How to Learn 96 Jazz Guitar Voicings in 10 minutes

by Marc-Andre Seguin
How to Learn Drop 2 and Drop 3 Voicings for Jazz Guitarists

Here’s a clever way to learn 96 jazz guitar voicings in a few minutes:

 Learn Drop 2 and Drop 3 voicings (2 things to learn)

 … for 4 chord qualities (maj7, min7, dom7, m7b5)
 … at each fret (12 frets on the guitar)
TWO times FOUR times TWELVE = 96
So, this whole post will be about “Drop” voicings and more specifically
how to play them on the fretboard. They are very foundational, as Jazz
guitarists of all level will sooner or later learn Drop 2 and Drop 3
voicings. Here’s the original website page that discussed those jazz
guitar voicings on the website …
In very few words, Drop voicings are a way for us to cope with chords
that would be otherwise impossible to play. And I’m specifically pointing
my guitarist’s index finger at closed voicings. Those bastards!
If you look at virtually any theoretical explanation about chord
construction, you’ll soon see a bunch of stacked third on staff paper.
Like this:

Man … those are impossible to play on the guitar! (most of

the time)
So, what do we do? Well … we find our way!

And “our way” consists of changing the order in which the notes appear
in the chord; we’ll displace some notes on a different octave so chords
become more guitar-friendly. And we do that by using the concept
behind Drop 2 and Drop 3 voicings.

Drop 2 – STEP 1 – Understand the Theory

What is a Drop 2? Well, without discussing inversions (and stuff) in too

many details, let’s put it like this:
C major 7th chord: C E G B becomes C G B E , from low to
high (see video)
 C E G B is a closed voicing for Cmaj7. This means that it consists
of all stacked thirds.
 Then C G B E is the Drop 2 voicing we were looking for.
Did you notice? It’s like the E note is an octave higher now. In fact, it is
not exactly what happened, but you can remember the idea this way if
you’d like.

The most important thing is that all the same notes are present,
whether we change on which octave the notes appear. The second
most important thing is that Drop 2 voicings are super easy on us, Jazz
guitarists.
So, as guitarists, our Drop 2 voicing of reference for C major 7th is the
fingering x 3 5 4 5 x. Simple, easy and effective.

So consider x 3 5 4 5 x as our new “compass” for now.

And that’s all you need to know, for now at least. Simply understand that
a Drop 2 is a sort of voicing, a way to align the notes so this-or-that
chord becomes playable on the guitar (because, as discussed in the
video, most closed voicings are not even nearly playable on the guitar.)

Drop 2 – C major 7th on the Staf

For the those of you who really like theory, here’s how we get Drop 2
voicings on staff paper. This is the “correct way” to get C major 7th as x
3 5 4 5 x … it stems from a 2nd inversion of a closed voicing.
But it doesn’t matter if you don’t completely “get” this latter part. The
important thing is still the C major 7th voicing we got. If you can play it,
move on.

Drop 2 – STEP 2 – Finding a Good Fingering

Play C major 7th on the guitar as a Drop 2 voicing as x 3 5 4 5 x …

So we are basically done here!

We found something that is practical and that we can apply … but it is

beyond the closed voicing. Zat sit.

We could have considered other string sets. But, so far, the best
location to play that Cmaj7 is on strings 5-4-3-2 … and we’ll see why in
step 3.

Drop 2 – STEP 3 – Through the Scale

This is the hardest and longest step of the process. This is where you
get a lot of “bang for your buck”. We extract TONS of new chords from
our starting point.

We will be using the same voicing (starting at C major 7th in Drop 2)

and keep using the same set of strings and moving each note within the
chord to the next note in the scale. The scale is, obviously, C major: C D
E F G A B.

Doing so, we’ll get all the diatonic chords in the key of C. Diatonic
chords (meaning chords within a key) are important. Most tunes you’ll
play are “in a key”, so diatonic chords are likely to appear together.
Makes sense, right?

The chords in the key of C major are:

Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7(b5)

So we will take that simple x3545x voicing and move it up and down the
major scale. We now (magically) have 7 chords. They all sound nice
and are easily playable on the guitar.

Drop 2 – Wrap Up

All the chord shapes are moveable. So this means that for the string set
5-4-3-2, you now have a voicing for:

 Major 7th chords

 Minor 7th chords
 Dominant 7th chords
 Minor 7th (flat 5) chords
Four chord types TIMES twelves frets = 48. We are halfway there!

Drop 3 Voicings: Repeating the same ideas

Same concepts as above … different starting voicing.

What is a Drop 3? Well, without discussing inversions (and stuff) in too

many details, let’s put it like this:
G major 7th chord: G B D F# becomes G F# B D , from low
to high (see video)
 G B D F# is a closed voicing for Gmaj7. This means that it
consists of all stacked thirds.
 Then G F# B D is the Drop 3 voicing we were looking for.
Did you notice? It’s like the F# note is an octave lower now. In fact, it is
not exactly what happened, but you can remember the idea this way if
you’d like.
And that takes care of steps 1 and 2.

Drop 3 – G major 7th on the Staf

Not for the faint or heart … check out this picture if it helps you (only):

Drop 3 – STEP 3 – Jazz Guitar Voicings Through the

Scale

And finally, here’s how to play this on the guitar:

And we have the remaining 48 jazz guitar voicings / chords!

Jazz Guitar Chords in Scales

Learn to Play Chords in Three Scales
If you here, it means learning chords in scales is your next step in chordal playing. I will
show you how to derive chords from common scales and appropriate fingerings for each.
This is basically the continuation of the other basic jazz guitar chord charts found on this
website (where we examine chords of each types from a C root note).
So, our method here is to use scales to get lots of chords. With the major scale, melodic
minor scale and harmonic minor scale we will get a total of 21 chords Few… that’s a
lot! Don’t worry though. I’ll start simple and build from there. No mysticism or magic

here. Just chords!

Building Chords in Scales: The Theory

So the approach is the harmonization of a scale to get the chords it contains. We simply
add “stacked thirds” to get four-note chords on each scale degree. See, three scales (all
with C tonic, or root) are harmonized in thirds here:

As you may or may not know, the chords above are almost all impossible to play on the
guitar (in this format at least)… take your best shot. But most of them required stretches
that are impossible.
They’re called “closed” voicings, try them on the piano when you have a chance. On the
guitar, we need a different “spacing” between the notes AND we want to keep the root of
each chord on the two bottom strings. I wanted you to understand the process behind the
following chord shapes and that is why I posted these jazz guitar chord charts (with
theory) on the website.
Solving the Stretches: from Closed to “Dropped”
Voicings
So: We will use the first “C major 7th” chord (upper-left corner above) play the same
notes (ex: C E G B) but in a different order (ex: C G B E) keeping C in the bass. Check
this out:

Et voila!

This C major 7th shape will be the reference point for now. For the record, we call this a
drop-2 voicing. We use mostly drop 2 and drop 3 voicings throughout jazz guitar chord
charts … more on this later.

A Quick Drop-2 Explanation : From a closed voicing, the second voice from the top is
taken down an octave. Look at the spacing on the above C-G-B-E (on the right …) The
lowest (C) note was taken down an octave from its assorted closed voicing which was G-
B-C-E. But don’t worry if you don’t get this right away.

Drop 2 Voicings in C major, melodic minor and

harmonic minor
Let’s play the drop-2 chords in three scales (major, melodic minor and harmonic minor)
in the key of C.

Note:
-The “little triangle” means major 7th
-The “little circle” means diminished 7th
-The “dashed little circle” means minor 7th flat 5

Performance: don’t forget to descend the scale also! See how to play chords in these jazz
guitar chord charts in this video:
New Chords?! (with SHARP fifth!)
As you may have noticed, this approach brings up two new chord shapes that were not
part of the previous jazz guitar chord charts:

 major 7th with a raised 5th (spelled 1 3 #5 7)

 minor with a major 7th (spelled 1 b3 5 7)
They are both only “one finger away” from an chord that has already been discussed.
That is the good old major 7th ! (1 3 5 7)

Expanding on chord shapes your already know should become a habit! It will also be
covered in other instalments of this “chords in scales” series. But for now…

…and another set of strings (with skip!)

Let’s now proceed the same way with the bass on the 6th string. I will use the key of G to
demonstrate another “spacing” between the notes of a chord. In musical terms,
another voicing. This one involves non-adjacent strings.
Et voilà again!!!

This one is the new point of reference (for now) and it’s called a drop-3 voicing. Notice
the string-skip.

A Quick Drop-3 Explanation: From a closed voicing, the third voice from the top is taken
down an octave. Look at the spacing on the above G-F#-B-D (on the right …) The lowest
(G) note was taken down an octave from its assorted closed voicing which would be F#-
G-B-D. Once again, don’t worry about understanding the theory so much … just play the
chords!

Drop 3 Voicings in G major, melodic minor and

harmonic minor
So let’s play the drop-3 chords in the three scales (major, melodic minor and harmonic
minor) but in the key of G.

Note (same as above):

-The “little triangle” means major 7th
-The “little circle” means diminished 7th
-The “dashed little circle” means minor 7th flat 5
As in the drop-2 (the key of C), we get two “new” drop-3 shapes: major 7th with raised
5th and minor with major 7th. Also don’t forget to play them descending! (as in the
video)
Jazz Guitar Chords in Scales: Wrap-up
So we now have the two basic voicings to play “chords in a scale”. They sound good and
are easy to play.To take full advantage of this approach, I strongly suggest you go further
than the written examples. You can cover more territory on your fretboard by using the
following suggestions:

-1-
Use all the frets you have
Going further up or down on the fretboard in the same key until you reach the nut (or the
bridge!!!) Meaning that you keep using the SAME set of 4 strings to play up and down
the guitar.

-2-
Use different set of strings
Playing the same chords in the same order but varying the string sets. All the above
examples are all “four chords per string set”. Check this one out :

It could be qualified as a “six … then two chords per string set”. Use your imagination
and you’ll find what works for you. (ie, decide when it’s time to change string set when
ascending or descending the chord-scales.)
Remember also that this whole process is applicable starting from any root on the guitar
neck! Take the time to learn other keys on your fretboard! I repeat: LEARN OTHER

KEYS! You’ll be glad you did.

Summary
 Drop-2 = adjacent set of strings (with bass on 5th or 4th). In C major above.
 Drop-3 = non-adjacent set of strings (with bass on 6th or 5th). In G major above.
 Cover all available frets in the key (up AND down).
 Play “4 chords per string” then find you own way (switch string set when you
want).
 Use in major, melodic minor and harmonic minor scales.
 Available in 12 keys… (-;
 Don’t always rely on jazz guitar chord charts … memorize the chords!
 Have fun!