Arpeggio · C♯m7♭5 · Guitar
The C♯m7♭5 arpeggio is C♯ – E – G – B — chord tones 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7. C♯m7♭5 is the iiø chord of a minor ii–V–i; its sound is dark, unstable, leading. Below, every C♯, E, G, B on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play loops the arpeggio up and down one octave (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 4. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from C♯ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C♯ | unison (0 semitones) |
| ♭3 | E | minor 3rd (3 semitones) |
| ♭5 | G | tritone (6 semitones) |
| ♭7 | B | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
Goes with: C♯ Locrian (C♯ D E F♯ G A B). Voicings: C♯m7♭5 voicings on guitar.
Common questions
C♯ – E – G – B. As chord tones: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
C♯m7♭5 is the iiø chord of a minor ii–V–i. Its character is dark, unstable, leading.
C♯ Locrian (C♯ D E F♯ G A B) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root C♯ on the A string at fret 4 and play A-string fret 4, A-string fret 7, D-string fret 5, G-string fret 4, G-string fret 6. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the the iiø chord of a minor ii–V–i.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Half-diminished (m7♭5) hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from C♯