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For this reason, most players will use Drop 3 Chord Inversions when playing solo or
Duo with no bass player, and then use Drop 2 Chords or other similar voicings when
theres a bass player in the ensemble.
So make sure to learn both Drop 2 and Drop 3 Chords, so you never find yourself in a
situation where your chords sound too muddy or too thin, and with both sets of
voicings under your fingers youll be ready for any jazz situation.
In this lesson, you will learn how build, play and apply Drop 3 chords to common jazz
harmonic situations as you bring these classic chords off the page and onto your
fretboard.
To see and hear these chords in action, check out my Drop 3 Chords Video Lessons
series on YouTube.
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The name Drop 3 comes from the fact that in order to build these chord shapes, you
take a closed position chord, 1-3-5-7, and drop the 3rd note from the top down and
octave, forming the interval pattern 3-1-5-7.
Here is how that looks like on the fretboard to help with visualizing this chord
construction, notice that each Drop 3 chord has a string skip between the lowest two
notes as this is a characteristic of these shapes.
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When you lower the 3rd note of any closed-position chord by an octave, you will then
produce the following four interval patterns for each inversion.
These formulae works for any chord type you can think of, you just have to alter the
interval qualities to fit that chord type.
For example, a root position Drop 3 7th chord is built R-b7-3-5, a m7 chord would be
R-b7-b3-5, etc.
The intervals change to match the chord you are playing, but the order of the intervals
always remains the same.
To help you take these shapes from the page and onto the fretboard, lets take a look
at 8 different, 4 per string set, Drop 3 chords for all of the common chord qualities used
in jazz.
Each of these groups of Drop 3 chords is written with a C root, so make sure to move
them to other keys around the fretboard as you explore these shapes further in your
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To explore these ideas further, check out my Intro to Drop 3 Chords and Intro to
Jazz Guitar Chords lessons.
Here are four inversions of Cmaj7 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Here are four inversions of C7 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Drop 3 m7 Chords
Here are 8 different Cm7 Drop 3 chords, which have the interval structure:
Here are four inversions of Cm7 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Here are 8 different Cm7b5 Drop 3 chords, which have the interval structure:
Here are four inversions of Cm7b5 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Here are four inversions of Cdim7 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Here are four inversions of CmMaj7 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Here are four inversions of C7#11 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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Here are four inversions of Cmaj7#11 with the lowest note on the 6th string.
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You can also play these Drop 3 chords with the lowest note on the 5th string.
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So, if you play the first Cmaj7 chord as a 1st inversion with the root on the 6th string,
keep that same outline as you then move to the other chords in the exercise, meaning
you play every chord as a 1st inversion with the lowest note on the 6th string.
Here is another progression that I like to use where the second chord is built by altering
one note from the first chord shape.
Lastly, here is another chord progression you can use to learn and memorize various
types of Drop 3 chords in the practice room.
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Once you have worked through these three progressions in various keys and in all
inversions on different string sets, try coming up with your own progressions to work
Drop 3 chords in the woodshed.
Read more about this exercise with my Drop 3 Turnarounds for Jazz Guitar lesson.
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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
3rd-1st-3rd-R
This order of inversions is the same for major and minor ii V I vi progressions, and
so its worth memorizing as you take this exercise further in the woodshed.
Once you have worked out the example above, try moving to the other inversions of
Dm7 on the top-4 strings and voice leading the chords from there through the
progression.
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Then, move on to different keys on that string set, and onto other string sets before
applying these shapes to a full tune in your studies.
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Do you have a question or comment about Drop 3 chords? Share your thoughts in the
comments section below.
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33 Comments
1. Danny, August 17, 2011:
I like the clear definition you have given here for drop 3s (and for the one on the
drop 2s page). It makes a lot more sense to me now the difference between the
two.
Thanks!
2. Matt Warnock, August 17, 2011:
Thanks Danny, glad you dug it!!
3. David, August 18, 2011:
Matt, I use many of these voicings, but still dont understand why you refer to them
as drop 2 or drop 3. Why this terminology? What are you dropping?
4. Matt Warnock, August 18, 2011:
Hey David,
Drop 2 refers to the second note being dropped an octave, so if you had CEGB
and you took the E up an octave you would get a Drop 2 voicing, CGBE.
Drop 3 chords are a bit different, I just think of that name referring to that specific
voicing, R735 and its inversions.
If you want to think about Drop 3s it might be easier to think of the 2nd and 3rd
note dropped an octave.
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If you have CEGB and you take EG up an octave, you get CBEG, Drop 3 voicing.
Hope that helps!
5. Roy Michael Smarr, January 24, 2012:
Matt:
Your reply to David was a home run explaining drop 2 and drop 3 voicings. Ive
been using them but not understanding the terminology. Dropping in my head
meant lowering an octave. And I couldnt get away from numbers as scale tones.
Thanks for clearing that up for me. And good luck with the new job.
6. Matthew Warnock, January 24, 2012:
Thanks, glad it was helpful!
7. larry, April 13, 2012:
hey Matt,
so dropped 2 and 3 are considered an octave lower 2nd and 3rd respectively. O
K Thank you.
8. larry, April 13, 2012:
It seems to me that an Fm7 lst inversion is played the same as an Ab6,(G#6) Is
this right?
9. Matthew Warnock, April 13, 2012:
Yeah first inversuon Fm7 is an Ab6 chord, got that right on the mark!
10. Gerald Blakeman, April 23, 2012:
Hi Matt,
Enjoy your emailings. Regarding drop 2 and 3 voicings, I use them all the time.
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However, I think of drop as lowering. So, if you dropped 2 you would have a
first inversion Cmaj7, that being ECGB. Why not raise 2, which would be CGBE?
Please clarify.
Thanks,
Gerald
11. Matthew Warnock, April 23, 2012:
Hi Gerald,
There are two ways to think about drop 2 chords, one from a notational
standpoint and one from a guitar standpoint
if you take a closed position chord, like C E G B, and you drop the second note
from the top, you get G C E B, which is a drop 2 voicing. But, for me that is a bit
confusing on the guitar, since the 5 is in the bass and its compared to a root
position closed voicing.
I just think of Drop 2 and Drop 3 chords on the guitar as a set of intervals. So for
me, Drop 2 is R 5 3 7 and its inversions and Drop 3 is R 7 3 5 and its inversions.
That way Im thinking from the root up for the first inversion and the other
inversions are built from there.
Hope that helps.
12. Ed Over, June 24, 2012:
Nice clear explanations and examples. Helpful for organizing ones thinking.
Thanks,
Ed
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play. I do not agree, however, with your hints of using drop 3 voicings. It is more in
the specific notes you play in an ensemble than the exact voicings. Pianist also
use drop 3 often.
Id like to share my the ideas Ive been developing lately. Like to hear your
comments on it.
I like to think that the best way to accompany in a jazz band is 1) stay away the
frequency range of the bass. (no chords with bass notes between E and B e.g, 2)
leave the root out or put in as a higher note in the voicing or play colouring
instead 3)listen to the internal intervals between the notes of the chord inversion.
4)listen to the melody line that is created with a certain chord progression.
Movement of chords attracks more attention that the short moment of one
intermediate chord.
Hope this makes sense.
Kind regards
22. Matt Warnock, August 16, 2013:
Hi Ferdinand, thanks for checking out the lesson. Drop 3 chords are great for
playing in solo and duo situations, as well as in certain big band contexts and
even combos in the right setting.
As I mentioned in this article, they can be muddy sometimes when playing on the
lower strings, so you need to be careful when applying them to any performance
situation, especially when a bass player is present.
Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to comping jazz guitar chords, and
so thats why its good to check out many different approaches, such as the ones
you mentioned.
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If you look around my site, in the chords section, youll see my articles that
discuss other comping approaches that you might enjoy such as 3rds and 7ths,
inner and upper structure triads, 3 to 9 chords and rootless voicings.
Check these out to get an idea of all the various ways that you can explore jazz
guitar comping beyond Drop 3 shapes.
http://mattwarnockguitar.com/category/jazz-guitar-chords
23. Harrison Picot, September 15, 2013:
Really good lesson. Almost makes it look easy. I am still making the mistake of
thinking that understanding is the same as practice, but getting a tiny bit better.
By the time I am 85, I think I can learn those two shapes and the parts that make
up the chords.
Do you use 10s on your tele? I tried to imagine Howard Roberts with Fender 9s
and my head almost exploded. HRs first two strings were 16 and 18 for jazz (later
15 and 17,finally 14 and 16) and lighter strings for pop and rock, but it is hard to
imagine his using strings that flap against the neck (as one studio player
described the joy of a Tele). I can actually remember the first time I put 9s on a
guitar, and I was how you could play light enough not to bend a string? Now I dont
think about it and people with good ears notice that in my playing (haa,haa; that is
their punishment for their other comments about my playing).
24. Matt Warnock, September 15, 2013:
Thanks, glad you are digging the lesson. I use .11s on my Tele, used to use .10s
but found them a bit too light, and the .12s are too heavy for my fignernails, they
shred them a bit.
25. Eloy, October 17, 2014:
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Gracias Matt por compartir todas estas estupendas lecciones, estamos en deuda
contigo. Un abrazo.
26. Matt Staples, November 21, 2014:
Hi Matt
I am working through the beginner course, just doing some reading ahead on
chords. Really enjoying the material and the 251 app is really useful in support
with fingerings.
Noticed what I think is an error in the above and thought it was worth calling as it
is in one of the boldest statements and may lead to confusion.
In exercise one, your paragraph on staying with the same inversion and string
sets starts out with one string set and then changes to the other.
Hope this is useful
Cheers
Matt
27. Matt Warnock, November 21, 2014:
Cheers, glad you like the lessons and the app. Good eye on the typo, got it fixed
up.
28. Sbastien, January 23, 2015:
Exactly what i had to learn.Thank you so much for your help! (a french guitarist)
29. Ryan, February 19, 2015:
Hey Matt,
This is truly great stuffthank you. There is, however, one thing about the last
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example for the minor ii-V-I-vi: Should that vi chord not be in first inversion, i.e:
The lowest note should be the C on the eighth fret? I am cross-referencing this
with the order of inversionsthose being R, 2nd, R, 1st. Would just like to clarify.
Thanks again.
30. Matt Warnock, February 19, 2015:
Yeah Ryan, just a typo on the inversion, I fixed it up now. Cheers.
31. Jeanco Volfe, March 5, 2015:
Hello . I m from Brazil . I studied classical guitar and I was wondering more about
voicings on the instrument. I was looking for this information for a long time. Sorry
my English , but I needed to talk only to thank and say I was very happy with your
explanations . thanks a lot
32. Rich, July 21, 2015:
Matt, great presentation of Drop 3.
I noticed that in the section entitled:
Drop 3 Chord Exercise 2 Major ii V I VI Chords
R 2nd R (1st) as the order of inversions however, you pictured R 2nd R (R). The
VI chord or A7b9 is the one. Im sure this was an oversight. Also, in the description
of same section, the word being should be begin (When doing so, you being
on any).
Hope that helps.
33. Matt Warnock, July 21, 2015:
Thanks Rich, got that fixed up, cheers!
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Hi Matt and everyone else
hello from virginia
Chord Changes
Quarter Note Triplets
Fingerpicking scales
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