Drop 3 Chords Chart
Hi. This is Hub Guitar.
We're going to talk about Drop 3 chords. These are very common chord voicings used to play 4-part chords.
Dropped chords are built by taking a closed chord voicing and dropping one or more notes down an octave. This can help create chords that fit the guitar a little better.
Drop 3 chords are created by dropping the third note from the top (not the bottom) of a closed chord. So a 1357 chord would become 3157 and that's the new configuration.
So here is the root position F major 7, and here is the first inversion with A on the bottom of the chord. And here is the second inversion of the chord with C on the bottom. And here is the third inversion of the chord with F sharp on the bottom. So if we try to play that chord on the fifth string, we have to adjust the note on the B string by a half step. If we play this way it's not gonna sound good.
So once you've learned all inversions of the major 7th chord starting from both the 6th string and the 5th string, it's time to practice this with dominant 7, minor 7th and minor 7 flat 5 chords as well.
In a previous lesson, we looked at Drop 2 chords. If you still aren’t feeling clear on how this type of chord is built, and what “dropped” means in this context, it’s time to review.
On the piano it’s just as easy to play the chord notes in linear order: 1, 3, 5, 7. The notes of the chord will get progressively higher. However, because of the way the guitar is laid out, it is not always comfortable for guitar players to play chords this way.
In a drop 3 chord, the third note from the top of the closed structure (1357) is dropped one octave lower. Now the chord is 3157, and unlike the Drop 2, the Drop 3 has a bottom note that is separated from the rest quite clearly, as now it will be almost an octave away. For this reason, Drop 3 chords are great for accompaniment parts or any situation where you need a clear bassline.
Root Position Drop 3
An F-major chord in drop3 form.
If we raise the chord to its next inversion, the 3rd takes the bass note.
First-inversion Drop 3
The next inversion puts the fifth in the bass.
Second-inversion Drop 3
Third-inversion Drop 3
Finally, we’ll go to the last inversion.
Key Tasks
- Memorize all inversions of the drop 3 structure.
- Convert the root position chord to dominant 7th, minor 7th, and minor 7♭5 forms.
- Practice all inversions with all chord forms.
As the creator of Hub Guitar, Grey has compiled hundreds of guitar lessons, written several books, and filmed hundreds of video lessons. He teaches private lessons in his Boston studio, as well as via video chat through TakeLessons.