DADGAD tuning

D2 · A2 · D3 · G3 · A3 · D4

DADGAD is the modal tuning — it spells a Dsus4, which is neither major nor minor, and that ambiguity is the whole point. It is inseparably associated with Celtic and British folk guitar, where it lets a guitar accompany fiddle and pipe tunes without committing to a tonality the melody has not chosen yet. It is also common in acoustic rock, where its open, unresolved ring is instantly recognisable.

—

Strings

3 strings move from standard

  • 6D2▼2
  • 5A2
  • 4D3
  • 3G3
  • 2A3▼2
  • 1D4▼2

Last few seconds

Harmonics

How far each overtone sits above its ideal position. A stiff, wound string rises to the right.

Your microphone audio is never uploaded — it is analysed on your device and never recorded.

What to aim at

Matches what it hears to the nearest string of the tuning.

Getting there from standard

3 of 6 strings move.

  • String 6 E2 → D2 a whole tone down
  • String 2 B3 → A3 a whole tone down
  • String 1 E4 → D4 a whole tone down

Songs in DADGAD tuning

  • Kashmir Led Zeppelin
  • Black Mountain Side Led Zeppelin

What it does to your playing

Because no string plays the third of the chord, almost anything you add sounds like it belongs — you can suggest major, minor or neither by which single note you fret. Drones are the other half of it: the two D strings and the A give you three open strings that ring through nearly any position, so melodies played on the top strings arrive already accompanied. Standard chord shapes are of no use here at all, which is the price; most players learn a handful of new shapes and find they need far fewer than they expected.

Strings and setup

Three strings down a tone (sixth, second and first), three unchanged — the same tension change as Open G, so a standard set is fine. The first string dropping to D is the one to watch for buzz, as it is now the slackest it will ever be.

Other tunings

Your microphone audio is never uploaded — it is analysed on your device and never recorded.