A Major 7th Flat Fifth

Symbols:AMaj7b5
Scale Degree Formula:1-3-♭5-7
Interval Stack:M3 + M2 + P4
Notes:A, C#, D#, G#
Hear this chord:▸ Synth

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the A major scale, and number each note in the scale starting from 1 - these are the scale degrees. Next, we use the scale degree formula, in this case 1-3-♭5-7, to select notes from our enumerated scale. When a chord requires notes that are not in the scale, this is indicated with a flat (♭) or a sharp (#) along with the scale degree; a ♭3, for instance, would be one half-step down from the 3rd scale degree.
Alternatively, we can use the interval stack to construct our chord. With this approach, we first start with the root of the chord (A), then move our first interval (M3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (C#). We repeatedly apply each of the remaining intervals in the stack to get the full list of notes for our chord.
The diagram below shows how both the scale degree formula and interval stack methods result in the same selection of notes:
A1Bb♭2B2C♭3C#3D4D#♭5E5F#5F#6G♭7G#7M3M2P4

Similar Chords

The following chords are similar to this chord and may be a suitable replacement in certain scenarios.

Chord TypeChords
7th Suspended Four Flat 9thG#7sus4b9
7th Suspended FourthG#7sus, D#7sus
7th Suspended SecondC#7sus2
Added 9thC#add9
Augmented Major 7thA+Maj7
Diminished Major 7thAdimMaj7
Dominant 7th Flat FifthD#7b5, A7b5
Dominant 7th Sharp FifthF7#5
Dominant 7th Sharp Five Sharp 9thF7#5#9
Half-Diminished 7thD#m7(b5)
Major 2ndC#2
Major 7thAM7
Major 9th Flat FifthAMaj9b5
Major Added 11thG#add11
Minor 2ndF#m2, C#m2
Minor 6thF#m6
Minor Added 11thG#madd11
Minor Added 9thF#madd9, C#madd9
Minor Six-NineF#m6/9
Suspended FourthG#sus
Suspended SecondC#sus2

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesD#
DorianF#
Dorian b5D#
Harmonic MajorC#
Harmonic MinorC#
Ionian #5E
LocrianD#
Locrian bb7C
Locrian ♮6D#
LydianA
Lydian #9A
Lydian Augmented #2A
Lydian b3F#
MajorE
MinorC#
MixolydianB
Mixolydian b2G#
PhrygianG#
Phrygian DominantG#
Phrygian b4F
Super-Locrian bb7C
Ukrainian DorianF#

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