Chord Inversions vs. Drop-2 Voicings

[geetarLAXjunkie]

I have yet to find a clear, concise explanation of the difference between chord inversions and drop-2 voicings. There seems to be plenty of overlap between the two concepts, right? Can someone please enlighten me?!?!

[wrongnote85]

what's a drop 2 voicing?

[Jed]

A voicing is a generic term for how a chord is played (meaning the arrangement of notes).

The following are four of many possible voicings for Bmin7B5:

B D F A

B D F A B

B F A B D

B A B D F

* The above are also considered to be in root-position (an inversion specific description) because the root is the lowest note *

 

Common voicings are:

Closed (all notes within an octave) - common for triads

Open (notes span more than an octave) - common for triads

Drop-2 - common for 7th chords, this term not commonly used for triads

Drop-3 - common for 7th chords, this term not commonly used for triads

Drop-2&4 - common for 7th chords, this structure not possible for triads

 

The following are some drop-2 voicings for Bmin7b5:

B F A D

D A B F

F B D A

A D F B

* these are also different inversions since the lowest note is not always the B (root note).

 

The inversion designation describes the lowest note but not the rest of the voicing. So anytime you play any voicing of Bmin7b5 over a B bass - it's in root position. If you played any Bmin7b5 voicing over a D bass it would be said to be in the "1st inversion" as a generic structure or Bmin7b5/D as a specific inversion of Bmin7b5. If you played any Bmin7b5 voicing over a F bass it would be said to be in the "2nd inversion" as a generic structure or Bmin7b5/F as a specific inversion of Bmin7b5. If you played any Bmin7b5 voicing over a A bass it would be said to be in the "3rd inversion" as a generic structure or Bmin7b5/A as a specific inversion of Bmin7b5.

 

Confused yet?

 

Inversion:

Root Position - root is in the bass

1st Inversion - 2nd chord tone (from spelling) / most often the 3rd of the chord - in the bass

2nd Inversion - 3rd chord tone (from spelling) / the 5th of the chord - in the bass

3rd Inversion - 4th chord tone (from spelling) / most often the 7th of the chord - in the bass

[Jed]

Common Voicings for a C maj triad (using the CAGED system) are:

 

x32010 = x C E G C E (root position)

x35553 = x C G C E G (root position)

335553 = G C G C E G (2nd inversion / 5th in the bass aka C/G)

xx555x = x x G C E x (2nd inversion closed triad voicing aka C/G)

x7555x = x E G C E x (1st inversion / 3rd in the bass aka C/E)

87555x = C E B C E x (root position)

87xx88 = C E x x G C (root position open triad voicing)

** there are many more but this should give you an idea of how to find / form them **

 

* you may want to go through a fretboard map of C maj triad to see all the various ways you could play a C maj triad - thus finding all the voicings and all the inversions at one time.

[joenovice]

Look at this... If you scroll down you'll see a page of Drop-2 chords with their inversions.

http://soundslikejoe.com/?product=a-guitarist-study-for-drop-chords

 

I'm giving the book away this month. Just use the coupon "FreeBook" during checkout and you can download the PDF. All that I ask in return is that you use the book and provide me some feedback about the book.

 

Hope it helps.

[JonR]

Most 7th chords on guitar are drop voicings of some kind, because the tuning doesn't allow close voicing in most inversions. Eg

 

D7

-2- F#

-1- C

-2- A

-0- D

-x-

-x-

 

= 2nd inversion, drop 2.

 

Close-voiced 2nd inversion would be:

F#

D

C

A

 

"Drop 2" means take the 2nd note down (D) and drop it an octave. That gives you the easy guitar shape.

 

Here's another:

 

-1- F

-0- B

-0- G

-0- D

-x-

-x-

 

= G7, root position drop 2.

 

Close-voiced root position is just playable on guitar:

-1- F

-3- D

-4- B

-5- G

-x-

-x-

 

- but much easier to drop the D by an octave.

 

IOW, the limitations of guitar mean we are forced to use drop voicings sometimes (without knowing it), while others may not be possible. There is not the freedom there is with piano, or groups of horns etc.

Also, of course, we are commonly either doubling up some chord tones - to fill extra strings out, for easier playing - or omitting chord tones such as root or 5th (for jazz comping), let alone adding 9ths, 13ths, whatever. I've always though drop voicings are - therefore - of little interest for guitarists (unless they're arranging for other instruments of course). We have other fish to fry...

 

Inversions are another matter, and it's good to know inversions - in various open or close voicings ("drop" or not) - to make chord changes smoother or introduce melodic bass lines.

[halfwhole]

Look at this... If you scroll down you'll see a page of Drop-2 chords with their inversions. http://soundslikejoe.com/?product=a-guitarist-study-for-drop-chords I'm giving the book away this month. Just use the coupon "FreeBook" during checkout and you can download the PDF. All that I ask in return is that you use the book and provide me some feedback about the book. Hope it helps.

this is great! there's a whole lot of music that opens up just by learning the voicings on the top 4 strings. they also work nicely for arpeggio stuff.

so much great stuff, learn the inversions for Cmaj7, Emin7 and Amin7 and you now have 12 different choices for voicing a Cmaj with some juicey extensions

 

back in high school i learned all these by practicing maj/min 2-5-1s in all keys all up and down the neck.

 

I never bothered too much with drop-2s on the A-D-G-B strings because I found some of them to be a bit too stretchy for my hands.

[Virgman]

 

I have yet to find a clear, concise explanation of the difference between chord inversions and drop-2 voicings. There seems to be plenty of overlap between the two concepts, right? Can someone please enlighten me?!?!

 

 

All Drop-2 chords are inversions. All inversions are not Drop-2 chords.

 

Capisce?

[1001gear]

They are also a genre of voicing.

[jeremy_green]

Look at this... If you scroll down you'll see a page of Drop-2 chords with their inversions. http://soundslikejoe.com/?product=a-guitarist-study-for-drop-chords I'm giving the book away this month. Just use the coupon "FreeBook" during checkout and you can download the PDF. All that I ask in return is that you use the book and provide me some feedback about the book. Hope it helps.

 

Great book Joe! Thanks for the freebie.

To the OP you should certainly grab Joes book as it will help

[joenovice]

Thanks Jeremy! I put a lot of time into that one when I was studying the Drop chord systems. Writing stuff down always helps me when practicing new things.

[Virgman]

 

I've always though drop voicings are - therefore - of little interest for guitarists (unless they're arranging for other instruments of course). We have other fish to fry...

 

 

Interesting Jon. Not sure I understand but do you feel this way because you want to include upper extensions?

[JonR]

Interesting Jon. Not sure I understand but do you feel this way because you want to include upper extensions?

Maybe. I'm just thinking about creating shapes that work well together, getting the guide tones flowing where necessary, maybe putting a melody on top or bass line beneath, etc, and getting all the shapes to fit under my fingers reasonably comfortably. What kind of voicings I'm playing is neither here nor there (IMO).

 

If I was arranging a solo chord melody piece, it might be different; but I still wouldn't think about what kind of voicings (specifically) I was using. I'd want melody and bass working well, and then whatever other chord tone(s) I could fit between, hopefully with some neat voice-leading. It would be possible to analyse it all in terms of drop voicings, but it seems beside the point.

 

Then again, if I was arranging for horns or keyboard, I'd would be free to use whichever voicings gave the sound I wanted, because there would be no limitation other than instrumental range (or finger reach for a keyboard player).

IOW, as I said, guitar is way too restricting an instrument (harmonically) to make it worthwhile thinking about different drop voicings. IMO, YMMV

[c+t in b]

 

Common voicings are: Closed (all notes within an octave) - common for triads Open (notes span more than an octave) - common for triads Drop-2 - common for 7th chords, this term not commonly used for triads Drop-3 - common for 7th chords, this term not commonly used for triads Drop-2&4 - common for 7th chords, this structure not possible for triads

 

 

In my experiences, both Drop 3 and drop 2 can be used as terms for triads. Drop 2 is typically called spread. Drop 3 is always called a drop 3 though.

[joenovice]

@JonR - Not to sound too confrontational but I find you assumptions to be wildly incorrect. I've transcribed dozens of tracks by most of the jazz guitar greats and they ALL use Drop chords extensively. Wes, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, etc. Knowing and using drop chords is jazz guitar 101. Voice leadings are smooth provided you know all your inversions.

 

If your playing a chord on four consecutive strings, it's most likely a Drop2 voicing. If you're skipping one string, like in a 6432 string set, you're playing a Drop3.....weather you realize it or not is more than likely the issue.

[Jed]

I have to agree with Joe here.

 

Closed voicings for 7th chords are nearly impossible to play on the guitar save for root position unless we drop some chord tones. On the other hand, nearly all of the fully-voiced chord voicings that I've ever seen have been Drop-2, Drop-3 or Drop-2&4's. Even when we leave out some chord tones in order to add extensions, the resulting voicing is often just another of the common drop-x voicings.

 

The point of studying the drop-x voicings is to improve one's chops relative to voice-leading. It's much faster to pull the closest drop-2 voicing than to individually voice-lead each of the lines and often the results are the same anyway. If you are playing 7th chords on the guitar you are likely playing drop-x voicings.

 

On the other hand, I've been wrong before, so if I'm way off base please school me. ;-)

[Poparad]

Just a few corrections:

 

 

D7 -2- F# -1- C -2- A -0- D -x- -x- = 2nd inversion, drop 2.

 

 

Root position, drop 2

 

 

Here's another: -1- F -0- B -0- G -0- D -x- -x- = G7, root position drop 2.

 

 

2nd inversion, drop 2.

[EightString]

Um... another vote from someone who uses drop 2 and 3 voicings as a significant component of my jazz comping. I even bought the Drop-2 book from amazon.

[benzem]

I need to study up:) Never hoid of the drop 2. It's probably pretty simple, as most theory, but I'm not processing it:confused:

[Poparad]

All these terms are dealing with 4-note voicings only.

 

Closed - every note is within an octave, and packed together as tightly as possible (in other words, everything is in numerical order). Just dealing with roots, 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths:

 

R 3 5 7 (low to high)

 

Now, there are 5 other possible configurations of this. Drop 2 and Drop 3 are by far the most common, with the others being a little more exotic. To create any of these, just drop whichever note the name specifies down an octave:

 

Closed -> Drop 2

R 3 5 7 -> 5 R 3 7

 

Closed -> Drop 3

R 3 5 7 -> 3 R 5 7

 

Closed -> Drop 2+4

R 3 5 7 -> R 5 3 7

 

Closed -> Drop 2+3

R 3 5 7 -> 3 5 R 7

 

Closed -> Drop 3, Double-Drop 2 (this name is my invention, as I've never seen anyone call it anything before - drop the 2nd note two octaves)

R 3 5 7 -> 5 3 R 7

 

Now, with the exception of Drop 2+4, going from closed to the drop voicings changed the chords from root position to either 1st, 2nd or 3rd inversion. To invert any of these back to root position, or any other inversion, take the closed voicing and move each note to the next one:

 

R -> 3 -> 5 -> 7

 

In other words, if you have a root, it becomes a 3rd. A 3rd becomes a 5th, a 5th a 7th, and lastly a 7th becomes a root. Let's take the drop 2 example and invert it:

 

5 R 3 7 -> 7 3 5 R

 

Not yet root position, so let's do it again:

 

7 3 5 R -> R 5 7 3

 

Since that's everything but 1st inversion, let's do it one last time to catch that one:

 

R 5 7 3 -> 3 7 R 5

 

All of those are drop 2 voicings, which refers to how the notes are spread apart from each other, but are in different inversions, which refers to which note is the lowest note.

[Poparad]

You can apply the same concept to any group of 4 notes. Here's a random assortment:

 

Root, 3rd, 7th, 9th.

 

To put it in closed position, put everything in numerical order, starting on the root. Any upper extensions (9, 11, 13), for now call them by their lower octave names (2, 4, 6):

 

R, 2, 3, 7

 

Turning these into the various drop voicings:

 

Drop 2 - 3 R 2 7

Drop 3 - 2 R 3 7

Drop 2+3 - 2 3 R 7

Drop 2+4 - R 3 2 7

Drop 3, DD2 - 3 2 R 7

 

Inverting these all back to root position (R -> 2, 2 -> 3, 3 -> 7, 7-> R):

 

Drop 2 - R 3 7 2

Drop 3 - R 7 2 3

Drop 2+3 - R 2 7 3

Drop 2+4 - R 3 2 7

Drop 3, DD2 - R 7 3 2

[JonR]

@JonR - Not to sound too confrontational but I find you assumptions to be wildly incorrect. I've transcribed dozens of tracks by most of the jazz guitar greats and they ALL use Drop chords extensively. Wes, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, etc. Knowing and using drop chords is jazz guitar 101. Voice leadings are smooth provided you know all your inversions. If your playing a chord on four consecutive strings, it's most likely a Drop2 voicing. If you're skipping one string, like in a 6432 string set, you're playing a Drop3.....weather you realize it or not is more than likely the issue.

True. My opinion is not "wildly incorrect" though - it's just an opinion. I didn't claim nobody much played drop 2s, and I'm not surprised by your transcription evidence. I do know that drop 2 voicings are good for highlighting melodic lines, and would therefore be not at all surprised if chord melody experts used them. (I did say if I was arranging a chord melody piece I would consider them; I was talking mainly about rhythm playing, comping.)

At the same time - as you say - a chord on 4 consecutive strings is likely to be drop 2 anyway, so I doubt we can say conclusively whether those players decided on them because they were drop 2, or just because they were easy in context and did the job. Likewise with drop 3. drop 2&4 make for more open voicings, which have a distinctive sound, but maybe it's the open voicing they go for and not drop 2&4 specifically. Anyway, lots of good stuff above from Jed and Poparad.

[Poparad]

 

IOW, the limitations of guitar mean we are forced to use drop voicings sometimes (without knowing it), while others may not be possible. There is not the freedom there is with piano, or groups of horns etc. Also, of course, we are commonly either doubling up some chord tones - to fill extra strings out, for easier playing - or omitting chord tones such as root or 5th (for jazz comping), let alone adding 9ths, 13ths, whatever. I've always though drop voicings are - therefore - of little interest for guitarists (unless they're arranging for other instruments of course). We have other fish to fry... Inversions are another matter, and it's good to know inversions - in various open or close voicings ("drop" or not) - to make chord changes smoother or introduce melodic bass lines.

 

 

I completely disagree 100%. When you're dealing with any chord beyond 7ths chords, including any voicings with extentions, 99% of the time guitarists in all styles of music (not just jazz and not just people playing chord melody arrangements) are using drop 2 and drop 3 voicings to play these (with the rare closed voicing here and there). To say that they're of little interest to guitar players is like saying barre chords are of little interest to guitarists.

[JonR]

 

I completely disagree 100%. When you're dealing with any chord beyond 7ths chords, including any voicings with extentions, 99% of the time guitarists in all styles of music (not just jazz and not just people playing chord melody arrangements) are using drop 2 and drop 3 voicings to play these (with the rare closed voicing here and there). To say that they're of little interest to guitar players is like saying barre chords are of little interest to guitarists.

You're missing my point. I'm not saying guitarists don't use them; we use them all the time. But we do it without thinking, without being aware of it, because we have to. The tuning of guitar forces us to.

I made the point earlier that the common beginner shapes for D7 and G7 (at least) are drop 2 voicings. What I'm questioning is, how useful is to know that those shapes are drop 2? Or that any of the other shapes we might use are drop voicings of various kinds? What matters (IMO) is knowing which notes are which, and which chord tones are which.

Again, I'm not saying it is never useful; only that it doesn't become useful until you consider chord melody arrangements, which is a pretty advanced level of guitar playing.

And still, deciding one's chord choices on what kind of drop voicing they are is not a primary consideration, IMO. It can play a part, no doubt. But the limitations of guitar mean we don't have total freedom of voicing choice anyway.

[joenovice]

 

What I'm questioning is, how useful is to know that those shapes are drop 2? Or that any of the other shapes we might use are drop voicings of various kinds? What matters (IMO) is knowing which notes are which, and which chord tones are which.

 

 

This is like saying.... "Reading isn't thaaaaat important. We just use the words we use and sometimes those words happen to be three-syllables long. IMO it's better just to know the alphabet and which letters spell CAT."

 

Open up a little bit... It's not about stumbling around and "discovering" things by accident.... things you could just learn by studying a system. Drop chords are a way of harmonizing and can be a subject of study that helps remove the limitations of the guitar. Does this mean we can play a 10-note closed voice chord? No.... but pianist can't play the same harmonies we can because their fingers only stretch so far.

 

Play this on guitar

0-9-10-0-10-12

 

It can't be played on piano.... so your point about limitations is a bit weak. Every instrument has limitations and advantages. We deal with our limitations by studying the fundamentals of our instrument. Knowing drop-chords is a fundamental for the serious guitarist. The end.

 

How useful is it to know drop-chords? How useful is it to know scales or open chords? These questions are the same.