Chords
E m9b5
E · F# · G · Bb · D
E m9b5 (Em9b5) is a diminished chord of 5 notes: E · F# · G · Bb · D.
E m9b5
E · F# · G · Bb · D
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | E3 · F#3 · G3 · Bb3 · D4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Bb2 · E3 · F#3 · G3 · D4 | |
| Shell | E3 · G3 · D4 | |
| Rootless | F#3 · G3 · D4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
E m9b5 (Em9b5) contains the notes E · F# · G · Bb · D, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of E m9b5 puts a chord tone other than E in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales E m9b5 belongs to.
In which keys
E m9b5 is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- B minorIVm9b5Subdominant
Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.
Scales that contain it
E m9b5 fits inside these scales, each built on E.
- E Locrian #2E · F# · G · A · Bb · C · D
- E Dorian #4E · F# · G · A# · B · C# · D
- E Composite BluesE · F# · G · G# · A · Bb · B · C# · D
- E Messiaen's Mode #3E · F# · G · G# · A# · B · C · D · D#
Understanding the E m9b5 chord
Names and symbols
Em9b5 is the chord symbol for E 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.
Common questions
- What notes are in the E m9b5 chord?
- The E m9b5 chord contains the notes E · F# · G · Bb · D: the root E 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 E, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the E m9b5 chord?
- Measured from E, the E 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 E m9b5 chord?
- On guitar the most common E m9b5 shape is 010032, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play E3 · F#3 · G3 · Bb3 · D4 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.