Bass · half diminished seventh
Dm7♭5 Chord on Bass
D Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) is D, F, Ab, C — the 1-b3-b5-b7 pattern of a half diminished seventh chord. Here is the shape, the audio, and what usually goes wrong.
There is no open Dm7b5 on bass — the single shape below is a barre, which is exactly why this chord trips people up. Take it slowly and check every string.
Start here — Root-b3-b5-b7 Shape (10th fret)
Barre at fret 10 — the same movable idea, further up the neck: brighter, more compact, and easier to reach if you are already playing up there.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: Root-b3-b5-b7 Shape (10th fret) — barred at fret 10.
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Dm7b5 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Guitar
Dm7♭5 on guitar
2 voicings · easiest is intermediate
Piano
Dm7♭5 on piano
3 voicings · easiest is intermediate
Ukulele
Dm7♭5 on ukulele
1 voicing · easiest is intermediate
Mandolin
Dm7♭5 on mandolin
1 voicing · easiest is intermediate
Banjo
Dm7♭5 on banjo
1 voicing · easiest is advanced
Or see D Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) on every instrument at once.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on bass.
Dm7b5 on Bass — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Dm7b5 on bass?
“Root-b3-b5-b7 Shape (10th fret)” — which we rate advanced — is the easiest Dm7b5 shape on bass. Barre at fret 10 — the same movable idea, further up the neck: brighter, more compact, and easier to reach if you are already playing up there. There is no open Dm7b5 on bass, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the D Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) chord?
D Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) is D, F, Ab, C — the 1-b3-b5-b7 interval pattern of a half diminished seventh chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
What can I play instead of Dm7b5?
The nearest stand-ins on bass that keep the same root are Dsus4, Dsus2, D. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play Dm7b5 on other instruments?
Yes. Dm7b5 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, ukulele, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind Dm7b5
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Functional Harmony: Three Roles, One Engine
Diminished chords are almost always doing a job. This explains which one.
6 min read
Cadences — The Four Ways a Phrase Ends
Where all that tension goes — how the chord resolves into the next one.
4 min read
Voice Leading — Hold What You Can, Move Only What You Must
Half-steps do the work here. Voice leading is how you find them.
6 min read