CHORD REFERENCE

B7♭5

B – D♯ – F – A1 3 b5 b7

The B 7♭5 chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
B1D♯3Fb5Ab7

B7♭5 is B, D#, F, A — the 1, 3, b5 and b7 above the root B.

Piano
BFAD♯
Guitar

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eFABD♯BBD♯FABGABD♯FDD♯FABAABD♯FAEFABD♯

Root notes are red. There is no standard open shape for this chord — any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

357912AABD♯FAEFABD♯CD♯FABGABD♯F

Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only B, D#, F, A plays the chord.

In which keys

B7♭5 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other B chords

Triads

BMajorBmMinorB5Power Chord (5)BdimDiminishedBaugAugmentedBsus2Suspended 2ndBsus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

B6Major 6thBm6Minor 6thB7Dominant 7thBmaj7Major 7thBm7Minor 7thBm(maj7)Minor–Major 7thBdim7Diminished 7thBm7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)B7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

B7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)B7♭97♭9B7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

Badd9Added 9thB6/96/9B9Dominant 9thBmaj9Major 9thBm9Minor 9thB11Dominant 11thB13Dominant 13th
7♭5 on another root
CC♯DE♭EFF♯GG♯AB♭B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.