands on the G string, 2nd fret, move the ring finger to the A string, 3rd fret. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. C and E♭ carry over from one chord to the other.
Piano: Cm7♭5 to F7: play F7 in 2nd inversion (C–E♭–F–A) and C and E♭ stay under the same fingers, while G♭ moves down to F and B♭ down to A. F7 - Cm7♭5 → C♯maj7 (I in D♭ major)
Guitar: Cm7♭5 (x-3-4-3-4-x) to C♯maj7 (x-4-6-5-6-4): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 4th fret, move the middle finger to the G string, 5th fret, the ring finger goes to the D string, 6th fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. C carries over from one chord to the other.
Piano: Cm7♭5 to C♯maj7: play C♯maj7 in 3rd inversion (B♯–C♯–E♯–G♯) and B♯ stays under the same finger, while E♭ moves down to C♯, G♭ down to E♯ and B♭ down to G♯. C♯maj7 - Cm7♭5 → Fm7 (iii in D♭ major)
Guitar: Cm7♭5 (x-3-4-3-4-x) to Fm7 (1-3-1-1-1-1): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 1st fret, the middle finger goes to the A string, 3rd fret. The two chords share C and E♭, which is why the change sounds smooth.
Piano: Cm7♭5 to Fm7: play Fm7 in 2nd inversion (C–E♭–F–A♭) and C and E♭ stay under the same fingers, while G♭ moves down to F and B♭ down to A♭. Fm7
How Cm7♭5 is built
Cm7♭5 is a half-diminished chord (minor seventh flat five). It is the natural ii chord of a minor key: Cm7♭5 is ii in B♭ minor, where it leads to F7 and then home.
From C, go 3 half steps up to E♭, 3 half steps up to G♭ then 4 half steps up to B♭.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | root | 0 | |
| E♭ | minor third | 3 | |
| G♭ | diminished fifth | 6 | |
| B♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with Cm7♭5
You'll find Cm7♭5 as viiø7 in D♭ major. On the minor side it's iiø7 in B♭ minor.
Chords close to Cm7♭5
- Cm7♭5 and Cm7 differ by one note: G♭ in Cm7♭5, G in Cm7. They share C, E♭ and B♭. Cm7
Chords that share most of their notes with Cm7♭5: E♭m6, A♭9, Cdim, E♭m, Cm7, Cdim7.
Every C chord
Cm7♭5 chord: questions
What notes are in the Cm7♭5 chord?
C, E♭, G♭ and B♭. Cm7♭5 is built 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 from C: E♭ is the minor third, G♭ is the diminished fifth and B♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play Cm7♭5 on guitar?
The usual shape is x-3-4-3-4-x (movable). All 4 guitar shapes.
How do you play Cm7♭5 on piano?
Play C, E♭, G♭ and B♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. C sits just left of the pair of black keys. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play Cm7♭5 on ukulele?
3-3-2-3 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is Cm7♭5 in?
You'll find Cm7♭5 as viiø7 in D♭ major. On the minor side it's iiø7 in B♭ minor.
What's the difference between Cm7♭5 and Cm7?
Cm7♭5 and Cm7 differ by one note: G♭ in Cm7♭5, G in Cm7. They share C, E♭ and B♭.
All three instruments are drawn and played from C, E♭, G♭ and B♭ by the same engine. Updated September 2026.