Em7b5 Chord

Minor 7 with a flattened 5th — the tense ii chord of a minor ii-V-i.

Em7b5

Notes in this voicing: E · A# · D · G

Root

Quality

Half-Diminished (m7b5)

Difficulty

Advanced

Type

Barre

Low EX

Mute the Low E string so it does not ring.

AFret 7

Fret the A string at fret 7 with your index finger (E).

DFret 8

Fret the D string at fret 8 with your middle finger (A#).

GFret 7

Fret the G string at fret 7 with your index finger (D).

BFret 8

Fret the B string at fret 8 with your ring finger (G).

High EX

Mute the High E string so it does not ring.

1Index

2Middle

3Ring

4Pinky

Start your strum from the A string and avoid any strings marked X.
Keep your fingertips close to the fret wire so the Em7b5 chord rings without buzz.
Lay finger 1 across fret 7 and keep your thumb behind the neck for even pressure.
Use as the ii chord ahead of a dominant 7 in minor keys.
Keep the root on the 5th string and let the top three notes ring.

Down, down-up, up-down-up at a slow tempo; squeeze just before each strum and release after.

Playing a full diminished 7 instead — the b7 stays natural here.
Letting the barre collapse in the middle strings, causing muted notes or fret buzz.
Strumming into muted strings instead of stopping at the first ringing string.