Position 1 / 4

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.

Intermediate

Em7♭5 Guitar Chord

A half-diminished seventh chord with a dark, restless quality. Em7♭5 appears naturally in minor keys and is essential for jazz ii-V-i progressions.

Also known as

  • E ø
  • Eø7
  • E ø7
  • Em7b5
  • E m7♭5
  • E m7b5
  • Ehalf-dim
  • E half-dim
  • Ehalf-dim7
  • E half-dim7
  • E half-diminished 7th
  • E 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

E half-diminished is the ii chord in D minor. The open-position voicing can be tricky to finger cleanly — several notes sit close together on adjacent frets. Take it slowly, placing one finger at a time, and check each string individually before strumming.

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

eBGDAE 0 1 2 3 3 3 0 1
eBGDAE 3 3 3 2 1 0 3 3
eBGDAE 0 3 1 3 2 3 0 3
eBGDAE 0 3 3 3 1 3 3 3

See how Em7♭5 works with other chords — Progression Generator