The Minor7Flat5 Chord

The minor7flat5 (min7b5) chord doesn't get used in pop music very often, but many standards and jazz tunes do use this chord. The chord is sometimes called the "half diminished" chord and as such is represented with a circle with a diagonal line drawn through it.

As you can see, the name for this chord may still be evolving. Not too long ago, that is 40 or 50 years ago, this chord would have been called a minor sixth chord with the letter name derived from the third of the chord. For example, "Am7b5" would have been referred to as "Cm6," and the musician would have to know that the chord was to be voiced with the sixth (A) in the bass.

The min7b5 chord is essentially a diminished triad with a fourth note added at a major third above the diminished 5th. But, this chord is not to be confused with the diminished 7 chord, which is the diminished triad with the fourth note added at a minor third above the diminished fifth.

A typical chord progression using min7b5:

C (C,E,G) to Bm7b5 (B,D,F,A.) to E7 (E,G#,B,D) to Am (A,C,E)