Mel Bay Drop 2 Concept For Guitar [Paperback]

Charles Chapman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2000

Drop-2 chord forms have been used by guitarists in all musical genres for years. The concept refers to 4-way, closed voicings in root position or any inversion, dropping the second note from the top by 1 octave, hence the term "drop-2". In practice, a nifty guitar harmonic symmetry occurs as drop-2 chords are invariably played on any four successive strings, muting or avoiding the remaining 2 strings. This collection will open up a new world of harmonic possibilities for the beginning to intermediate guitarists, and will shore up the basics and provide added harmonic visualization for the advanced player. Chapter on comping the chord soloing applications are also included. Written in notation and tablature.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Chapman is a professor in the Guitar Department at Berklee College of Music where he has taught since 1972. He is a versatile jazz guitarist with extensive performing and recording experience. Charles holds a Bachelor's degree from Berklee College and a Master's of Education from Cambridge College. He performed four tunes on the Mel Bay's compilation CD "Anthology of Jazz Guitar Solos" and all nine solos on the CD that accompanies the text "Guitar Solos" by George Van Eps (MB94822BCD) and has just released a solo CD titled "Come Sunset". Charles has published eight texts with Mel Bay Publications and now performs on a regular basis at guitar shows and jazz festivals internationally. As a music journalist he has interviewed many of the most prominent guitarists in the field and is a frequent contributor to Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, Fender Frontline, 20th Century Guitar, Mel Bay's Guitar Sessions®, All AboutJazz, Dowbeat and Just Jazz Guitar magazines with over 400 published articles and reviews. Charles has appeared in concert with such luminaries as: Martin Taylor, Kenny Burrell, Joe Negri Jimmy Bruno, Frank Vignola, John Pisano, Ted Greene, Carol Kaye, Jerry Jemmott and Dwane Dolphin. He is an Artist Endorser for Fender/Guild Corporation and Benedetto Guitars.

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (March 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786644834
• ISBN-13: 978-0786644834
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,392,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Great Book That Every Guitarist Should Have, August 13, 2002

By 

K. Downing "kevindowning20" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mel Bay Drop 2 Concept For Guitar (Paperback)

Many of you will most probably be wondering what on earth is a Drop-2 concept. Well it is an arranging term for describing the order of notes within a chord. You see that when we get the same notes played in different orders the chords sound different. I must admit that this book has an amusing title, which could throw you off as soon as you see it, but read on.

Many guitarists never seem to get past the bar chord stage in their musical endeavours because they dont know what to do next. The Drop-2 Concept for Guitar will open up a whole new world of guitar chord playing that you most probably never thought possible. The advanced or professional player will also get a lot out of it as well, especially in harmonic awareness and chord melody execution.

The chord forms contained in this book are ones that you are hearing all the time in modern music, but most probably didnt realise it. I am hearing them all the time in jazz, funk, rock, blues, country, and all types of fusionistic music. I can tell you the top players are using these voicings all the time to give them that musical edge over others.

Charles has put together a great lesson plan in this book and he walks you through it well. First he describes what basic harmony is, and then goes on to tell you about what is the Drop-2 Concept. He then gives you step by step lessons in all keys so you can get this concept internalised into your memory and fingers. To finish there are song examples on how to use the lesson material in a comping and chord melody style. Depending on your abilities, it could keep you very busy for a long time. There are most probably about $1000 worth of private lessons here.

Many guitarists have made careers out of playing this type of guitar and if you do to I guarantee your phone wont stop ringing. If you are a graduate of the Modern Method for Guitar by William Leavitt or you have an advanced knowledge of chords you shouldnt have to much trouble clicking to this book. If you are a teacher this book should augment what you are doing with students and give you lots of new ideas to work from.

Overall this is a great book, which will expand your abilities in note recognition, harmony, comping, chord melody, and overall technique. Charles has also put in some great tips for other areas of your playing, like the best areas on the guitar to sight read, comping over ballads, and arranging your own songs. It will definitely take you up to the next rung on the musical ladder. So if you want to begin sounding like a real pro rather than an amateur you had better take a look at this book.

Kevin Downing
Professional Guitarist, teacher, author.
[URL]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn Drop 2 from a Master teacher, January 5, 2011

By 

Drumbler (NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Drop 2 Concept For Guitar (Paperback)

Charles Chapman of the Berklee Music School explains Drop 2 chords in a simple, understandable fashion.

Drop 2 chords are 4-note chords on the highest 4 strings (D,G,B,E) and middle 4 strings (A,D,G,B) on the guitar.

They are a must to know for chord melody and comping jazz.

Very good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential book, September 2, 2009

By 

Jason, Professional Chef (Twin Cities, MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Drop 2 Concept For Guitar (Paperback)

If you are seeking to break out of the "Barre Chord Box"...this book will do the trick. This book contains chord shapes/forms that you will find all over Jazz/Blues/Pop/etc. When I started Jazz lessons, my teacher had my come to my first lesson with this book in hand..and let me tell you, the study of what this book has in it advanced me more in a few months than the past few years. .
Once you have these inversions down, you will be able to look at a Jazz chart and be able to get the chords under your fingers quickly.If you know chord construction theory, you can quickly take a chord shape like Maj7 and move a finger to get a Maj6, 7b5, etc. Need new inversions? Take the form you know, move some notes to other strings to create new voicings/sound.

Thanks to this book(and my Jazz teacher...I can't praise him enough), I have been actually putting together basic Solo Jazz Guitar arrangemnts using these chords as a base.

If you are serious about advancing as a rhythm player, the $20 this book costs is less than a professional lesson and is well worth the time to study.