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A half-diminished chord

A half-diminished Diminished & augmented family

Bittersweet and searching.

Easiest shape1 of 4

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

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

Aroot
Cminor 3rd
E♭flat 5th
Gflat 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 G minor.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in G minor, where it is the iiø7 chord.

Dm7
v7. The minor setup: ii° pulls into v or V.

Sounds close

Cm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C, E♭ and G.
Cdim7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A, C and E♭.
F7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A, C and E♭.
A♭maj7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C, E♭ and G.

Keys it lives in