Drop 2 Chord Development Peter Sklaroff

G‹7 G‹7 G‹7 G‹7 G7 G7 G7 G7

5fr 8fr 11fr 5fr 8fr 12fr

˙˙ b ˙˙ ˙
˙˙ b ˙˙˙ ˙ n ˙˙ ˙
˙n˙˙ n ˙˙˙
C ˙˙ ˙ n˙˙˙ ˙˙ ˙
& ˙˙
b b˙
3 6 10 13 3 7 10 13
3 6 8 11 3 6 8 12
C 3
3
7
5
10
8
12
12
4
3
7
5
10
9
12
12
⁄

GŒ„Š7 GŒ„Š7 GŒ„Š7 GŒ„Š7 G‹7(b5) G‹7(b5) G‹7(b5) G‹7(b5)

5fr 8fr 12fr 5fr 8fr 11fr

5
˙˙ n#˙˙ ˙
#˙n˙˙ n# ˙˙˙ ˙ b n˙˙ b ˙˙ b ˙˙˙
& # ˙˙
n ˙˙ ˙ bbn˙˙˙ b ˙˙ b˙˙ b˙

3 7 10 14 3 6 9 13
3 7 8 12 2 6 8 11
4 7 11 12 3 6 10 12
4 5 9 12 3 5 8 11
⁄

The above (4 note) chords are fundamental harmonic forms on the guitar and are referred to as 'Drop 2' voicings.
They are especially useful for rhythm guitar playing as they always reside on groups of four adjacent strings.

They can be played equally well with pick or fingers (or in combination) and work well alongside other harmonic
instruments such as piano or electronic keyboards.

Play through each of the four inversions illustrated (for the four chord types) noting where the root of the chord
is in each inversion (the first chord form always has the root on the high 'e' string for example)

Your next study is to take each of the chord inversions (four per chord type) and transfer them onto the middle
four strings, going from the lowest possible inversion to the highest available, before you end up repeating the first
'shape' an octave higher. Again, you are looking to create four distinct inversions as you had on the top four strings.
The chords can also be played on the lower four strings of the guitar, although this can sound 'muddy' for most
musical situations unless you adjust your guitar tone accordingly (i.e. use a very bright sound)

When you have done the above, try using different progressions to play through the chord inversions in different
keys. This will involve quite a lot of work so take your time!

Play the chord inversions in a rubato style initially, before attempting to play them in time. this will aid in you
memorising the chord forms accurately. The ultimate goal is to be able to play any of the four available inversions
in any key anywhere on the fingerboard. These chords can easily be converted to more advanced chord types
too, for example chords with a 9th, 11th or 13th added.

In general, when you add an extension to a chord (e.g. 9th, 11th or 13th) it will replace one of the existing pitches
and this can often be the root of the chord or sometimes the perfect 5th as these pitches are not always considered
'essential' to a chord's sonic quality and therefore are deemed 'expendable', when other pitches are needed.

Copyright © P.Sklaroff 2012

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