Cm7♭5 chord on piano
Cm7♭5 is C, E♭, G♭ and B♭. You'll find C just left of the pair of black keys (a white key). Tap Play, then slow it down.
root position · C–E♭–G♭–B♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G♭ · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
How to play Cm7♭5 on piano
Count keys (black and white) from C: 3 half steps up to E♭, 3 half steps up to G♭ then 4 half steps up to B♭. That's the whole chord: 4 keys.
- Right hand: 1 on C, 2 on E♭, 3 on G♭ and 5 on B♭.
- Left hand: 5 on C, 3 on E♭, 2 on G♭ and 1 on B♭.
- On the keyboard it's white, black, black and black keys.
Cm7♭5 inversions
- root position: C–E♭–G♭–B♭. Right hand 1-2-3-5.
- 1st inversion: E♭–G♭–B♭–C, E♭ lowest. Fingers 1-2-3-5.
- 2nd inversion: G♭–B♭–C–E♭, G♭ lowest. RH 1-2-3-5.
- 3rd inversion: B♭–C–E♭–G♭ (B♭ in the bass). Right hand 1-2-3-5.
Inversions keep the same notes and change which one is lowest. Moving between chords, pick the inversion that keeps your hand closest to where it already is.
Cm7♭5 chord changes
Songs rarely hold Cm7♭5 for long. Here's what your hand does on the moves that come up most.
- F7 (the iiø7 of a minor key heads to V7): Cm7♭5 to F7: play F7 in 2nd inversion (C–E♭–F–A) and C and E♭ stay under the same fingers, while G♭ moves down to F and B♭ down to A. F7 on piano
- C♯maj7 (I in D♭ major): Cm7♭5 to C♯maj7: play C♯maj7 in 3rd inversion (B♯–C♯–E♯–G♯) and B♯ stays under the same finger, while E♭ moves down to C♯, G♭ down to E♯ and B♭ down to G♯. C♯maj7 on piano
- Fm7 (iii in D♭ major): Cm7♭5 to Fm7: play Fm7 in 2nd inversion (C–E♭–F–A♭) and C and E♭ stay under the same fingers, while G♭ moves down to F and B♭ down to A♭. Fm7 on piano
Cm7♭5 is a half-diminished chord (minor seventh flat five). Cm7♭5 is the ii chord of a minor key, the first step of a minor ii–V–i. On piano you hear it best with the keys pressed together, then rolled.
Getting Cm7♭5 under your fingers
Roll the chord up and back down, C, E♭, G♭, B♭, G♭, E♭, C, before playing it as a block. Then climb the inversions: C–E♭–G♭–B♭, then E♭–G♭–B♭–C, then G♭–B♭–C–E♭, then B♭–C–E♭–G♭.
The keys of Cm7♭5
Cm7♭5 is a half-diminished chord, 1–♭3–♭5–♭7 from C. Root position, from the bottom: how Cm7♭5 is built.
| Note | Key | Fingers | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | white key | RH 1 · LH 5 | root |
| E♭ | black key | RH 2 · LH 3 | minor third |
| G♭ | black key | RH 3 · LH 2 | diminished fifth |
| B♭ | black key | RH 5 · LH 1 | minor seventh |
Cm7♭5 in context
Cm7♭5 on guitar and ukulele
Switching instruments? Try Cm7♭5 on ukulele or Cm7♭5 on guitar, or compare them on the Cm7♭5 chord page.
Next to try on piano
Other half-diminished chords
Cm7♭5 on piano: questions
What notes are in Cm7♭5 on piano?
C, E♭, G♭ and B♭: C (white key), E♭ (black key), G♭ (black key) and B♭ (black key). Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1.
How do you play Cm7♭5 on piano?
Press C, E♭, G♭ and B♭ together (3 black, 1 white). Right hand: 1 on C, 2 on E♭, 3 on G♭ and 5 on B♭.
What are the inversions of Cm7♭5?
1st inversion (E♭–G♭–B♭–C), 2nd inversion (G♭–B♭–C–E♭) and 3rd inversion (B♭–C–E♭–G♭), after root position (C–E♭–G♭–B♭). Each keeps all the notes of the chord.
What does Cm7♭5 look like on the keyboard?
white, black, black and black keys.
Every shape above plays only C, E♭, G♭ and B♭, checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.