E7b5

E7b5 is E, G#, Bb and D, a seven flat five. The shape this page opens on is written 010130, lowest string first.

Note by note. E is the root, G# is the major third, Bb is the flat fifth and D is the flat seventh.

Also written E7(b5), E7-5 or E7♭5. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.

There are 6 common shapes for E7b5 on the guitar, and 29 derived voicings in 3 families.

One note away. Change a single note of E7b5 and you have Emaj7b5 (with one note moved), Em7b5 (with one note moved), E7 (with one note moved), Eaug7 (with one note moved), E9b5 (with one note added) or E/D (with one note moved).

The common shapes, written lowest string first: 010130, xx2334, x56756, xx6756, x7879x, 12-x-12-13-11-x.

Under the hand. 1 of the 6 shapes here sits in open position, and the first uses 3 open strings. None of them needs a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 13th.

Where it goes. E7b5 is a dominant with its tension raised, so it still points at A — harder than a plain seventh does, because the altered tones sit a semitone from where they are going.

Shell. Root, third and seventh: the guide tones fix the quality, so the fifth is dropped. That is what leaves a string free, so pick a tension to put on top. E7b5 has 0563xx, x7x796, 12-x-12-13-11-x, 12-11-12-15-x-x, xx2136, x-7-6-7-11-x.

Drop 2. A close-position chord with the second voice from the top lowered an octave. Sits on four adjacent strings. E7b5 has x1213x, 0101xx, xx2334, xx6756, 6767xx, x7879x, x-x-8-9-9-10, x-x-12-13-11-12.

Drop 3. The third voice from the top lowered an octave. The dropped voice becomes the bass, which is why a string is skipped. E7b5 has x1x130, 4x233x, x5x354, 6x675x, x7x796, 10-x-8-9-9-x, x-11-x-9-11-10, 12-x-12-13-11-x.

Tensions. A shell of E7b5, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the b9 (F), the 9 (F#), the #9 (F##), the b13 (C) and the 13 (C#).

What kind of chord this is. E7b5 is an altered chord — a dominant seventh with its fifth or ninth moved. altered dominant chords on every root, and what they are for.

The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.