Introduction to the Drop System

The Drop System finds its roots in arranging. From Prince to Frank Sinatra, any band that uses a horn section probably uses this system for spreading out the notes of the chord amongst the various horns. A "standard" horn section consists of five members: two alto voices, two tenor voices, and a bass voice. Normally, one of the voices will double one of the chord tones, leaving four unique voices. The system that's used to spread out these voices works remarkably well on the guitar. Example 1 shows how this voicing works in both a "Drop 2" and "Drop 3" setting. Please note that we'll be working primarily with seventh chords in this lesson as they tend to lend themselves better to drop voicings.



As you can see, the transfer of a seventh chord in root position to a drop voicing is relatively simple: a note is simply transfered down an octave. In arranging terms we would say that this note is "dropped" down the octave (hence the name of the system). A point of some confusion for a lot of students learning this system is the numbers assigned to the voicings. Normally, numbers assigned to chords imply the chord tone that is affected. If this were the case then a Drop 2 would mean that the 2nd (or 9th) of the chord is dropped down an octave. In the example above though, the note that is dropped is the 5th of the chord. It turns out that the number simply implies the dropped note's position in the chord. Thus, a Drop 2 simply means drop the second note from the top down an octave. A similar point of confusion arrises when we deal with inverted chords. The number assigned to a drop voicing does not take into account the inversion of the chord; a 1st inversion Drop 2 would drop the root note down the octave. Now that we're beginning to grasp the system that we'll be using, let's take a look at the various kinds of drop voicings.

Drop 2s

Regardless of a player's style or genre, there are certain guitar players that we can all agree are masters of the instrument. Certainly all jazz and funk players can admire Eddie Van Halen's technical prowess and unique approach to the instrument while the most seasoned heavy metal player can listen to someone like Django Reinhardt and appreciate the beauty of his complex lines. One of these masters is a man by the name of Wes Montgomery, a guitarist from the so called "hard bop" school of jazz. To create intensity, Montgomery would often use Drop 2 voicings as part of his solo, weaving melodies on the top string while harmonizing them in interesting ways in the lower strings. This same approach can be used by guitarists of all genres to create more interesting solos or rhythm parts.

As mentioned earlier, Drop 2s are relatively simple to construct. All one has to do is take the second note from the top of any chord and drop it down an octave. Here are the Drop 2 chords with the bass notes on string 5.



Of course, these voicings work equally well when used on any string set.

Drop 3s

Like Drop 2s, Drop 3s are relatively easy to construct. Because of their wider spacing, these types of voicings are perfect for rhythm parts. If one chooses to only play the lower strings of the voicing, it's often referred to as a "shell voicing" as only the essential tones of the chord are in the voicing (often the root, 3rd, and 7th). Here are the Drop 3 chords with the root on string 6.




Some Practice Ideas

Though most of this information is relatively simple, practicing it all can be a lot of tough memorization and application. Here are a few ideas to help you practice more productively.

1. Practice the voicings around the circle of fourths.
2. Practice voice-leading the chords in various inversions around chord progressions. I-vi-ii-V-I is a great one for all practice.
3. Once you've learned all of these voicings, try substituting extensions for chord tones. For instance, change the C to a D in a Cmaj7 chord and you'll create a Cmaj7(9) chord.
4. Try playing some of your favorite songs with these voicings.
5. Make a backing track of yourself playing a chord progression using these voicings and then solo over it.

That's all for this month. Next month we'll be talking about some advanced methods of constructing chord voicings and even whole new chords.