Fm7♭5 chord
Fm7♭5 is F, A♭, C♭ and E♭: 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 built on F. Below: guitar, piano and ukulele, each playable.
On guitar
1-2-1-1-0-x · open · medium
- Notes
- F · A♭ · C♭ · E♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-2-1-1-0-x
Fm7♭5 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · F–A♭–C♭–E♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- F · A♭ · C♭ · E♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
Fm7♭5 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
1-3-1-2 · movable · medium
- Notes
- F · A♭ · C♭ · E♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-3-1-2
Fm7♭5 and the chords around it
The moves below are the ones you'll meet most, shown for guitar and piano.
- Fm7♭5 → B♭7 (the iiø7 of a minor key heads to V7)
Guitar: Fm7♭5 (1-2-1-1-0-x) to B♭7 (x-1-3-1-3-1): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 1st fret, your middle finger lands on the D string, 3rd fret, the ring finger goes to the B string, 3rd fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Shared notes: F and A♭.
Piano: Fm7♭5 to B♭7: play B♭7 in 2nd inversion (F–A♭–B♭–D) and F and A♭ stay under the same fingers, while C♭ moves down to B♭ and E♭ down to D. B♭7 - Fm7♭5 → F♯maj7 (I in F♯ major)
Guitar: Fm7♭5 (1-2-1-1-0-x) to F♯maj7 (2-4-3-3-2-2): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 2nd fret, the middle finger goes to the D string, 3rd fret, your ring finger lands on the G string, 3rd fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. F carries over from one chord to the other.
Piano: Fm7♭5 to F♯maj7: play F♯maj7 in 3rd inversion (E♯–F♯–A♯–C♯) and E♯ stays under the same finger, while A♭ moves down to F♯, C♭ down to A♯ and E♭ down to C♯. F♯maj7 - Fm7♭5 → B♭m7 (iii in F♯ major)
Guitar: Fm7♭5 (1-2-1-1-0-x) to B♭m7 (x-1-3-1-2-1): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 1st fret, move the middle finger to the B string, 2nd fret, the ring finger goes to the D string, 3rd fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. F and A♭ carry over from one chord to the other.
Piano: Fm7♭5 to B♭m7: play B♭m7 in 2nd inversion (F–A♭–B♭–D♭) and F and A♭ stay under the same fingers, while C♭ moves down to B♭ and E♭ down to D♭. B♭m7
How Fm7♭5 is built
Fm7♭5 is a half-diminished chord (minor seventh flat five). It is the natural ii chord of a minor key: Fm7♭5 is ii in E♭ minor, where it leads to B♭7 and then home.
Start on F, count 3 half steps up to A♭, 3 half steps up to C♭ then 4 half steps up to E♭.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | root | 0 | |
| A♭ | minor third | 3 | |
| C♭ | diminished fifth | 6 | |
| E♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with Fm7♭5
In major keys, Fm7♭5 is viiø7 in F♯ major. In minor keys it is iiø7 in E♭ minor.
Chords close to Fm7♭5
- Fm7♭5 and Fm7 differ by one note: C♭ in Fm7♭5, C in Fm7. They share F, A♭ and E♭. Fm7
Chords that share most of their notes with Fm7♭5: G♯m6, C♯9, Fdim, G♯m, C♯7, C♯add9.
Every F chord
Fm7♭5 chord: questions
What notes are in the Fm7♭5 chord?
F, A♭, C♭ and E♭. Fm7♭5 is built 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 from F: A♭ is the minor third, C♭ is the diminished fifth and E♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play Fm7♭5 on guitar?
The usual shape is 1-2-1-1-0-x (open). All 3 guitar shapes.
How do you play Fm7♭5 on piano?
Play F, A♭, C♭ and E♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. F sits just left of the group of three black keys. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play Fm7♭5 on ukulele?
1-3-1-2 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is Fm7♭5 in?
In major keys, Fm7♭5 is viiø7 in F♯ major. In minor keys it is iiø7 in E♭ minor.
What's the difference between Fm7♭5 and Fm7?
Fm7♭5 and Fm7 differ by one note: C♭ in Fm7♭5, C in Fm7. They share F, A♭ and E♭.
All three instruments are drawn and played from F, A♭, C♭ and E♭ by the same engine. Updated September 2026.