Drop 2 Chords – Voicings,
Drop 2 Chords – Voicings, Prog ! PUBLISHED IN BEGINNER, JAZZ GUITAR CHORDS, JAZZ GUITAR LESSONS
Drop 2 chords are one of the most popular guitar chord shapes, and are built with the rootThese powerful chords are used to comp, chord solo, and build chord melodies by the great Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, George Benson, and others have used drop 2 chords Because they’re essential shapes, drop 2 chords are required learning for any guitarist lear While learning to play drop 2 chord inversions is important, it’s more important to apply th That’s why, in this lesson you apply drop 2 chords to major and minor ii V Is, and learn a Blu By studying drop 2 inversions, applying them to progressions, and working them on jazz sta shapes. Take your time when learning drop 2 chords, there’s no hurry to master these important gu Learn one group of inversions, then the next, and make sure to run them through the exerci Most importantly, apply them to your playing as you take drop 2 chords from the page to th
Table of Contents (Click to
What Are Drop 2 Chords? Drop 2 Maj7 Chords Drop 2 7 thChords Drop 2 m7 Chords Drop 2 m7b5 Chords Drop 2 Dim7 Chords Drop 2 mMaj7 Chords Drop 2 7#11 Chords Drop 2 Maj7#11 Chords Drop 2 Chord Exercise 1 Drop 2 Chord Exercise 2 Drop 2 Chord Exercise 3 Drop 2 Major ii V I Chord Phrases Drop 2 Minor ii V I Chord Phrases Drop 2 Blues for Alice Chords
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What Are Drop 2 Cho
One of the questions I often get from guitarists about jazz guitar chords is:
“How do you build a drop 2 chord?”
The name drop 2 is used because you take a closed position chord, 1-3-5-7, and “drop” the This forms the initial interval pattern 5-1-3-7. Here’s how that looks to help you visualize this chord construction. The closed maj7 chord is on the left and the drop 2 maj7 chord shape is on the right.
When you drop the 2 nd note of any closed-position chord, you produce the following interv
Root Position – R-5-7-3 1st Inversion – 3-7-R-5 2nd Inversion – 5-R-3-7 3rd Inversion – 7-3-5-R
Notice that the 3 rd and 7th, and the root and 5 th, are always next to each other. This helps you identify the intervals within any drop 2 chord shape on the fretboard. Lastly, this formula works for any chord type you can think of, you just alter the interval qua For example, a root position drop 2 7 th chord is built R-5-b7-3, a m7 chord would be R-5-b7 The intervals change to match the chord, but the order of the intervals remains the same. To help you take these shapes onto the fretboard, here are 12 different drop 2 chords for t Each of these drop 2 chords is written with a C root, so make sure to move them to other ke practice routine.
Drop 2 Maj7 Chor To begin, here are 12 different Cmaj7 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-5-7-3 1st Inversion – 3-7-R-5 2nd Inversion – 5-R-3-7 3rd Inversion – 7-3-5-R
Here are four inversions of Cmaj7 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 7th Chord Here are 12 different C7 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-5-b7-3 1st Inversion – 3-b7-R-5 2nd Inversion – 5-R-3-b7 3rd Inversion – b7-3-5-R
Here are four inversions of C7 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 m7 Chord Here are 12 different Cm7 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-5-b7-b3 1st Inversion – b3-b7-R-5 2nd Inversion – 5-R-b3-b7 3rd Inversion – b7-b3-5-R
Here are four inversions of Cm7 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 m7b5 Chor Here are 12 different Cm7b5 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-b5-b7-b3 1st Inversion – b3-b7-R-b5 2nd Inversion – b5-R-b3-b7 3rd Inversion – b7-b3-b5-R
Here are four inversions of Cm7b5 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 dim7 Chor Here are 12 different Cdim7 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-b5-bb7-b3 1st Inversion – b3-bb7-R-b5 2nd Inversion – b5-R-b3-bb7 3rd Inversion – bb7-b3-b5-R
Here are four inversions of Cdim7 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 mMaj7 Cho Here are 12 different CmMaj7 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-5-7-b3 1st Inversion – b3-7-R-5 2nd Inversion – 5-R-b3-7 3rd Inversion – 7-b3-5-R
Here are four inversions of CmMaj7 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 7#11 Chord Here are 12 different C7#11 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-#11-b7-3 1st Inversion – 3-b7-R-#11 2nd Inversion – #11-R-3-b7 3rd Inversion – b7-3-#11-R
Here are four inversions of C7#11 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 Maj7#11 Cho Here are 12 different Cmaj7#11 drop 2 chords, which have the interval structure:
Root Position – R-#11-7-3 1st Inversion – 3-7-R-#11 2nd Inversion – #11-R-3-7 3rd Inversion – 7-3-#11-R
Here are four inversions of Cmaj7#11 on the lowest four strings of the guitar.
You can now learn these chords on the middle four strings.
Finally, you can play these chords on the top 4 strings of the fretboard.
Drop 2 Chords Exerc The first exercise is based chords that are only one note different from each other, and the Here’s my favorite example of this exercise that covers 5 different chord types in one exerc Play these chords using drop 2 shapes in C before moving them to other keys. You can use any string set and any inversion to outline these shapes, just stick to the same So, if you play the first Cmaj7 chord as a 1 st inversion on the middle four strings, keep that i exercise.
To help you take this progression to your studies, here’s a sample version of the above exer
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Here’s another progression that I like to use where the second chord is built by altering one
To help you take this progression into the practice room, here’s a sample version.
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Lastly, here’s another chord progression you can use to memorize various types of drop 2 c
And here’s a sample of this exercise to work on in your jazz guitar practice routine.
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Once you’ve worked through these progressions, come up with your own progressions to
Drop 2 Chords Exerc This exercise outlines major key ii V I VI changes using drop 2 voice leading. Begin on any iim7 drop 2 chord, and then move to the closest V7 chord, Imaj7, and VI7b9 c Here’s how that looks on the guitar.
When doing so, you will always use the following inversions for each chord.
R-2nd-R-1st 1st-3rd-1st-2nd 2nd-R-2nd-3rd rd
rd
3 -1st-3 -R
This order of inversions is the same for major and minor ii V I vi progressions, so it’s worth Once you worked out this example, move to other inversions of Dm7 on the top-4 strings a
Then, move on to different keys on that string set, and onto other string sets before applyin
Drop 2 Chords Exerc You can then repeat the previous exercise with minor key ii V I vi chords, as in the following When doing so, you use the progression:
iim7b5 V7b9 ImMaj7 vim7b5
Here’s how those chords look on the guitar.
Once you have these shapes in various keys and string sets, take them to a tune such as Aut
Drop 2 Major ii V I Chord As well as running drop 2 chords through progressions, it’s important to learn drop 2 vocab The following chord licks use drop 2 chords over the most common jazz chord progression, Each of these phrases can be used in your comping, chord soloing, or chord melody as you a Because you applying these phrases in real time, learn them in the original key first, then ta As well, jam over a jazz standard and apply each lick one at a time to your chord soloing and This approach prepares you to apply these licks in a jam situation, as well as how they sit on There are backing tracks provided to practice them in the given key, as well as audio to play
To begin, here’s a Joe Pass inspired drop 2 lick that outlines a short major ii V I progression. Notice the chromatic passing notes, Gb and Eb, used to add tension to the line. As well, a Bm7b5 drop 2 chord is used to outline the 3 to 9 shape over G7. If you’re new to this, check out my lesson on extended jazz guitar chords for background on
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The next line is a mixture of Joe Pass and Ed Bickert. Again, Bm7b5 is used over G7, as well as Bbdim7 and Gdim7 over A7b9 in the last bar of th The opening run is a classic Joe Pass lick; one you should extract and apply to any m7 in you
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The final major ii V I phrase uses chord scales to outline each chord.
Here, you use diatonic chords, and one passing chord (F#dim7), to outline the progression. This approach adds movement to the progression, creating interest beyond the shapes you
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Drop 2 Minor ii V I Chord You’ll now apply drop 2 chords to minor key chord progressions. In this first phrase, you use a common application over the first two chords. Here, you play Am7b5 over Am7b5, then over D7alt, you play Cm7b5. When doing so, you create a 7alt sound. This allows you to use the same shapes over the iim7b5 and V7alt chords, creating differen
Then, over the Gm7 chord, you use Bbmaj7 for the first shape of that chord. This is another 3 to 9, similar to G7 in the previous 3 licks, only here it’s applied to a m7 cho When playing m7 chords, you can play a maj7 chord from the b3 to outline a rootless m9.
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The next line is played over a long minor ii V I progression in G minor. You use Am7b5 inversions over the first bar, then Ebdim7 and F#dim7 shapes over D7alt, c in the third bar, you be use the Joe Pass m7 run you saw in the major ii V I section, this time The line then finishes on a Bbmaj7 chord over Gm7 to produce another example of a rootle
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The final minor ii V I phrase uses a static rhythm, chords on the & of 1 and 3, to outline the c Beyond that, you use a C7sus drop 2 chord to create a Gm11 sound over the last chord. By lowering the 5th of Gm7 by a tone, you create a Gm11, which is the same shape as a C7s This isn’t a common sub, but it’s one that adds flavor to your comping and chord soloing.
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Drop 2 Blues for Alice To finish your introduction to drop 2 chords, here’s a study written out over the changes to Go slow when learning this study, working two or four-bar phrases one at a time until they’ From there, connect each phrase to form the whole study. There’s a backing track included so you can practice playing this study and comp over with
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