Voicings · Am7♭5 · Guitar
Am7♭5 is spelled A – C – E♭ – G (1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7) — the iiø chord of a minor ii–V–i. Here are 5 ways to voice it on guitar: drop 2, drop 3, shell, rootless a, rootless b. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.
The voicings
Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands. Strings D-G-B-e, frets 1-2-1-3.
Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound. Strings A-G-B-e, frets 3-2-4-3.
Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing. Strings E-D-G, frets 5-5-5 (position 1).
Bill Evans-style left-hand voicing: the third on the bottom, the ninth on top, the bass player supplies the root. Strings E-A-D-G, frets 8-6-5-4 (position 4).
The companion rootless voicing with the seventh on the bottom. Alternate A and B so the top voice moves by step through a ii–V–I. Strings E-A-G-B, frets 3-2-5-4 (position 1).
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | unison |
| ♭3 | C | minor 3rd |
| ♭5 | E♭ | tritone |
| ♭7 | G | minor 7th |
Arpeggio: Am7♭5 arpeggio on guitar. Scale: A Locrian.
Common questions
A, C, E♭, G — chord tones 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7. Rootless voicings add the 9th, B, and leave the root to the bass.
The shell voicing (root, seventh, third) on strings E, D, G: three notes, one comfortable shape, and it still sounds unmistakably like Am7♭5.
Start from the close voicing A C E♭ G and drop the second note from the top an octave: E♭ – A – C – G. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.
Am7♭5 is the iiø chord of a minor ii–V–i. Its character is dark, unstable, leading.
Keep going
Same chord on piano · Half-diminished (m7♭5) hub.
Other chords from A