Fm7♭5 chord on ukulele

Fm7♭5 is F, A♭, C♭ and E♭. The usual shape is 1-3-1-2. Play it once at full speed, then at a quarter to hear every note.

1-3-1-2 · movable · medium

Notes: F · A♭ · C♭ · E♭
Formula: 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭7
First shape: 1-3-1-2

How to play Fm7♭5 on ukulele

Shape 1, 1-3-1-2, reading from the G string on the left:

Index finger: G string, 1st fret (A♭).
Middle finger: E string, 1st fret (F).
Ring finger: A string, 2nd fret (C♭).
Pinky: C string, 3rd fret (E♭).

Your little finger has a job in this shape; it gets stronger in a week or two of short daily practice.
On ukulele you strum all four strings. The top G string is tuned higher than the C, which is why ukulele chords sound bright and close.

Other ways to play Fm7♭5

4-5-4-6: movable shape at the 4th fret, medium. Use it when the next chord sits nearby on the neck.
8-8-7-8: movable shape at the 7th fret, medium. Up the neck the chord gets thinner and brighter, a good contrast to the open version.
10-11-11-11: movable shape at the 10th fret, medium. Higher up the neck it sounds brighter; handy when another guitar is already playing a lower shape.

Moving between Fm7♭5 and its neighbours

The chords Fm7♭5 usually goes to, and what changes under your fingers.

B♭7 (the iiø7 of a minor key heads to V7): Fm7♭5 (1-3-1-2) to B♭7 (1-2-1-1): your index and middle fingers stay put, the ring finger goes to the A string, 1st fret, your pinky finger lands on the C string, 2nd fret. Listen for F and A♭, which stay put while the rest moves. B♭7 on ukulele
F♯maj7 (I in F♯ major): Fm7♭5 (1-3-1-2) to F♯maj7 (3-5-2-4): the index finger goes to the E string, 2nd fret, the middle finger goes to the G string, 3rd fret, your ring finger lands on the A string, 4th fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Shared note: F. F♯maj7 on ukulele
B♭m7 (iii in F♯ major): Fm7♭5 (1-3-1-2) to B♭m7 (1-1-1-1): your index finger stays put, the middle finger slides across to the C string at the same fret, the ring finger goes to the E string, 1st fret, move the pinky finger to the A string, 1st fret. Shared notes: F and A♭. B♭m7 on ukulele

Fm7♭5 is a half-diminished chord (minor seventh flat five). All 4 notes of Fm7♭5 fit on the ukulele's four strings. On ukulele you hear it best picked slowly, string by string.

A short Fm7♭5 drill

Pick shape 1 one string at a time, low to high: A♭, E♭, F, C♭. Every note should ring clearly; if one thuds, adjust that finger before you strum. Finish by moving between 1-3-1-2 and 4-5-4-6 to learn two positions of the same chord.

Keys and progressions with Fm7♭5

Fm7♭5 on guitar and piano

Fm7♭5 on guitar and piano uses the same 4 notes in a different layout. See all three together.

Related F chords on ukulele

Other half-diminished chords

Fm7♭5 on ukulele: questions

What notes are in Fm7♭5 on ukulele?

F, A♭, C♭ and E♭. In the 1-3-1-2 shape the strings play A♭ (G string), E♭ (C string), F (E string) and C♭ (A string).

What's the easiest way to play Fm7♭5 on ukulele?

No open-string Fm7♭5 exists in standard tuning; 1-3-1-2 is the place to start. It uses 4 fingers and no barre, and in many songs a capo can take over part of the work.

Is Fm7♭5 a barre chord on ukulele?

Not the usual shape: 1-3-1-2 needs no barre.

Which string does Fm7♭5 start on?

In the 1-3-1-2 shape the lowest string you play is the G string at the 1st fret, which is A♭, the minor third.

Checked automatically: no shape here plays a note outside Fm7♭5. Updated September 2026.