{"id":2492,"date":"2015-07-27T14:25:30","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T12:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/?p=2492"},"modified":"2024-11-26T13:58:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T12:58:41","slug":"drop-3-chords-and-inversions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/drop-3-chords-and-inversions\/","title":{"rendered":"Drop 3 Chords &amp; Inversions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"line-height: 150%; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;\">A favorite of jazz guitarists such as Joe Pass, who used these shapes to perfection in his solo guitar performances, drop 3 chords are ideal to use when playing in a solo or duo setting. While they might take a bit of time to get under your fingers, having a strong understanding of drop 3 chords will greatly expand your Jazz guitar comping, chord soloing, and chord melody playing. Experiment with the fingerings for these chords as <strong>different hand sizes<\/strong> will use different fingerings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s why drop 3 chords are so popular:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>With a strong sense of bass in each chord (the lowest notes are always on the 6th or 5th strings), drop 3 chords will give you that fat-bottom sound when covering the low end in a bassless duo or trio setting.<\/li>\n<li>Because there is a string skip in every shape, drop 3 chords are ideal for solo guitar playing, as they keep the bass notes involved in your voicings, but separate them from the rest of the chord, allowing the melody line to stand out at the same time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span style=\"--tl-form-height-m:555.828px;--tl-form-height-t:361.672px;--tl-form-height-d:361.672px;\" class=\"tl-placeholder-f-type-shortcode_10980 tl-preload-form\"><span><\/span><\/span>\n<h2>Drop 3 Guitar Chords Chart<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/images\/infographics\/drop-3-guitar-chords-infographic.png\" alt=\"Drop 3 chord chart\" width=\"720\" height=\"4578\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Practicing Drop 3 Chords<\/h2>\n<p>When practicing drop 3 chords, there are two main ways to get these chords under your fingers, before taking them to your favorite Jazz standard and applying them to tunes in your studies:<\/p>\n<p>1. The first way to practice drop 3 chords is to learn each inversion on one string set:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Take Cmaj7 on the 6432 string set and play all four inversions of that chord from memory.<\/li>\n<li>Move on to Cmaj7 on the 5321 string set and play all four inversions of that chord from memory.<\/li>\n<li>From there, play all 8 Cmaj7 drop 3 chords to cover the entire fretboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here is an example of that exercise on the 6th string with Cmaj7.<\/p>\n<p><i>Listen &amp; Play Along<\/i><br \/>\n<div class=\"waveplayer-container\"><div id=\"waveplayer-5cfae854c2417d4d1da49e93f930fed1-6a4f858bb39da\" class=\"waveplayer loading wvpl-skin-w2-evolution wvpl-palette-800e3a14c86733ad9ccc96fd80850d88 wvpl-style-light wvpl-size-xs wvpl-shape-rounded \" data-limit=\"0\" data-mode=\"normal\" data-config_id=\"5cfae854c2417d4d1da49e93f930fed1\" data-instance_id=\"5cfae854c2417d4d1da49e93f930fed1-6a4e699b855e7\">\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-left-box\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/audiobg.png)\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-interface\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-volume-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-info\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-controls\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-prev wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-play\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-next wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-volume wvpl-volume_up\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-poster\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-right-box\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-overlay\">\n\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#waveform-animation\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"percentage\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading-progress\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"message\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-position\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-duration\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-waveform\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-infobar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playing-info\"><div class=\"wvpl-infoblock\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist-wrapper\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Drop-3-Chords-Exercise-1.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2510 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Drop-3-Chords-Exercise-1.gif\" alt=\"Drop 3 Chords Exercise 1\" width=\"720\" height=\"193\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>2. \u00a0The second way to practice drop 3 chords is to work on inversions across all chord types:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Play the root position, 6432 string set, for Cmaj7, C7, Cm7, Cm7b5, and Cdim7 chords.<\/li>\n<li>From there, play the 1st inversion, 6432 string set, for Cmaj7, C7, Cm7, Cm7b5, and Gdim7 chords.<\/li>\n<li>When you can do the 1st inversion, move onto the 2nd, and 3rd inversions for the 6432 string set, before repeating the exercise on the 5321 string set.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here is an example of that exercise on the 6th string with each chord type in root position.<\/p>\n<p><i>Listen &amp; Play Along<\/i><br \/>\n<div class=\"waveplayer-container\"><div id=\"waveplayer-0595fdcef5d15ed1ff671ce4673f41f3-6a4f858bb4cb4\" class=\"waveplayer loading wvpl-skin-w2-evolution wvpl-palette-800e3a14c86733ad9ccc96fd80850d88 wvpl-style-light wvpl-size-xs wvpl-shape-rounded \" data-limit=\"0\" data-mode=\"normal\" data-config_id=\"0595fdcef5d15ed1ff671ce4673f41f3\" data-instance_id=\"0595fdcef5d15ed1ff671ce4673f41f3-6a4e699b869bf\">\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-left-box\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/audiobg.png)\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-interface\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-volume-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-info\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-controls\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-prev wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-play\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-next wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-volume wvpl-volume_up\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-poster\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-right-box\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-overlay\">\n\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#waveform-animation\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"percentage\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading-progress\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"message\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-position\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-duration\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-waveform\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-infobar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playing-info\"><div class=\"wvpl-infoblock\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist-wrapper\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Drop-3-Chords-Exercise-2.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2511 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Drop-3-Chords-Exercise-2.gif\" alt=\"Drop 3 Chords Exercise 2\" width=\"720\" height=\"205\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>More chord charts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/17-essential-jazz-guitar-chords-beginners\/\">17 Essential Jazz Guitar Chords<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/shell-jazz-guitar-chords-beginners\/\">Shell Chords for Jazz Guitar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/drop-2-chords\/\">Drop 2 Chords &amp; Inversions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Drop 3 chords are usually one of the first chord types beginning jazz guitarists start to learn.<\/p>\n<p>They are ideal to use in a solo or duo setting because the bass note of drop 3 voicings is always on the 5th or 6th string.<\/p>\n<p>In this lesson, you will learn how drop 3 chords are built and how you can use them on guitar (chord chart included).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jazz-guitar-chords"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}