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A♭ half-diminished chord

A♭ half-diminished Diminished & augmented family

Bittersweet and searching.

Easiest shape1 of 3

Square: the root. In colour: the flat 5th, which gives the chord its sound.

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

A♭root
C♭minor 3rd
Dflat 5th
G♭flat 7th

A minor 7 with a flat 5th: the softness of the 7th meets the instability of the flat 5th.

Tension: Restless

Hear it in a progression

Minor ii–V–i
The sad cousin of the jazz ii–V–I. In F♯ minor.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in F♯ minor, where it is the iiø7 chord.

C♯m7
v7. The minor setup: ii° pulls into v or V.

Sounds close

Ddim7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A♭, C♭ and D.
E7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A♭, C♭ and D.
Gmaj7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♭, D and G♭.
Bm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♭, D and G♭.

Keys it lives in