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Piano chord

Bm7♭5 Piano Chord

Bm7♭5 is a half-diminished chord rooted on B. A minor 7th with the fifth flattened too. Dark and unresolved — most often the ii chord in a minor key.

The notes

4 notes. Every inversion below is these same notes in a different order.

B1
D♭3
F♭5
A♭7

How to play it

Root position first, then each inversion. Numbers next to each note are right-hand fingers — 1 is the thumb. Tap a key to hear it, or play the whole chord.

Root position
B1D2F3A5

The root is on the bottom — planted and stable.

1st inversion
D1F2A3B5

b3 in the bass — same chord, new posture.

2nd inversion
F1A2B3D5

b5 in the bass — same chord, new posture.

3rd inversion
A1B2D3F5

b7 in the bass — same chord, new posture.

Which inversion should you use?

Whichever one your hand is already near. Inversions exist so consecutive chords can share keys — instead of jumping the whole hand to a new root position, you move a finger or two and the chords melt into each other. That is most of what separates piano playing that sounds smooth from piano playing that sounds like a series of separate grabs.

Half-Diminished chords in other keys

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