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This chord has 4 voicings across the fretboard. Use the arrows to see each shape and fingering — and tap any dot on the diagram to hear that note.

Beginner

Cm7♭5 Guitar Chord

A half-diminished seventh chord with a dark, restless quality. Cm7♭5 appears naturally in minor keys and is essential for jazz ii-V-i progressions.

Also known as

  • C ø
  • Cø7
  • C ø7
  • Cm7b5
  • C m7♭5
  • C m7b5
  • Chalf-dim
  • C half-dim
  • Chalf-dim7
  • C half-dim7
  • C half-diminished 7th
  • C half-diminished seventh

How to Play This Chord

Position your fingers on the fretboard as shown in the diagram. The vertical lines represent the strings, from low E (left) to high E (right), and the horizontal lines are the frets. Numbers inside the dots indicate which finger to use: 1 (index), 2 (middle), 3 (ring), 4 (pinky). An X means don't play that string; an O means play it open. A bar spanning multiple strings means one finger presses across all of them at once — this is known as a barre chord.

Tips & Tricks

Also called C half-diminished, this chord appears constantly in jazz as the ii chord in minor keys. The most common voicing sits at the 3rd fret. It has a dark, unsettled sound — practice resolving it to F7 to hear its most natural context.

There are many ways to play this chord. Try these:

eBGDAE 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4
eBGDAE 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3
eBGDAE 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 3
eBGDAE 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 4

See how Cm7♭5 works with other chords — Progression Generator