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F half-diminished chord

F 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

Froot
A♭minor 3rd
C♭flat 5th
E♭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 E♭ minor.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in E♭ minor, where it is the iiø7 chord.

B♭m7
v7. The minor setup: ii° pulls into v or V.

Sounds close

C♯7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have F, A♭ and C♭.
Ddim7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have F, A♭ and C♭.
Emaj7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A♭, C♭ and E♭.
A♭m7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have A♭, C♭ and E♭.

Keys it lives in