The Em7b5 guitar chord is built from the notes E, G, A#, D. Its first guitar voicing is the open position: low E string open; A string at fret 1 (index finger); D string open; G string open; B string at fret 3 (middle finger); high e string open. It is a half-diminished 7th chord, and this page gives you its exact notes, the fingerings that work on the guitar, the mistakes to avoid and the progressions it appears in.
What notes are in the Em7b5 chord?
The Em7b5 chord is a half-diminished 7th chord, and its notes are fixed: E, G, A#, D. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root E, so you can see the structure of Em7b5 at a glance. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G, A#, D in Em7b5.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| E | Root |
| G | b3 |
| A# | b5 |
| D | b7 |
The root is E, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Em7b5 are b3, b5, b7. Those intervals are the fingerprint of the half-diminished 7th quality — any chord with the same interval pattern, on any root, is the same kind of chord. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Em7b5 sounds dark, jazzy and unresolved — the half-diminished chord is the sound of the ii chord in minor keys. The colour is strongest when all the notes ring clearly. A muted chord tone, especially the 3rd or the 7th where the chord has one, flattens the character of Em7b5 noticeably. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Em7b5.
Comparing Em7b5 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, half-diminished against diminished 7th: Em7b5 keeps the flattened 7th D; the diminished 7th flattens it further to C#. The half-diminished sounds softer and more usable. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play Em7b5, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the guitar, the open position of Em7b5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
How to play Em7b5 on guitar
On the guitar, Em7b5 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — E, G, A#, D — in a different place on the neck. The first voicing below is the one to learn first, and the alternatives cover the rest of the neck. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
Another way to play Em7b5 is the open position, in open position: low E string open; A string at fret 1 (index finger); D string open; G string open; B string at fret 3 (middle finger); high e string open. This voicing is comfortable because the fretted notes sit close together, from fret 1 to fret 3, so your hand stays relaxed and every note can ring. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Em7b5 — E, G, A#, D — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord is the voicing to learn if you want Em7b5 in around fret 3: low E string open; A string at fret 5 (middle finger); D string open; G string at fret 3 (index finger); B string at fret 3 (index finger); high e string at fret 3 (index finger). It barres across strings 4 to 6 at fret 3 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 4 to 6 evenly at fret 3, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Em7b5 — E, G, A#, D — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Another way to play Em7b5 is the movable voicing, in around fret 3: low E string open; A string at fret 5 (middle finger); D string open; G string open; B string at fret 3 (index finger); high e string at fret 6 (ring finger). The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 3 to fret 6, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Em7b5 — E, G, A#, D — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of Em7b5 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide Em7b5 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of Em7b5 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into Em7b5 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Em7b5.
A short practice routine for Em7b5 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above E and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for Em7b5 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Em7b5 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Using it as a tonic. Em7b5 is a ii chord, not a home chord. It wants to move to the dominant and then resolve. On the guitar, the open position of Em7b5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Burying the flattened 5th. A# is the note that defines this chord. If it is muted, the chord collapses into a minor 7th. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G, A#, D in Em7b5.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of Em7b5, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of Em7b5 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G, A#, D in Em7b5.
Playing a perfect 5th. The 5th must be flattened to A#. A perfect 5th turns this into a plain minor 7th chord. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Em7b5.
Where Em7b5 is used
Em7b5 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of C major, the key of D major, the key of G major. the ii chord in minor keys — the starting point of the minor ii–V–i. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward A major, the key a perfect fourth above E, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Em7b5 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in Em7b5.
Because Em7b5 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain E triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try Em7b5 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the open position of Em7b5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Em7b5 on piano, Em7b5 on ukulele, Em7b5 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the E major scale and the E minor pentatonic scale. Learning Em7b5 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — E, G, A#, D — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Em7b5
A short worked example makes Em7b5 concrete. Play the four-chord progression A – E – F#m – D in A major, the key Em7b5 most often resolves toward: A – E – F#m – D. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Em7b5 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on Em7b5 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes E, G, A#, D in Em7b5.
For a second exercise, play Em7b5 and then the chord a fourth above E, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move Em7b5 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Em7b5 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: E, G, A#, D. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the guitar, the open position of Em7b5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Frequently asked questions
What does m7b5 mean in Em7b5?
It means a minor 7th chord with a flattened 5th: E, G, A#, D. The triad is diminished (E, G, A#) and the 7th is flattened (D), hence half-diminished. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
Where is Em7b5 used?
As the ii chord in minor keys, in the minor ii–V–i progression, and in jazz standards and bossa nova. It almost always leads to a dominant chord. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
What is the difference between Em7b5 and Edim7?
Em7b5 has the flattened 7th D; Edim7 has the double-flattened 7th C#. Em7b5 sounds softer and more usable; the diminished 7th sounds tenser and more dramatic. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
How do you play Em7b5 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the open position: frets 0–1–0–0–3–0, fingers 0–1–0–0–2–0, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes E, G, A#, D, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for Em7b5, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is Em7b5 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of Em7b5 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.