Ab Half-Diminished Chord

What is the Ab Half-Diminished Chord?

The Ab Half-Diminished chord is a useful grip to learn because it shows you the core chord tones you'll reuse in riffs, progressions, and improvisation. This chord is enharmonically equivalent to G# Half-Diminished.

Notes and Arpeggios

The half-diminished chord (m7♭5) combines a diminished triad with a minor 7th, and it's the classic "ii" chord in minor keys. It has a dark, yearning quality that sets up dominant-to-tonic resolutions beautifully. The chord tones are: Ab, Cb, Ebb, Gb. It's built from degrees 1, b3, b5, and b7.

How to Use It

This is especially common in blues and jazz, and it also shows up in funk and R&B comping. On bass, you usually outline this chord instead of strumming it: emphasize the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th as the harmony requires, then use passing tones to connect back to the groove.

Move between this chord and its nearest neighbor without leaving the same four- or five-fret box. Use the highlights to spot where the same tone repeats across strings.