Master the B 7b5 Guitar Chord

B7b5, the B seventh flat five chord, is spelled B, D#, F and A. The F is a diminished fifth above the root, a tritone, in place of the F# of a normal B7.

You will find three voicings here, with one barre and no open strings; the lowest sits at the 2nd fret. The same four pitches also belong to F7b5. To see why the chord sounds the way it does, read about intervals on the fretboard. The B Lydian dominant scale contains all of them.

The player labels each note, so the F and the A are easy to find.

B 7th with flat 5th guitar chord is also written as B7b5, B7(b5) or B7-5.

B 7b5 chord Notes:

B D# F A

Chord formula for the Dominant Seventh Flat five chord:

Formula: 1 3 b5 b7

B 7b5 Chord Interactive Fretboard

Want a structured chord roadmap instead of jumping between pages?
Go to the full guitar chords tutorial.

B 7b5 Guitar Chord Diagrams

Position 1 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the A and G strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 3 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 4 of the B string

Position 2 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 6 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 7 of the D string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the high E string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 8 of the G string

Position 3 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 9 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 10 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the B string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 11 of the high E string

Find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf

Play This Chord With Other Roots

C 7b5 | D 7b5 | E 7b5 | F 7b5 | G 7b5 | A 7b5 | B 7b5 | C#7b5 | D#7b5 | F#7b5 | G#7b5 | A#7b5 | Ab7b5 | Bb7b5 | Db7b5 | Eb7b5 | Gb7b5

Want to Learn Everything About Chords?

Check Chords Domination out: a unique ebook that shows you finger positions, note names and intervals in the chords (plus a tones fretboard maps)

You'll learn how to play 44 chords types across all the fretboard, with many voicings and fingerings

In the ebook you can also find maps show you the tones in a chord all along the fretboard. They are incredibly helpful because allow you to:

Create new voicings on the fly, across all the neck
Improvise targeting the right notes
Unlock the fretboard and expand the CAGED system.

In the new ebook, Chords Domination, you'll find the fretboard tones maps for 44 different qualities of chords. Check it out:

Download Free Excerpt Learn More Here

Created by

Giancarlo Facoetti

Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher

FAQ

Which notes spell B7b5?

B7b5 is B, D#, F and A. The F is the lowered fifth, a semitone under the F# of B7.

How is B seventh flat five different from B7?

B7 has B, D#, F# and A. B7b5 swaps the F# for F, so the fifth is diminished and the chord gains tension.

How many B7b5 voicings are there?

There are 3 voicings, from fret 2 to fret 11. One is a barre voicing and none uses an open string.

Which scale suits B7b5?

The B whole-tone scale is B, C#, D#, E#, F## and A. All four chord pitches are in it, with the chord's F written as E#.

Where is the tritone in B7b5?

B and F are a tritone apart, and so are D# and A. Both pairs sit inside the chord at the same time.