Learning mandolin chord shapes can seem tricky but an easy start is to focus on some of the basic chord shapes. In this series, I’m going to cover various chord shapes of a particular type.
In today’s review we’ll continue our look at the Diminished chords with Half Diminished chords.
What is a Half Diminished?
Half diminished chords are the 1 b3, b5 and b7 of a key. The two main notations for diminished chords are either “ø” or “m7b5”.
Diminished chords are unstable chords that want to resolve to the root chord. The unstable nature of these chords makes them great “movement” chords to help get from one part to another.
One thing to note, Diminished triads (1 b3 b5) share a lot of notes with 7th chords. As such, you’ll probably notice a few shapes that look similar to 7th chords. As a general rule, by adding the note a 3rd below the root of a half diminished chord, you’ll have a 9th chord of that note. For example, playing B D F A would be a Bm7b5. If you add G, you’d get G B D F A or G9. I’d suggest taking note of these similarities as they can be really helpful.
3 note vs 4 note Mandolin chord Shapes
In my diagrams I’ll mostly display 4 note chords, though I will explain 3 note variations in some cases. While you can certainly play just 3 note chords and be great (a la Jethro Burns for example), learning the 4 note variations gives you more bang for your buck without really any more effort. Plus, knowing the 4 note chord allows you the flexibility to drop one note to get a 3 note variation if you want – giving you a lot more options with less to memorize.
That said, for chords that require 4 or more notes (like Half Diminished chords), playing the 3 note variation can work but will make the chord more ambiguous depending on the note you leave out. As a general rule, leaving out the root is often your best bet when playing with a group since someone (bass, guitar etc) will play it. Depending on the context, that may be a great thing or a horrible thing – so use your ear when deciding.
What’s the “starting fret”?
The shapes here are general moveable patterns – meaning there’s no specific starting fret. Simply find the root note on the fretboard and that will tell you what fret you should start on etc. Using a fretboard roadmap like this can help.
Shape names
I may be giving up on the quirky names for now. If you have any suggestions, post them in the comments 😉
Root on the G – Shape 1
While not my “go to” shape, it is a real handy one. I usually “bar” the A and E strings with one finger – though I suppose you could use your pinky on the E (I can’t, but you might haha).
Generally fingers are:
G String – Middle
D String – First
A String – Ring
E String – Ring
Root on the G – Shape 2
Unless there’s a real good reason, I usually only use the 3 note variation of this shape using the D A and E strings. Note the 3 note variation with the G D and A strings doesn’t really work since you’re missing out on the b3 – so it sounds more like a 7b5 instead of a m7b5. This can work in some cases, but it’s probably not a great variation.
The 3 note variation on the D A and E strings is really similar to a basic minor shape as well. If you play this shape starting on the 2nd fret of the G string for an Am7b5 but only played the D A and E strings, you’d be playing a C minor chord. This can be a helpful substitution to remember. I included the fingering for the D A E variation as well.
Generally fingers are:
G String – First (or n/a)
D String – Middle (or First)
A String – Ring (or Middle)
E String – Pinky (still pinky)
Root on the G – Shape 3
The full 4 note chord here can be a little stretchy, but it’s a good one to get down. Playing the rootless 3 note variation on the D A and E strings can be a good as well.
Similar to Root on G Shape 2, playing the 3 note variation here is really similar to a basic minor chord. In this case, if you played the 3 note variation with where the b3rd was on the 2nd fret of the D string, you’d be playing an Em chord.
Generally fingers are:
G String – Pinky
D String – First
A String – First
E String – Middle
Root on D – Shape 1
This shape is deceptively fun to play. It looks annoying, but is easy to hit with some practice – and the b7th on the high E gives it a real funky feel.
The 3 note variation on the G D and A strings (technically just a Diminished triad) is similar to a 7th chord. If you played this so the Root was on the 7th fret of the D strings (playing an Am7b5) and just played the 3 note variation – you’d be playing an F7 chord.
You could do a rootless 3 note variation with G A and E strings – skipping over (and muting) the D string. It can be a fun variation in some contexts making it worth knowing – but it’s not a lot different from the full 4 note chord really.
Generally fingers are:
G String – Middle
D String – Pinky
A String – Ring
E String – First
Root on D – Shape 2
One of my “go to” m7b5 shapes is this chord. The positioning makes it really easy to change to other chords without too much finger movement. I also find it one of the easy m7b5 shapes to play.
When using the 3 note variations, you can also see some similarities in other chords. For example, if you played this with the Root on the 2nd fret of the D (playing Em7b5), the 3 note variation on the G D and A strings is similar to a rootless C9 chord, while the 3 note variation on the D A and E strings is similar to a G6 chord.
Generally fingers are:
G String – Pinky
D String – Ring
A String – First
E String – Middle
Root on the A – Shape 1
This is another great “go to” shape once you get it down. The fingering is a little different than you might expect, but it’s another fun funky chord.
Generally fingers are:
G String – Middle
D String – First
A String – Pinky
E String – Ring
Root on the E – Shape 1
I use this shape all the time, especially when moving from a m7b5 to a 7th chord. It’s a pretty simple shape to remember as it’s almost just a straight line. Since the b3, b7, and root are all on the same fret, you could use your first finger to “bar” the fret if you wanted. While this works, I find it difficult to get a clean tone from all strings this way – so I suggest using your middle finger for the E string.
If you played this with the Root on the 2nd fret of the E (so F#m7b5), then moved the b5 and Root up one fret each (to the 4th and 3rd frets respectively), you’d have an A7 chord.
Generally fingers are:
G String – First
D String – First
A String – Ring
E String – Middle (or First)
Root on the E – Shape 2
I don’t use the full 4 note chord here too often, but I do use the rootless 3 note variation on the G D and A a lot. I find it’s a pretty versatile shape and because it stretches out across 5 frets, it can be really helpful in moving around the fretboard.
Note that the 3 note variation on G D and A is really similar to a basic minor chord.
Generally fingers are:
G String – First
D String – Middle
A String – Ring (or Pinky)
E String – Pinky (or n/a)
Wrapping Up
Half Diminished chords are great chords that often get a bad wrap as too complex. I hope this has helped clear up some of the mystery of these chords.
The next post in the Chord Shape series will further the review of Diminished Chords as we dive into the “Fully” Diminished 7th chords.
If you like’d this post or have questions, feel free to leave a comment below. If you’d like to take a deeper dive into chord shapes look click here for more information on private coaching. If you like this free content and would like more of it, considering donating to my site here – donations really help keep things going!
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