DROP 2 : the absolute and incredible magic of upper structure chords ( bret wilmott revisited )

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------------------ i’m tina jäckel, a jazz guitarist from berlin — sharing ideas on harmony, creativity & the joy of making music → https://www.tinajaeckel.com/ 🎸 In this lesson, we’ll dive into Drop 2 Voicings and explore how to tweak the most common ones (Maj7, Dom7, Min7, Half-Diminished) into powerful upper-structure chords. These shapes open up endless possibilities for comping, reharmonization, and improvisation.

We’ll go step by step through the voicings, record roots underneath them, and see how they transform into completely new sounds. By the end, you’ll have tools to spice up your II–V–I progressions in both major and minor.

⚠️ This lesson is on the nerdy/advanced side—so make sure you already know your Drop 2 voicings on the middle four strings.

👉 What you’ll learn in this video:

How to tweak Drop 2 voicings by a single note

How to hear them as upper structures over different roots

How to use them for II–V–I in minor and major

How to apply them in comping, loops, and improvisation.



0:00 – Introduction
0:23 – Overview & what you need to know
0:42 – Drop 2 voicings explained (Cmaj7 example)
1:48 – Warning about chord shapes & visualization
2:11 – Lesson overview (tweaked voicings + roots)
2:38 – First chord voicing (D major)
2:50 – F minor 6 → D half-diminished
3:16 – Cmaj7♭5 → E7♭5 → Fmaj7♭5 → B♭7 → Cmaj7 → D♭maj7♭5
4:39 – More upper-structure voicings (Fmaj7, E♭7+5, A7sus4, B7♭5…)
5:28 – D minor major chord → E7+ → Cmaj7#5
6:50 – The power of voice leading
7:01 – Recording roots under the chords (looper)
8:41 – Hearing how roots transform the voicings
9:46 – Analyzing chords with new bass notes
10:39 – II–V–I with tweaked voicings (Summertime / Fly Me to the Moon vibe)
12:09 – Using arpeggios from upper-structure chords
13:25 – Example II–V–I with arpeggios
14:33 – Outro & key takeaways
15:22 – About Jazz Guitar Coffee Club



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