Drop Voicings Part 1: Introduction
In part 1 of this article, we will identify a challenge that is inherent to the guitar and suggest a solution: Drop Voicings. Then we will go into depth about the most common example: Drop-2. In part 2, we will dissect all the types of drop voicings. In part 3, we will learn a practical exercise that will incorporate the drop voicings into your harmonic vocabulary. If you are curious about what "Drop-2" or "Drop-3" means, this article is for you. If you do know what those terms mean, you might find some additional insight here. To start, here are the four inversions of a C Major 7 chord: Fig 1: Close Voicings These are called the "close voicings" because the notes are as close together as possible. If you look at the top and bottom notes of each inversion, you'll find that the notes span an interval less than an octave. For example, root position has the interval C-B, which is a Major 7th. 1st inversion has the interval E-C, which is a minor 6th. T