E Half-Diminished 7th

Symbols:Em7(b5), Emin7(b5), E-7(b5), Eø7, Em7b5
Scale Degree Formula:1-♭3-♭5-♭7
Interval Stack:m3 + m3 + M3
Notes:E, G, Bb, D
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the E 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 lowest note of the chord (E), then move our first interval (m3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (G). 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:
E1F♭2F#2G♭3G#3A4Bb♭5B5C#5C#6D♭7m3m3M3

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 9thA7sus4b9
7th Suspended FourthA7sus
7th Suspended SecondC7sus2
Added 9thCadd9
DiminishedEdim
Diminished 7thGdim7, Edim7, C#dim7, Bbdim7
Diminished Major 7thEdimMaj7
Dominant 7thC7
Dominant 7th Flat FifthE7b5, Bb7b5
Dominant 7th Sharp FifthF#7#5
Dominant 7th Sharp Five Flat 9thF#7#5b9
Dominant 9thC9
Major 2ndC2
Major 6thGM6, BbM6
Major 7thD#M7
Major 7th Flat FifthBbMaj7b5
MinorGm
Minor 2ndGm2
Minor 6thGm6
Minor 7thGm7, Em7
Minor 9th Flat FifthEm9b5
Minor Added 11thGmadd11
Minor Added 9thGmadd9
Minor Major 7thGmM7
Minor Six-NineGm6/9

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesE
DorianG
Dorian b5E
Harmonic MajorD
Harmonic MinorD, B
Ionian #5D, F
LocrianE
Locrian bb7C#
Locrian ♮6C#, E
LydianBb
Lydian #9Bb, G
Lydian Augmented #2Bb
Lydian b3G
MajorF
MinorD
MixolydianC
Mixolydian b2A
PhrygianA
Phrygian DominantA, F#
Phrygian b4F#
Super-Locrian bb7C#, Bb
Ukrainian DorianG, E

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