# What is this chord? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 3, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927 "2021-08-03T03:06:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/1 "2021-08-03T03:06:24Z")
The highlighted one. When I first looked at it, I saw an A Major chord and thought WTF?? But then I looked again and realized that there was an Eb, not an E. D’oh! So, next I saw the tritone between Eb and A, and thought of a tritone sub. This would be B7, and the rest of the notes didn’t make any sense for B7 Now I’m thinking it’s a half-diminished chord - or Ebm7(b5)… is that correct? The prominent Ab’s in the right hand confuse the issue, but I guess they can be considered neighbour tones, or passing notes of some type. Also the spelling of the chord, why not a Db? Your thoughts? [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hlfu54gnohvzf5c/RhapsodyInBlue.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hlfu54gnohvzf5c/RhapsodyInBlue.jpg?dl=0) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/2 "2021-08-03T03:29:45Z")
I guess the C# means it is an inverted, altered A major chord? (Which you said)… not that this does not require further thought ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/3 "2021-08-03T03:44:18Z")
I think your reading is correct. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/4 "2021-08-03T15:28:03Z")
Now that I listen to it, I wonder if we are supposed to hear it as a diminished chord? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/5 "2021-08-03T17:18:43Z")
Just playing it on piano, it does seem like it’s a Bb chord to an Ebø7 chord back to a Bb7 chord, but that C# spelling is indeed weird. The next measure in the chromatic walkdown has no problem using a Cb, rather than a B natural, so you’d think they’d use a Db. My best guess is that it was originally thought of as a fully diminished chord, which would include a C natural, but then that note is sharpened to make it a half-diminished chord (aka m7b5). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/6 "2021-08-03T23:46:53Z")
Doesn’t a diminished chord include flats, so based on Eb you get Eb–Gb–Bbb–Dbb ? No C natural. Now if you sharpen the Dbb you get Db, still no C# nor A natural for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/7 "2021-08-04T00:22:34Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Doesn’t a diminished chord include flats, so based on Eb you get Eb–Gb–Bbb–Dbb ? No C natural. Now if you sharpen the Dbb you get Db, still no C# nor A natural for that matter. Technically yes, and I even thought about this. However, it seems to me that most people avoid the double flats when spelling out diminished chords. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-chord/947927/8 "2021-08-07T05:01:01Z")
Here is a little hijack: consider “Naima”. The second chord in the third bar. What “is” it? One version says Gmaj7/Eb. Wikipedia says Gmaj7+5/Eb. There is a _Real Book_ Xerox that has A7b5/Eb. Yet another source writes Eb7alt…