A half-diminished arpeggio, also called a minor 7 b5 arpeggio, takes the notes of a minor 7 b5 chord and plays them one at a time.

Compared with the minor 7 arpeggio from the previous lesson, the 5th is lowered by one fret. That b5 gives the chord its half-diminished sound.

In this lesson, you’ll learn the minor 7 b5 formula, movable arpeggio shapes, and ways to use those chord tones in your improvising.

Understanding half diminished arpeggios

A half-diminished chord, also called minor 7 b5, contains the chord tones 1, b3, b5, and b7.

For example, C minor 7 b5 contains C, Eb, Gb, and Bb. You can think of it as a diminished triad with an added b7.

For comparison, a fully diminished 7 chord contains 1, b3, b5, and 6.

Here is the formula for minor 7 b5 chords below.

Compare C minor 7 and C minor 7 b5 arpeggios. Both contain C, Eb, and Bb. The only change is G moving down to Gb. Play both slowly and listen to how that one note changes the chord quality.

If you don’t know how to play these chords, see this lesson on minor 7 b5 chords on guitar.

Now that you know what notes belong to the minor 7 b5 chord structure, let’s look at how to read the chord charts.

How to read the chord charts

For the chord charts below:

• The top horizontal line of the chord chart represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. 
• The vertical lines separate each fret. 
• The green dots represent the root note.

You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.

The shapes below give you several ways to find minor 7 b5 chord tones across the fretboard. Start with one shape that feels comfortable, then use the others to expand into neighboring areas of the neck.

Minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape 1

Here is the first shape with the root note starting on the 6th string. You can use any root note to play these examples but we’ll cover application examples later in this lesson.

For the following charts, the left side shows you the suggested fingering for an arpeggio and the right side shows you what chord tones you are playing.

Play Shape 1 slowly and say the chord tones as you go: 1, b3, b5, b7. Then play it descending and keep track of the root notes inside the shape. Move the same arpeggio shape to one other root, name the new minor 7 b5 chord, and keep track of the same 1, b3, b5, b7 relationships.

Minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape 2

Minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape 3

Now, here is a minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape with the root note starting on the 5th string.

Minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape 4

Here is another way you can play the arpeggio with the root note on the 5th string.

Minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape 5

Once your first shape is comfortable, choose one neighboring shape and compare where the same 1, b3, b5, and b7 chord tones appear.

The diagrams below show how the minor 7 b5 arpeggio shapes connect across the fretboard in several keys. Use them as maps when you want to move beyond one position.

All arpeggio shapes on the fretboard

To help you connect all the shapes we learned, here are all the arpeggio shapes on the fretboard using an A minor 7 b5 chord arpeggio.

A half diminished arpeggios

Find your starting A minor 7 b5 arpeggio shape on the full fretboard map. Then locate one neighboring position and create a short line that moves from the first shape into the second.

B half diminished arpeggios

Here are all the arpeggio shapes on the fretboard using a B minor 7 b5 chord arpeggio.

E half diminished arpeggios

Here are all the arpeggio shapes on the fretboard using an E minor 7 b5 chord arpeggio.

Minor 7 b5 arpeggio application examples

The examples below show how minor 7 b5 chord tones can become musical phrases instead of simply running an arpeggio shape up and down.

Application example 1

This first example uses an ascending four-note pattern with only the C minor 7 b5 chord tones: C, Eb, Gb, and Bb.

Application example 2

Next, we have a descending arpeggio pattern that skips one note after every chord tone.

Play over a C minor 7 b5 chord or backing track using only C, Eb, Gb, and Bb. Change the rhythm, repeat short ideas, and leave space instead of continuously running the arpeggio.

Application example 3

Once the minor 7 b5 chord tones are clear, you can connect them with nearby scale or chromatic notes. The arpeggio tones still help the phrase clearly outline the chord.

Create a short phrase that begins and ends on minor 7 b5 arpeggio tones, then connect them with one or two nearby scale notes.

Application example 4

Example 4 also combines arpeggio note skipping with nearby scale notes.

Application example 5

The final example combines the half-diminished arpeggio with chromatic and blues-influenced notes for another melodic sound.

The notes in the 2nd measure outline an Eb minor blues scale with a 6th degree instead of b7.

Put on a minor 7 b5 chord or simple backing track. Create two short phrases with one arpeggio shape. First use only 1, b3, b5, and b7. Then keep those chord tones as your main targets while adding one or two nearby scale notes.

Wrapping up

Half-diminished arpeggios give you the 1, b3, b5, and b7 of a minor 7 b5 chord as individual notes you can use melodically.

Start with one movable shape, keep track of the chord tones inside it, and notice how lowering the 5th distinguishes this sound from the minor 7 arpeggio.

From there, the additional shapes, fretboard maps, and later examples give you more ways to combine these chord tones with scale and chromatic notes.

These four arpeggio qualities give you a strong foundation for following different 7th chords with more intentional melodic ideas.

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