Drop Two

Spread the rootless chord by dropping the 2nd voice an octave

The rootless A/B-form voicings from exercise 2 sit in close position — all four notes within an octave. Drop the second voice from the top down an octave and the chord spreads open. The interval between bottom and top expands from a 7th to a 9th or 10th. The harmony is identical; the colour is wider, warmer, more orchestral.

For the A-form (3-5-7-9), the dropped voice is the 7th — the LH gets it, the RH keeps 3-5-9 with the melody on top. For the B-form (7-9-3-5), the dropped voice is the 3. The voice leading is unchanged from the close-position rootless: two voices hold, two move down a step. Only the spacing is different — but the sound is unmistakable. Wes Montgomery, Garner, comping-era Evans.

A-form drop-2

LH = 7th. RH = 3 – 5 – 9 (melody).

B-form drop-2

LH = 3. RH = 7th – 9 – 5 (melody).

C major

F major

B♭ major

E♭ major

A♭ major

D♭ major

G♭ major

B major

E major

A major

D major

G major

The Daily Drill

Compare the sound

3 minPick one key. Play the rootless close-position voicing (from exercise 2) for ii–V–I, then play the drop-2 of the same. Same harmony, very different feel — the air between bass and top is what changes.
10 minCycle three keys at a time, ♩ = 60. Drop-2 voicings reward slow practice; the spread makes any sloppy timing audible.
4 minTry drop-2 with melody. Pick a familiar tune (Misty, My Funny Valentine) and harmonise each melody note with drop-2 of the underlying chord. That's the chord-melody style.
3 minAdd a bass note ahead of the chord: strike the root low, catch it in the pedal, then land the drop-2 on top. (Held simultaneously it would be an impossible LH span.) Now it's a five-note voicing across two hands — and that's how comping-era Bill Evans sounds.

Why drop the second, not the third?

Dropping the third voice down (drop-3) puts a wider gap between the top and the middle, which can sound thin. Drop-2 leaves the upper structure (the top three notes) intact in close position — the melody and the two notes immediately below it stay tight — and only the bottom of the chord opens up. It's the cleanest way to spread a four-note voicing without losing its character.

Same chord, different posture. Close position whispers; drop-2 sings.

80 bpm

Sound