DADGAD tuning

DADGAD, from the 6th string to the 1st: D A D G A D. Frequencies are for A4 = 440 Hz.

DADGAD is named after its notes: D A D G A D, from the 6th string to the 1st. Three strings drop a whole step from standard (the 6th, 2nd and 1st), and the 5th, 4th and 3rd stay put. Strummed open, the strings make a Dsus4 chord: D, G and A, with no third.

That missing third is the point. A chord without it is neither major nor minor, so the open strings suit melodies in D major, in D minor and in the modal scales common in Irish and Scottish tunes. Three strings tuned to D and two to A give a constant drone under whatever you fret, the sound most people connect with Celtic guitar.

It is only one string away from open D (D A D F♯ A D): lower the 3rd string a half step and you are there. From drop D it takes two strings, the 2nd and 1st, each lowered a whole step.

The three D strings are octaves of each other: D2 on the 6th string, D3 on the 4th and D4 on the 1st. Tune the 6th and 1st strings to the open 4th string first; octaves are easy to hear, and the tuner confirms each one. The 2nd string, A3, sits one octave above the open 5th string.

A fretted check: the 3rd string at the 2nd fret is A and should match the open 2nd string, and the 5th string at the 5th fret is D and should match the open 4th string. If both agree and the octaves line up, the tuning is right.

Standard string sets work fine in DADGAD, since only three strings come down and only by a whole step. Some players go one gauge heavier on the 6th string for a firmer low D.

British folk guitarist Davey Graham is widely credited with popularizing DADGAD in the early 1960s. From the British and Irish folk scene it spread into Celtic guitar accompaniment, where it is now one of the most common tunings for backing jigs, reels and songs.

Rock players use it too: Jimmy Page played Led Zeppelin's Kashmir in DADGAD. It is also a staple of solo fingerstyle guitar, where the open strings let one player keep a bass line, a melody and a ringing drone going at the same time.

Chords in DADGAD are usually small: two or three fretted notes on the lower strings while the open D, G and A strings ring above them. The fret numbers below run from the 6th string to the 1st; 0 is an open string and x means the string is not played.

• D5, the typical DADGAD chord: 0 0 0 2 0 0. The 3rd string at the 2nd fret turns its G into A.
• D major: 0 0 4 2 0 0. The 4th string at the 4th fret adds the major third, F♯.
• D minor: 0 0 3 2 0 0. One fret lower on the 4th string gives F, the minor third.
• G with a suspended second: 5 x 0 0 0 0. The 6th string at the 5th fret is G, and the open D, G, A and D ring above it.
• A with a suspended fourth: x 0 2 2 0 0. The open D on the 1st string is the suspended fourth, and as the V chord of D it leads back home to the D shapes above.