Ukulele · half diminished seventh
Am7♭5 Chord on Ukulele
A Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) is A, C, Eb, G — 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 Am7b5 on ukulele. The one shape below sits up the neck and is rated intermediate.
Start here — Movable m7b5 Shape (11th fret)
Sits at fret 11 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: Movable m7b5 Shape (11th fret).
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Am7b5 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Guitar
Am7♭5 on guitar
2 voicings · easiest is intermediate
Piano
Am7♭5 on piano
3 voicings · easiest is intermediate
Bass
Am7♭5 on bass
1 voicing · easiest is advanced
Mandolin
Am7♭5 on mandolin
1 voicing · easiest is intermediate
Banjo
Am7♭5 on banjo
1 voicing · easiest is advanced
Or see A Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) on every instrument at once.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on ukulele.
Am7b5 on Ukulele — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Am7b5 on ukulele?
“Movable m7b5 Shape (11th fret)” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest Am7b5 shape on ukulele. Sits at fret 11 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath. There is no open Am7b5 on ukulele, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the A Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) chord?
A Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5) is A, C, Eb, G — 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 Am7b5?
The nearest stand-ins on ukulele that keep the same root are Asus4, Asus2, A. 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 Am7b5 on other instruments?
Yes. Am7b5 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind Am7b5
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