Stage 4 of 7

Close Position & Drop 2

Block Chord Technique

Close position voicings stack all four notes within an octave. Drop 2 takes a close position voicing and drops the second note from the top down an octave, creating a wider, more open sound. This is the Barry Harris method — he teaches you to harmonise a scale in close position first, then drop 2 it.

The result is the locked-hands block chord style used by George Shearing and Oscar Peterson. Drop 2 voicings also work beautifully for chord melody playing, where the melody is on top and the voicing fills in below.

Prerequisites

Fluent rootless voicings. Comfortable with voice leading in all 12 keys.

Voicing Styles in This Stage

Close Drop 2

How to Practice

1.Harmonise a C major scale in close position (4 notes per scale degree) ascending and descending
2.Drop the 2nd voice from the top down an octave to create drop 2 voicings
3.Practise drop 2 ii-V-I in all keys — notice how the wider spacing changes the colour
4.Play Misty melody with drop 2 voicings underneath — this is chord melody in action