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The Gm7b5 chord (G half diminished) on guitar

Gm7b5 is a Gm7 with one note lowered: the fifth, D, drops a half step to Db. That one fret makes the chord restless. It rarely stays long, and nearly always moves to C7 and then to F minor. Learn the compact shape at the third fret, learn the cadence with it, and the chord stops being a strange symbol on a chart.

Gm7b5 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: G half-diminished (minor seventh flat five)
  • Symbol: Gm7b5
  • Notes: G, Bb, Db, F
  • Where it belongs: viim7b5 in Ab major, iim7b5 in F minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Gm7b5, root on the low E 3x332x G F Bb Db The standard shape: four strings, four fingers, no barre. Gm7 with the B string lowered one fret.
Gm7b5, with G on top 3x3323 G F Bb Db G Adds G on the high E. The thumb takes the low E so four fingers are left for the rest. Wider, but harder to keep the A string quiet.
Gm7b5, top four strings xx5666 G Db F Bb G on the D string, then Db, F and Bb under one flat third finger at fret 6. Bright and light.
Gm7b5, root on the A string x 10 11 10 11 x G Db F Bb The movable fifth string shape: second finger on the A string at 10, third on the D string at 11, first on the G string at 10, fourth on the B string at 11.
Gm7b5, root on the low E 3 x 3 3 2 x 2 · 3 4 1 · fingers
Gm7b5, with G on top 3 x 3 3 2 3 T · 2 3 1 4 fingers
Gm7b5, top four strings x x 5 6 6 6 · · 1 3 3 3 fingers
Gm7b5, root on the A string x 10 11 10 11 x

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Gm7b5 on the neck: every G, Bb, Db, F

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Gm7b5: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Gm7b5.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
2 - B
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
3 - G
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
4 - D
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
5 - A
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
6 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E

From Gm7 to Gm7b5: one fret on the B string

Chord Shape Notes
Gm7 3x333x G, F, Bb, D
Gm7b5 3x332x G, F, Bb, Db

Only the B string changes, from fret 3 (D) to fret 2 (Db). Play the two back and forth: the first sounds settled, the second leans forward.

Db and C# are the same fret on the guitar. The chord spells it Db because it is the fifth of G, flattened: G, A, B, C, D counts five letters, so the fifth has to be some kind of D. The fretboard notes page shows every note under both names.

The shapes, finger by finger

Root on the low E: 3x332x

Second finger on the low E at fret 3 (G), third finger on the D string at fret 3 (F), fourth finger on the G string at fret 3 (Bb), first finger on the B string at fret 2 (Db). The second finger leans lightly on the A string to mute it; the high E is not played. The B string is the one to check: if it dies, the chord loses its identity.

Top four strings: xx5666

First finger on the D string at fret 5 (G), then the third finger flat across the G, B and high E strings at fret 6 (Db, F and Bb). Leave the two bass strings out.

Root on the A string: x 10 11 10 11 x

The same chord with its root on the fifth string. Slide it down two frets and you have Fm7b5; up two frets and you have Am7b5. One shape covers every half diminished chord with a fifth string root.

Why Gm7b5 is there: the ii V i in F minor

In F minor, the chord built on the second degree is Gm7b5. It leads to C7, the V7, which resolves to Fm. When you see Gm7b5 in a song, look at the next two chords.

Gm7b5 C7 Fm
3x332x x32310 133111

Play it slowly, four beats per chord, and let the Fm ring. The other two chords have their own pages: C7 and F minor. The same cadence one step down is Fm7b5, and one step up Am7b5.

Gm7b5 and Bbm6: same notes

Bb minor sixth is Bb, Db, F and G: the same four notes as Gm7b5, in a different order. With G in the bass you hear Gm7b5; with Bb in the bass, Bbm6. So when a chart asks for one, a shape of the other works as long as the bass note is right.

Do not confuse it with Gdim7 (G, Bb, Db, Fb). There the seventh drops too, and the chord becomes fully symmetrical and even more tense.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Gm7b5 on guitar?
The standard shape is 3x332x. Second finger on the low E at fret 3, third finger on the D string at fret 3, fourth finger on the G string at fret 3, first finger on the B string at fret 2. Mute the A and high E strings.
What notes are in Gm7b5?
G, Bb, Db and F: root, minor third, diminished fifth and minor seventh. Db is played in the same place as C#; it is written Db because it is the fifth of G, lowered.
Is Gm7b5 the same as G half diminished?
Yes. Gm7b5, G half diminished and Gø7 are three names for the same chord. It is not the same as Gdim7, which lowers the seventh as well (G, Bb, Db, Fb).
What is the difference between Gm7 and Gm7b5?
One note: the fifth. Gm7 has D, Gm7b5 has Db. On the guitar, go from 3x333x to 3x332x: only the B string moves, one fret down.
What chord comes after Gm7b5?
Usually C7, then F minor. Gm7b5, C7, Fm is the ii V i of F minor, and it is where this chord appears most.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.