Why is it called drop 2?

The term Drop2 comes from taking the 2nd higest note in each one and drop it down an octave. This makes it possible to get the notes together in one position and yields the 4 voicings in the 2nd bar of example 1.

jenslarsen.nl - Drop 2 voicings – Part 1 – Jazz Chord Essentials | Jens Larsen

What notes are in a jazz scale piano?

F, Bb, Eb and Ab are all common keys in jazz since they work well for brass instrument. This guide will include Bebop Scales, Modal Scales and Jazz...

Last updated Aug 25, 2018

What is jazz melody?

Jazz has all the elements that other music has: It has melody; that's the tune of the song, the part you're most likely to remember. It has...

Last updated Nov 10, 2021

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

In this lesson on Drop2 chords I want to demonstrate a set of voicings that are fairly easy to play on the guitar and very useful for playing chords with extensions. I also want to talk a bit about how you approach playing chords in terms of interpretation of chord extensions, substitutes, connecting or voice-leading the chords. Hopefully it can help you learn and construct some new chords, and I hope it also helps you find new ways to play songs you already know and expand your ability to play chords freely.

What is a drop2 voicing

You might have heard the term Drop2 voicings before, and it is more or less considered basic voicing knowledge for mainstream jazz guitar. Lot’s of Wes Montgomery solos use drop2 voicings and it is also a huge part of bebop piano and bigband arranging. To explain why drop2 voicings are very handy on guitar try to play the first half of example 1. You should quickly notice that these basic inversions of an Am7 chord are very difficult to play and almost impossible to change a note in. Mainly because they are very stretchy to play. The term Drop2 comes from taking the 2nd higest note in each one and drop it down an octave. This makes it possible to get the notes together in one position and yields the 4 voicings in the 2nd bar of example 1. As you can tell these voicings are much easier to play and much more flexible so that we can change notes in them (that will prove essential in later lessons..)

Basic Exercises

I chose to keep it simple and only work with the top set of strings. In the long run it can be very useful to also check out the middle set of strings and possibly the lowest set. A complete overview of the drop2 voicings can be found here: Scale charts and chord voicings If you have checked out my lesson: Jazz Chord Survival Kit You know that in a major scale we have four basic types of 7th chords: m7, dom7, maj7 and m7b5. Here are the voicings for those 4 types of chords on the top string set:

What is the difference between a 61 key and 88-key?

One of the many choices you'll be confronted with is key, or note, configuration. A full-size keyboard has 88 keys, but 76- and 61-note keyboards...

Last updated Nov 21, 2018

What happens if you copy a key that says do not copy?

Have you ever needed to copy a key, but noticed the “DO NOT DUPLICATE” inscription on it? You probably wondered if it is illegal to duplicate the...

Last updated Dec 16, 2022

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »

Promotion

To get used to the sound of these chords and to get the voicings in to your fingers you should of course practice example 2 in all keys, but it can also be very useful to check out all cadences like I’ve written out in example 3: This way of grouping the chords together in the order you are very likely to use them is of course also very handy. And important part of the cadences is also that I chose vocings that have correct voiceleading which in this case means that you just stay in the neighbourhood whenever changing to the next chord. You could consider doing the minor cadences too. Another very useful exercise is to take the different drop2 inversions through a major scale as I have done in example 4. I only did two of the inversions, maybe try to figure out the last 2 by yourself. It should help getting to know major scales on the strings besides training the voicings themselves.

Putting it to use

As soon as you have a basic understanding and ability to play these voicings it is just as important to start working towards using them in real music. Below I’ve written out how I play the first 16 bars of Autumn Leaves with drop2 voicings. You should try to do this with a few songs as well. Autumn Leaves, Fly Me To The Moon and All The Things You Are could be good tunes to try because they cover a lot of chords from the same key(and some in more keys as well..) You could with this exercise of course try starting with each of the Cm7 voicings and then work out how to play the whole song, it will present you with choices because the guitar (like all instruments) have certain limitations for how low or high you want to go and then you should just try to find a practical and musical solution, that is how it works in a playing situation so that is what you should practice too.

Who invented school?

Horace Mann Horace Mann is considered as the inventor of the concept of school. He was born in 1796 and later became Secretary of Education in...

Last updated Oct 25, 2018

Is Kawai a Japanese piano?

Kawai is one of the largest manufactures of pianos in the world. Based out of Hamamatsu, Japan, Kawai distributes acoustic and digital pianos in...

Last updated Mar 14, 2022

Promotion

In the next part of the drop2 lessons I’ll start working on how to add extensions and alterations to the voicings. I’ll also give some more practical advice on how to use the voicings. I hope you can use the exercises to get started working on Drop2 voicings and that you can get it into you playing.

Check out how I use Drop2 voicings in this 3 chorus transcription/lesson:

Get a free E-book

If you want to download a Free E-book of 15 II Valt I licks then subscribe to my newsletter:

Get the PDF!

You can also download the PDF of my examples here:

Jazz Chord Essentials – Drop 2 voicings part 1

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and feel free to connect with me via Instagram,Twitter Google+ or Facebook to keep up to date with new lessons, concerts and releases.

jenslarsen.nl - Drop 2 voicings – Part 1 – Jazz Chord Essentials | Jens Larsen

What is the average life of a guitar?

The roughest estimation would be around 10 years for a cheap acousticclassical guitar. On the other hand, even cheap electric guitars will be able...

Last updated Aug 4, 2018

Is free sheet music legal?

But here's the good news ... With public domain sheet music you don't have to worry about any of this. If the music is in the public domain, you...

Last updated Nov 20, 2018

Promotion

Who is the evilest in Disney?

The Top 10 Disney Villains of All Time Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians) ... Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) ... Jafar (Aladdin) ... Gaston (Beauty and...

Last updated Aug 25, 2018

Promotion

Can a guitar play all notes?

You can play each note in multiple different ways (there's overlap), and you can cover every single one of the 37 notes your guitar can play by...

Last updated Sep 20, 2020