What is a Drop 2 Voicing?

To create a Drop 2 voicing, start with a one-octave arpeggio of any seventh chord. Drop the second note from the top down one octave. The gap left behind creates some nice separation that allows the top note to come through clearly, making Drop 2 voicings great for chord-melodies.

1. Start With a 7th Chord

   The four notes that make up a 7th chord are called the Root, the 3rd, the 5th and the 7th.

   1. Root

      The note that the chord is named after is called the Root. In a G Major 7th chord, G is the root. In a C Minor 7th chord, C is the root.

   2. Third

      The 3rd of the chord can be found an interval of a third above the root.

   3. Fifth

      The 5th of the chord can be found an interval of a fifth above the root.

   4. Seventh

      The 7th of the chord can be found an interval of a seventh above the root.

2. 7th Chord Qualities

   The term quality refers to whether the seventh chord is major, dominant, minor, half-diminished or fully diminished.

   1. Major 7th

      Major seventh chords contain the root, the third, the fifth, and the seventh (1 • 3 • 5 • 7)

   2. Dominant 7th

      Dominant seventh chords contain the root, the third, the fifth, and the flat seventh (1 • 3 • 5 • b7)

   3. Minor 7th

      Minor seventh chords contain the root, the flat third, the fifth, and the flat 7th. (1 • b3 • 5 • b7)

   4. Half-Diminished 7th

      Half-diminished seventh chords - also known as minor7(b5) chords - contain the root, the flat third, the flat fifth, and the flat 7th. (1 • b3 • b5 • b7)

   5. Fully Diminished 7th

      Fully Diminished seventh chords contain the root, the flat third, the flat fifth, and the double-flat seventh. (1 • b3 • b5 • bb7)

3. Constructing Drop 2 Voicings

   Here is a one-octave C Major 7th arpeggio. The second note from the top is G.

   • B (7)
   • G (5)
   • E (3)
   • C (R)

   If we drop that G down an octave, we get this.

   • B (7)
   • (Gap where the G used to be)
   • E (3)
   • C (R)
   • G (5)

4. Drop 2 Practice Tips

   Use the interactive fretboard to explore drop 2 voicings on the guitar in every key, quality, inversion and string set!

   1. One chord, up the neck

      Choose a key and quality, then use the next and previous buttons to work your way up the entire neck of the guitar.

   2. One position, across the neck

      Once you have a good grasp of the shapes, choose a key and a quality and try to play it in a single area of the neck in as many different ways as possible.

   3. Through a key

      Try mixing and matching major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th and half-diminished 7th shapes to play all the way through each chord in a single diatonic key. For example: Cmaj7 Dmin7 Emin7 Fmaj7 G7 Amin7 Bmin7(b5).

   4. Play some tunes

      These voicings are great for chord-melody arrangements. See if you can harmonize part or all of one of your favorite tunes using as many drop 2 voicings as possible!