However, when played in the context of other chords, it can sound beautiful.

The half diminished chord can sound like a very dissonant chord, when played in isolation. It can be viewed as an Em7 chord with a flat 5 or an E diminished chord with an added b7. The C locrian mode can be used when soloing over the Cm7b5 chord.The Em7b5 chord (E minor 7 flat 5, or E half diminished) contains the notes E, G, Bb and D, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the E Major scale.Cm7b5 is the 7th chord in the key of Db.Cm7b5 is a C diminished chord, with an added flat 7th (Bb) included, or a Cm7 chord with the 5th lowered by a semitone.The C minor 7 flat 5 chord (just like all half diminished chords) contains the following intervals (from the root note): minor 3rd, minor 3rd, Major 3rd, Major 2nd (back to the root note).

The Cm7b5 chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th of the C Major scale.The C minor 7 flat 5 chord contains the notes C, Eb, Gb and Bb.If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for Cm7b5 (C half diminished), here they are. The Cm7b5 chord is most commonly played with the root note on the 3rd fret of the 5th string (2nd shape in the picture below).

This is an example of how Cm7b5 can sound beautiful in context. Try playing a Db chord, then a Cm7b5 chord and then return to Db. Cm7b5 is the 7th chord in the key of Db Major. It can be viewed as a Cm7 chord with a flat 5 or a C diminished chord with an added b7. The Cm7b5 chord (C minor 7 flat 5, or C half diminished) contains the notes C, Eb, Gb and Bb, which is the 1 (root) b3, b5 and b7 of the C Major scale.

Minor 7 flat 5