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MATT WARNOCK GUITAR

Your Online Guide to Playing Better Jazz Guitar

Beginner Drop 3 Chords for Jazz Guitar

Welcome to Chapter 1 Beginner Drop 3
Chords for Jazz Guitar of the Beginners
Guide to Jazz Guitar.
Great to have you here!
In the first Chapter of this guide, youll be
learning one of the most commonly used
Chords in Jazz, the Drop 3 Chord.

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By learning these introductory Drop 3 chords on the guitar, youll be able to comp
common chord progressions and Jazz standards in the style of jazz guitar legends such
as Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery.
So, grab your guitar, turn up your amp and get ready to learn how to play Drop 3
chords for guitar.
Visit the Beginners Guide to Jazz Guitar Homepage to check out the other 9 Chapters in
this series.

Dont forget to download your FREE Jazz Guitar eBook!

What Are Drop 3 Chords?

While you may have heard the term Drop 3 Chords before, and maybe even learned a
few of these shapes on the fretboard, you may be asking yourself, Why are they
called Drop 3 chords?
To answer that question, heres a quick formula for you to memorize in order to
understand why theyre called Drop 3 chords.

Take a closed-position chord, 1-3-5-7, such as the Cmaj7 below

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Take the 3rd note from the TOP of that chord and lower (drop) it by one octave
You now have a Drop 3 Chord in 1st inversion (3rd in the bass), compared to the
root position of the closed chord.

Heres how that would look on the staff.

There are also inversions for Drop 3 Chords, which you wont learn right now in this
Beginners Guide, but that are good to explore for further study.
Heres the interval structure for each inversion of any Drop 3 chord, you simply flatten
or raise any given note to produce the chord quality you want to build, such as 7 or
m7.

Root Position = R-7-3-5

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1st Inversion = 3-R-5-7

2nd Inversion = 5-3-7-R
3rd Inversion = 7-5-R-3

Now that you know how to build Drop 3 Chords, and the interval order for each
inversion, youre ready to take these chords onto the fretboard.

Maj7 Drop 3 Chords

Drop 3 Maj7 Chords are built by taking the Root-3rd-5th-7th of the major scale and
stacking these notes on top of each other to form a chord.
In the key of C, these notes would be C-E-G-B, as they are the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th
notes of the C Major Scale, C-D-E-F-G-A-B
As you saw in the first section of this Chapter, to build a root-position Drop 3 Chord you
need to rearrange those notes until they form the interval pattern, R-7-3-5, or C-B-EG for a Cmaj7 chord.
Here are two different Cmaj7 root-position chords to practice applying to the
fretboard.
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Click to

Vm P .

Once you can play these two Drop 3 Chords from memory, practice playing root-position
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Maj7 Drop 3 shapes in all 12 keys as you explore them further on the fretboard.

7th Drop 3 Chords

As you start to check out Drop 3 7th Chords on guitar, there are two different ways that
you can think about these chord shapes.
The first is by using their interval structure, which is R-3-5-b7, or the 1st, 3rd, 5th and
7th notes of the Mixolydian Mode.
For a C7 chord, the notes would be C-E-G-Bb, and the C Mixolydian Mode is C-D-E-FG-A-Bb.
As you may have noticed, this chord is only one note different from the maj7 chord
you just learned.
So, the second way to think about Drop 3 7th Chords is to take any maj7 chord shape
you know and simply lower the 7th by one fret, creating the b7 interval that is found
within the 7th-chord construction.
Here are two different Drop 3 7th Chords, all in root position, for you to learn and
practice in this key, as well as the other 11 keys, as you work out these shapes in the
woodshed.

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Click to hear

Vm P

When you have these 7th-chord shapes under your fingers, practice moving between
maj7 and 7th chords from the same root, playing Cmaj7-C7 for example, then moving
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that exercise to all 12 keys around the fretboard.

m7 Drop 3 Chords
As was the case with Drop 3 7th chords, there are two ways that you can think about and
construct Drop 3 m7th Chords.
The first way to look at m7th Drop 3 Chords, is to look at the intervals used to build this
chord.
The interval construction for any Drop 3 m7th Chord is R-b7-b3-5, or C-Bb-Eb-G for
a Cm7 chord.
These notes are drawn from the Dorian Mode, as the m7th chord is built by stacking the
1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the Dorian Mode.
For a Cm7 chord, the Dorian mode contains the notes C-D-Eb-F-G-A-Bb, and that is
why the notes of the Cm7 chord are C-Eb-G-Bb.
The second way to think about Drop 3 m7th Chords is to compare them to the 7th
chord shapes you just learned.
Youll notice that the m7th and 7th chords are only one note different, the b3rd interval
in the m7th chord is different from the 3rd in the 7th chord shapes.
This means that you can take any Drop 3 7th Chord you know, lower the 3rd by one
fret, and you now have a Drop 3 m7th Chord shape on the guitar.
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Here are two Cm7 root-position Drop 3 Chords for you to explore in this, and all 12,
keys on the fretboard.

Click to hear

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Once you can play these Drop 3 m7 Chords from memory, play the following three
Drop 3 Chords, Dm7-G7-Cmaj7.
By doing so, youve now built your first ii-V-I chord progression, one of the most
important chord progressions in jazz, and one that you will explore further in Chapter
3 of this Guide.

m7b5 Drop 3 Chords

There are also two different ways to think about building and playing Drop 3 m7b5
Chords on the guitar.
The first is the interval construction of these chords, which is R-b3-b5-b7, or C-EbGb-Bb for a Cm7b5 Drop 3 Chord.
These notes come from the Locrian Mode, the 7th mode of the major scale, which in the
key of C would be, C-Db-Eb-F-Gb-Ab-Bb, and you can simply pluck out the 1st, 3rd, 5th
and 7th notes of that mode to form a Cm7b5 chord.
The second way to build Drop 3 m7b5 chords is to take the m7 chord shapes you
learned in the last section of this Chapter and simply lower the 5th by one fret to form
a Drop 3 m7b5 Chord.
Here are two Cm7b5 Drop 3 root-position chords to get you started with these
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shapes on the fretboard.

Again, start in C and then work your way to the 11 other keys on the fretboard in the
woodshed.

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Once you have these Drop 3 m7b5 chords under your fingers, practice moving
between Cm7 and Cm7b5 in both positions on the neck from memory.
Then, take this exercise into all 12 keys as you begin to explore these two important
chords further in the practice room.

Dim7 Drop 3 Chords

The last Drop 3 Chords that youll learn in this Chapter are Dim7 chords.
To keep things simple, youll only look at one way to build and think about these
chord shapes on the fretboard.
To build Dim7 Drop 3 Chords, you take the m7b5 chords that you learned in the
previous section, lower the 7th by one fret, and you now have Drop 3 Dim7 chord
shapes.
The interval structure for Dim7 Drop 3 Chords is R-b3-b5-bb7, where the double flat 7
is also referred to as a Diminished 7th interval, hence the name of the chord.
Here are both root-position Drop 3 Dim7 chords to help you get started with these
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important chord shapes in the practice room.

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As with any chord you learn, make sure to start in one key until you are comfortable
playing these two shapes from memory, before exploring them in all 12 keys around
the neck of the guitar.

Drop 3 Chords Exercise 1

To help get you started on working Beginner Drop 3 Chords in the practice room, here is
an exercise that I like to do in order to memorize each chord shape in this Chapter.
This exercise is also great for starting to see the close relationships between each
Drop 3 Chord youve learned up to this point in the Guide.
The exercise is fairly straightforward.
You begin on a maj7 chord, then you move one note at a time until you reach the dim7
chord for that same root note.
Here is the order of chords in this exercise.

Maj7-7-m7-m7b5-Dim7

Look familiar?
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Its the same order of the Beginner Drop 3 Chords that you learned in this Chapter.
Pretty cool right!
Heres an example of this Drop 3 chord exercise written out from a C root on the 6th
string.

Click to

Vm P

Again, as with any exercise in this Guide, you can start by memorizing these chords
in one key, C in this case, before moving it around to all 12 keys across the neck.
As well, its a good idea to use a metronome when practicing these chords, as itll force
you to move in time between each chord, helping you to develop a smooth shift
between each chord type as you work them out in the woodshed.

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Drop 3 Chords Exercise 2

Apart from working through all of the Drop 3 Chords in this chapter in order from the
6th-string root, you can also learn and practice these chords together from the 5thstring root.
The concept is the same, you are just using a different set of strings to play these
Drop 3 Chords during this exercise.
Heres an example of this exercise, but now applied to Drop 3 Chords with a 5th-string
root.

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Once you have this exercise under your fingers, try mixing together both exercises,
6th and 5th-string root shapes, in all 12 keys as you begin to combine different string
sets for these Drop 3 Chords in the woodshed.

Drop 3 Chords Bonus Exercise

As well as getting these Beginner Drop 3 Chords under your left hand, you can use
these chords to develop our right-hand technique as well.
Heres a fun exercise that I like to do in order to begin separating any chord, Drop 3
Chords in this case, into a bass note plus the rest of the chord.
By doing so, youll begin to develop your right-hand technique, which will come in handy
later on when learning how to walk bass lines on the guitar, as well as provide picking
variety to your chords at the same time.
You can work this exercise in three ways, all fingers, fingers and a pick, or a pick only, so
feel free to use whichever right-hand technique you are most comfortable with.
Heres an example of breaking up Beginner Drop 3 Chords into bass note and the topthree notes of the chord as applied to the Drop 3 Chord Exercise 1 above.

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This right-hand exercise is not only good for Drop 3 Chords, but for any chord shapes
or chord progression youre learning or working on.
So, feel free to bring this bonus exercise into any chord or chord progression exercise
youre working on in your jazz guitar practice routine.

Beginner Drop 3 Chords Chapter Checklist

After youve taken a look at the Drop 3 Chord examples and exercises above, youll be
ready to dig deeper into these important Jazz chords in the woodshed.
Heres a checklist of exercises that you can use to measure your progress when
working on Drop 3 Chords in the practice room.
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You dont have to master all of these items before moving on to the next Chapter in this
Guide.
But, being able to play 2-3 of these items from memory with a metronome at a slow to
medium tempo is a good litmus test to see when you are ready to move on to the next
Chapter.

Play Maj7, 7, m7, m7b5, and dim7 Drop 3 Chords in all 12 keys.
Say the interval names for each shape as you play it.
Drop 3 Chord Exercise 1 and 2 in all 12 keys.
Drop 3 Chord Exercise 1 and 2 in all 12 keys with the Bonus Exercise picking.
For a bigger challenge, say the note names for each Drop 3 Chord in these
exercises.

Further Reading
To continue your exploration of Drop 3 Chords for Jazz Guitar, here are several
articles that you can check out.

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How to Play Drop 3 Chord Inversions on Guitar

5 Drop 3 Chord Exercises for Jazz Guitar
Drop 3 Inversions for Jazz Guitar Video Lessons
Voicing Leading Major ii V I Chords Video Lesson
ii V I Jazz Guitar Chords App for Apple and Android

Read the next chapter Beginner Drop 2 Chords for Jazz Guitar.
Return to the Beginners Guide to Jazz Guitar Homepage.

If you liked this lesson, you might also enjoy the free 30 Days to Better Jazz Guitar
series of lesson.
Do you have a question or comment about Beginner Drop 3 Chords? Post your
thoughts in the comments section below.

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13 Comments
1. Simen, August 20, 2013:
Hi Matt,
Thanks for Your interesting lessons.
These drop-3 chords are quite difficult to master i the beginning.
Should the exercises be carried out without using bar?
Simen
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2. Matt Warnock, August 21, 2013:

Hi Simen,
You can use a barre, but I think that if no barre is easier then I would do that.
Also, maybe start with Drop 2 chords, the second chapter in the Beginners Guide
to Jazz Guitar, as they dont have the string skip and so might be a bit easier to
begin with.
3. Danny, October 3, 2013:
Thanks a lot for de instructive info :-)
Is it possible to send me a copy of the free jazz guitar ebook? because i have
received none.
So i can see how it looks like, maybe i order Play Better Jazz Guitar in 1 Month.
Thanks in advance
Danny
4. Paul Faulkner, October 29, 2013:
Matt, firstly thanks for providing so much information f.o.c on your site.
My question to you is this.
What do you consider to be a minimal set of requisite skills and or knowledge for
a guitarist looking to learn jazz guitar.
I can play my major scales in most positions and similarly the pentatonic scales. I
know all the open chords, and I have made some progress with the closed chords
maj7 dominant 7 minor7 all in 6 and 5 string roots but I find the more I try to
practise and learn inversions and arpeggios I start to struggle and feel like I am
moving backwards. Do I need to master theory first
5. Matt Warnock, October 29, 2013:
Hi Paul, glad you dig the lessons . I would say that you should start checking out
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tunes. Something like Summertime would be a good place to start. If you just work
theory and technique then you might know how to play scales, but you wont have
any tunes under your fingers. So try working on technique like scales and chords
but over a tune, and work out the melody as well so you can play along with a
backing track or jam with other players when you get a chance. Hope this helps!
http://www.mattwarnockguitar.com/summertime-anatomy-of-a-tune
6. Paul Faulkner, October 31, 2013:
Thank you Matt, I will do
7. Rich Gire, October 15, 2014:
Hi Matt,
I hope you are doing well. I hope to have my traveling settle down next year and
return to lessons with you. In the meantime, I am working through your Beginners
Guide to Jazz Guitar course. Im taking it slow and have a question about
inversions for Drop 3 Chords in Chapter 1. Does the order of the chords in your
inversion formula have any significance? Here is what I mean: You list the Root
Position as R-7-3-5. I guess I expected it to be R-3-5-7. Then your 1st Inversion is
3-R-5-7 while I would expect it to be, following your Drop 3 Inversion rule, 3-R-7-5,
sinc ethe 7th note of the chord is above the 5th. Same question for the 2nd and
3rd Inversion. What am I missing? Am I trying to make this too difficult?
Thanks
Rich
8. Matt Warnock, October 15, 2014:
Hey Rich, hope you are doing well! Youre on the right track, hope this helps.
when you take a root closed position chord, R-3-5-7, and you drop the 3rd note
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from the top you get, 3-R-5-7. Thats a Drop 3 chord with the 3rd in the bass.
So, since it has the 3rd in the bass, if we go down one chord tone per note, you
get this for root position.
R-7-3-5
Check out this layout of the four inversions, notice that they are all in order going
down the page, so we start with the root position and then just go in order to the
next chord tone to build the next inversion.
R-7-3-5
3-R-5-7
5-3-7-R
7-5-R-3
Hope that helps!
9. alexguemez, October 22, 2014:
Hey Matt, thank you again!
I try to understand the inversion for Drop 3 but I dont get it.
if I have the closed position:
R357
Down the 3rd:
3R57
So, I was thinking that the root position would be:
R573
3R57
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573R
73R5
What is the best way to understand?
10. Matt Warnock, October 22, 2014:
Hey. Youre a bit off on your thinking. If you have 3-R-5-7 you have to move to the
next chord tone in each voice of the chord so:
3-R-5-7 moves to
5-3-7-R
See how the 3 goes to 5, R to 3, 5 to 7 and 7 to R?
Just continue that to get all four inversions. Hope that helps.
11. Isaiah, December 18, 2014:
Hi Matt, I really enjoy your lesson, Ive been reading a lot about jazz guitar, I think
this is a better place for me to start. pls kindly suggest songs you think I cld use to
get myself in tune. thankskeep up the good job.
12. Isaiah, December 19, 2014:
Hi Matt, please I want to know if all these chords are movable. 10qs..
13. Matt Warnock, December 19, 2014:
Hi Isaiah, yes all of these chords are moveable.

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How To Play Drop 3 Chords For Jazz Guitar
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Hi Matt and everyone else
hello from virginia
Chord Changes
Quarter Note Triplets
Fingerpicking scales

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