Chords
A# m9b5
A# · B# · C# · E · G#
A# m9b5 (A#m9b5) is a diminished chord of 5 notes: A# · B# · C# · E · G#.
A# m9b5
A# · B# · C# · E · G#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | A#3 · B#4 · C#4 · E4 · G#4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | E3 · A#3 · C#4 · G#4 · B#4 | |
| Shell | A#3 · C#4 · G#4 | |
| Rootless | B#3 · C#3 · G#3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
A# m9b5 (A#m9b5) contains the notes A# · B# · C# · E · G#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of A# m9b5 puts a chord tone other than A# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales A# m9b5 belongs to.
In which keys
A# m9b5 is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- F minorIVm9b5Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
A# m9b5 fits inside these scales, each built on A#.
- A# Locrian #2A# · B# · C# · D# · E · F# · G#
Understanding the A# m9b5 chord
Names and symbols
A#m9b5 is the chord symbol for A# m9b5.
The half-diminished seventh is written m7♭5 on charts and ø7 (or just ø) in jazz notation; both name the same four notes. It is not the diminished seventh, °7, whose seventh is a semitone lower.
A# m9b5 and Bb m9b5 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Bb m9b5
Common questions
- What notes are in the A# m9b5 chord?
- The A# m9b5 chord contains the notes A# · B# · C# · E · G#: the root A# with the intervals 1P, 2M, 3m, 5d, 7m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally A#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the A# m9b5 chord?
- Measured from A#, the A# m9b5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 2M, 3m, 5d, 7m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
- How do I play the A# m9b5 chord?
- On guitar the most common A# m9b5 shape is 676698, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play A#3 · B#4 · C#4 · E4 · G#4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.