# E Half Diminished 7th piano chord (Em7♭5)

Em7♭5 contains E, G, B♭ and D. A diminished triad with the minor seventh added on top. B♭ is a black key; E, G and D are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/half-diminished/e/
- Entity: chord:half-diminished-7th:e
- Notes: E G B♭ D
- Formula: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, TT, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 3 4
- Also written: Em7♭5, Em7b5, E half diminished 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | E | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | G | Minor third | 3 |
| ♭5 | B♭ | Tritone | 6 |
| ♭7 | D | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E, finger 2 on G, finger 3 on B♭, finger 5 on D. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | E | E3 G3 B♭3 D4 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (Em7♭5/G) | G | G3 B♭3 D4 E4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Em7♭5/B♭) | B♭ | B♭3 D4 E4 G4 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Third inversion (Em7♭5/D) | D | D4 E4 G4 B♭4 | 4/2 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E3 G3 B♭3 D4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G3 B♭3 D4 E4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B♭3 D4 E4 G4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | D4 E4 G4 B♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | B♭2 E3 G3 D4 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | G2 E3 B♭3 D4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | E2 B♭2 G3 D4 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | E2 D3 G3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits B♭ |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | G3 D4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E and B♭ |
| Rootless close | G3 B♭3 D4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits E |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D minor | iim7♭5 | Predominant |
| F major | viim7♭5 | Dominant function |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (2)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii, v, i | D minor | iim7♭5 | Em7♭5 to Am7 to Dm7 | Em7♭5 opens the phrase |
| vii, I | F major | viim7♭5 | Em7♭5 to Fmaj7 | Em7♭5 opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Edim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | drops D | 3 |
| Em7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | B♭ becomes B | 3 |
| Edim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | D becomes D♭ | 3 |
| Em9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | B♭ becomes B, F♯ | 3 |
| Em | 1 ♭3 5 | B♭, D becomes B | 2 |
| E7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | G, B♭ becomes G♯, B | 2 |
| EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B♭, D becomes B, D♯ | 2 |
| Eaug7 | 1 3 ♯5 ♭7 | G, B♭ becomes G♯, B♯ | 2 |
| E7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | G, B♭ becomes A, B | 2 |
| Em6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | B♭, D becomes B, C♯ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {4, 7, 10, 2}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 6, 10]
- Normal order: [2, 4, 7, 10]
- Prime form: (0258)
- Forte number: 4-27
- Interval vector: <012111>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |
| D4 | 62 | 293.66 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Em7♭5?

Em7♭5 contains E, G, B♭ and D. The formula is 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7.

### How do you play Em7♭5 on piano?

Play E, G, B♭ and D together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. B♭ is a black key; E, G and D are white.

### What are the inversions of Em7♭5?

4 positions: root position E G B♭ D, Em7♭5/G, Em7♭5/B♭, Em7♭5/D.

### What keys contain Em7♭5?

2: iim7♭5 in D minor, viim7♭5 in F major.

### What is the difference between Em7♭5 and Edim?

Drops D. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Em7♭5 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, G3 D4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Em7♭5?

From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 196.00, 233.08, 293.66 Hz.

### What is the set class of Em7♭5?

Prime form (0258), Forte 4-27, interval vector &lt;012111&gt;.

### How do I transpose Em7♭5 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭7 formula on the new root. Cm7♭5 is C, E♭, G♭, B♭; C♯m7♭5 is C♯, E, G, B.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:half-diminished-7th:e
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12