Drop-2 voicings on strings 5-4-3-2
Learn what "drop 2" means, play all four inversions of maj7, 7, m7, m7b5 and dim7 on the middle four strings, and connect them through the ii–V–I with the nearest inversion.
Why this string set first
Drop-2 voicings are the four-note chords you hear on almost every jazz guitar record: Wes Montgomery's block chords, Jim Hall's comping, Joe Pass's chord solos. They put the four notes of a seventh chord on four adjacent strings, in a spacing a hand can reach, with a sound that is full but not muddy.
Strings 5-4-3-2 come first because they sit in the register where a guitar comps best: above the bass player, below the soloist, and with the same shape patterns you already know from the root-5 shells in Module 4. Everything in this lesson transfers to the other string sets in lesson 2, so take the time to get this set under your fingers properly: all four inversions, five chord qualities, and the ii–V–I in three keys.
What "drop 2" means
Start with the chord in close position: all four notes inside one octave, stacked as closely as possible. For Cmaj7 in root position that is C–E–G–B from the bottom. Each inversion of the close chord just moves the lowest note up an octave: E–G–B–C, then G–B–C–E, then B–C–E–G.
| Symbol | Name | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cmaj7 | major seventh | 1 3 5 7 | C E G B |
| G7 | dominant seventh | 1 3 5 b7 | G B D F |
| Dm7 | minor seventh | 1 b3 5 b7 | D F A C |
| Bm7b5 | half-diminished (minor seven flat five) | 1 b3 b5 b7 | B D F A |
| Bdim7 | diminished seventh | 1 b3 b5 bb7 | B D F Ab |
Close-position four-note chords are nearly unplayable on guitar: the notes are too close together to fall on four different strings. The fix, borrowed from big-band arrangers who used it to spread a sax section, is to take the second voice from the top of the close chord and drop it an octave. That is all "drop 2" means.
Take the close chord in second inversion, G–B–C–E. The second voice from the top is C. Drop it an octave and you get C–G–B–E: the root is now in the bass, so this is the root-position drop-2 voicing. The example plays the close chord as an arpeggio first, then the drop-2 chord it becomes.
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\tempo 80
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\ts 4 4
:4 5.4{ch "Cmaj7"} 4.3 1.2 0.1 | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).1 |Do the same to each close-position inversion and you get four drop-2 voicings. The rule for naming them is simple and you must get it right, because the rest of the module depends on it:
A voicing is in root position when the root is the lowest note, first inversion when the 3rd is lowest, second inversion when the 5th is lowest and third inversion when the 7th is lowest. It does not matter which close-position chord the voicing was made from, and it does not matter what is on top. Look at the lowest string and name the chord degree there.
Because dropping the second voice always reorders the notes the same way, every drop-2 voicing on this string set has the same layout of degrees from bottom to top, whatever the chord quality:
| Inversion | Bass note | Degrees, string 5 → string 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Root position | root | R – 5 – 7 – 3 |
| First inversion | 3rd | 3 – 7 – R – 5 |
| Second inversion | 5th | 5 – R – 3 – 7 |
| Third inversion | 7th | 7 – 3 – 5 – R |
Read the "R 5 7 3" row aloud as you play the root-position shape and you will see the pattern on the neck: root, then the 5th a fourth higher on the next string, then the 7th, then the 3rd on top. Notice that the two guide tones (the 3rd and 7th, which define the chord quality) are always the top two voices in root position and second inversion, and the bottom two in first and third inversion.
The four inversions of Cmaj7
The diagrams below come straight from the engine; the degree labels match the table.
Play them in order up the neck. Each shape is a hand position; the inversion drill is a position-shifting exercise as much as a chord exercise, so keep the thumb behind the neck and move the whole hand, not individual fingers.
alphaTex source
\tempo 72
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\ts 4 4
:2 (2.5 2.4 0.3 1.2){ch "Cmaj7"} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2) | (7.5 9.4 5.3 8.2) (10.5 10.4 9.3 12.2) | (14.5 14.4 12.3 13.2) (15.5 17.4 16.3 17.2) |How to practise this drill:
- Play each chord and let it ring for a full two beats. If any string buzzes or is muted, fix the finger before moving on.
- Say the bass note and the inversion: "B, third inversion; C, root position; E, first; G, second."
- Reverse it: start at the top and come down.
- Then play the drill with a metronome at 60 bpm, one chord per bar, and raise the tempo only when every chord is clean on beat one.
Dominant, minor, half-diminished and diminished
The same four shapes exist for every seventh-chord quality. Only one or two notes change between qualities, which is exactly what makes the system learnable: Cmaj7 to C7 lowers the 7th by a fret, C7 to Cm7 lowers the 3rd as well, Cm7 to Cm7b5 lowers the 5th, and Cm7b5 to Cdim7 lowers the 7th once more. Here are the shapes for the three chords of the ii–V–I in C and for the two diminished-family chords on B.
alphaTex source
\tempo 72
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\ts 4 4
:2 (2.5 3.4 0.3 3.2){ch "G7"} (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2) | (8.5 9.4 7.3 8.2) (10.5 12.4 10.3 12.2) | (3.5 3.4 2.3 3.2){ch "Dm7"} (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2) | (8.5 10.4 7.3 10.2) (12.5 12.4 10.3 13.2) |alphaTex source
\tempo 72
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\ts 4 4
:2 (2.5 3.4 2.3 3.2){ch "Bm7b5"} (5.5 7.4 4.3 6.2) | (8.5 9.4 7.3 10.2) (12.5 12.4 10.3 12.2) | (2.5 3.4 1.3 3.2){ch "Bdim7"} (5.5 6.4 4.3 6.2) | (8.5 9.4 7.3 9.2) (11.5 12.4 10.3 12.2) |Because Bdim7 repeats every three frets, you only ever learn one dim7 drop-2 shape per string set. The same shape also spells Ddim7, Fdim7 and Abdim7, which is why a dim7 shape works as a rootless 7b9 for four different dominants; lesson 5 of this module makes use of that.
ii–V–I with the nearest inversion
Now the payoff. If you choose inversions well, a ii–V–I on one string set needs almost no hand movement: two notes stay where they are and the other two move down by a step. The rule for roots that move up a fourth (ii to V, V to I) is:
| ii chord inversion | nearest V inversion | nearest I inversion |
|---|---|---|
| root position | second inversion | root position |
| first inversion | third inversion | first inversion |
| second inversion | root position | second inversion |
| third inversion | first inversion | third inversion |
Why it works: Dm7 in root position (bottom to top D–A–C–F) and G7 in second inversion (D–G–B–F) share the D and the F, which sit on the same strings in both shapes. Only the A moves to G and the C to B, each by one fret or two. Then G7 to Cmaj7 root position keeps G and B and moves D down to C and F down to E. Every chord change is a small movement inside one hand position, and the whole ii–V–I is played in four positions on the neck.
alphaTex source
\tempo 100
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\ts 4 4
:2 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2){ch "Dm7"} (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2){ch "G7"} | :1 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2){ch "Cmaj7"} | :2 (8.5 10.4 7.3 10.2){ch "Dm7"} (8.5 9.4 7.3 8.2){ch "G7"} | :1 (7.5 9.4 5.3 8.2){ch "Cmaj7"} | :2 (12.5 12.4 10.3 13.2){ch "Dm7"} (10.5 12.4 10.3 12.2){ch "G7"} | :1 (10.5 10.4 9.3 12.2){ch "Cmaj7"} | :2 (3.5 3.4 2.3 3.2){ch "Dm7"} (2.5 3.4 0.3 3.2){ch "G7"} | :1 (2.5 2.4 0.3 1.2){ch "Cmaj7"} |The same pairings hold in every key, so the drill in F and Bb below is the identical set of finger movements starting from different frets. Play each position until you can move between the three chords without looking at the neck.
alphaTex source
\tempo 100
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\ts 4 4
:2 (10.5 12.4 10.3 11.2){ch "Gm7"} (10.5 10.4 9.3 11.2){ch "C7"} | :1 (8.5 10.4 9.3 10.2){ch "Fmaj7"} | :2 (8.5 8.4 7.3 8.2){ch "Gm7"} (7.5 8.4 5.3 8.2){ch "C7"} | :1 (7.5 7.4 5.3 6.2){ch "Fmaj7"} | :2 (5.5 5.4 3.3 6.2){ch "Gm7"} (3.5 5.4 3.3 5.2){ch "C7"} | :1 (3.5 3.4 2.3 5.2){ch "Fmaj7"} | :2 (3.5 5.4 3.3 4.2){ch "Cm7"} (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2){ch "F7"} | :1 (1.5 3.4 2.3 3.2){ch "Bbmaj7"} | :2 (6.5 8.4 5.3 8.2){ch "Cm7"} (6.5 7.4 5.3 6.2){ch "F7"} | :1 (5.5 7.4 3.3 6.2){ch "Bbmaj7"} | :2 (10.5 10.4 8.3 11.2){ch "Cm7"} (8.5 10.4 8.3 10.2){ch "F7"} | :1 (8.5 8.4 7.3 10.2){ch "Bbmaj7"} || Key | ii7 | V7 | Imaj7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7 |
| F | Gm7 | C7 | Fmaj7 |
| Bb | Cm7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 |
| Eb | Fm7 | Bb7 | Ebmaj7 |
| Ab | Bbm7 | Eb7 | Abmaj7 |
| Db | Ebm7 | Ab7 | Dbmaj7 |
| Gb | Abm7 | Db7 | Gbmaj7 |
| B | C#m7 | F#7 | Bmaj7 |
| E | F#m7 | B7 | Emaj7 |
| A | Bm7 | E7 | Amaj7 |
| D | Em7 | A7 | Dmaj7 |
| G | Am7 | D7 | Gmaj7 |
Two uses for the other qualities
The m7b5 and dim7 shapes are not decoration. The half-diminished chord is the ii of every minor key, and the diminished seventh is the most common passing chord in standards. Both fit the same nearest-inversion logic:
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\tempo 92
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\ts 4 4
:2 (5.5 5.4 3.3 5.2){ch "Em7b5"} (4.5 5.4 2.3 5.2){ch "A7"} | :1 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2){ch "Dm7"} | :2 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2){ch "Cmaj7"} (4.5 5.4 3.3 5.2){ch "C#dim7"} | (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2){ch "Dm7"} (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2){ch "G7"} | :1 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2){ch "Cmaj7"} |In the passing-chord phrase, Cmaj7 to C#dim7 moves the C up a fret and the B down a fret while G and E stay; C#dim7 to Dm7 then moves every voice up by a step. That is chromatic voice leading, and it is the reason the diminished chord sounds inevitable rather than strange.
How to practise this lesson
Four-note chords take longer to clean up than shells. Do not expect every shape to ring on the first day; expect it after two weeks of short daily sessions. The order of work:
- Shapes alone. One quality per day for the first five days: maj7, 7, m7, m7b5, dim7. Play the inversion drill up and down, naming bass notes.
- Shapes through keys. Move the Cmaj7 drill to F, Bb, Eb and G by shifting the whole drill to the new root. Use the chord dictionary to check any shape you are unsure of.
- The ii–V–I in position. Play the four-position drill in C until it is automatic, then F and Bb from the notation, then the remaining keys from the progression table above, choosing the position yourself.
- Comp with it. Put on a metronome at 120 clicking on beats 2 and 4 and comp a ii–V–I in each key, one chord per two beats, staying in one position. Then let the metronome run and change position every chorus.
- Days 1–5, 15 minutes. Inversion drills for one chord quality per day on strings 5-4-3-2, metronome at 60, one chord per bar. Name the bass note and inversion aloud. Then transpose that quality's drill to F and Bb.
- Days 6–10, 15 minutes. The ii–V–I in four positions in C, then F, Bb, Eb and G from the progression table, metronome at 80, two beats per chord. Aim for no voice moving more than a whole step.
- Days 11–14, 20 minutes. Comp the ii–V–I in all twelve keys around the cycle of fourths (C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G) at 100–120 bpm with the metronome on 2 and 4, staying in a single position for each key. Add the minor ii–V–i (ii = m7b5) in D minor, G minor and C minor.
- Progress check: by day 14 you should play any inversion of any of the five qualities on this string set within two seconds of hearing its name, and play a clean ii–V–I in any key without stopping to find shapes.