DADGAD Tuner Online

What DADGAD tuning is

DADGAD tuning is D A D G A D (low to high), named after its six open notes. It is a modal tuning built on a Dsus4 chord — the open strings spell D, A and G with no third, so strumming them sounds ambiguous and atmospheric rather than locked to a major or minor key. The droning D and A notes leave the tonality open, which is exactly what makes the tuning so good for layering a melody on top of ringing open strings.

Reading low to high: the sixth string is D, the fifth stays at A, the fourth stays at D, the third stays at G, the second drops to A, and the first drops to D. You end up with two D strings on the outside two octaves apart, a pair of A drones, and the familiar G sitting in the middle — a symmetrical, resonant layout.

Why and when to use it

The whole point of DADGAD is the drone. Because the open strings are a sus4 voicing, you can fret a melody on the middle strings and let the open D and A strings ring underneath, and it always sounds consonant. That is why it became the backbone of modern Celtic and folk fingerstyle guitar — it imitates the open, droning quality of pipes and fiddles. It is equally at home in ambient and cinematic playing, where the sustain and openness give a single fretted note room to bloom.

Reach for DADGAD when you want lush, harp-like fingerstyle textures, when you want to write something modal that does not commit to major or minor, or when you want big open chords with minimal fretting effort. Many players also find it inspires new ideas precisely because the familiar chord shapes no longer apply — you are forced to use your ears.

String-by-string change from standard

To reach DADGAD from standard EADGBE, change three strings, all by a whole step down: drop the low E down a whole step to D, drop the B (second) string down a whole step to A, and drop the high E down a whole step to D. The A, D and G strings stay exactly where they are. A handy check: your two outer D strings should ring two octaves apart, and the new second-string A should match your open fifth string an octave higher.

Songs and artists that use DADGAD

• Kashmir — Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page's most famous DADGAD-influenced riff)
• Black Mountain Side / White Summer — Led Zeppelin
• She Moved Through the Fair — traditional, popularised in DADGAD by Davy Graham, who is widely credited with bringing the tuning to Western guitar

Pierre Bensusan built almost his entire career in DADGAD, and it remains the default tuning for much of the modern Celtic fingerstyle repertoire.

Common Genres

• Celtic and Irish traditional
• Fingerstyle and acoustic instrumental
• Folk and folk-rock
• Ambient and cinematic guitar

Practical tips and common mistakes

• Tune down, not up. All three changed strings move down to reach DADGAD, which lowers overall tension — good for the neck and easy on the strings. Approach each target from below so the string settles into pitch.
• Use the octave check. The outer D strings two octaves apart give you a free reference: if they beat against each other, one is off.
• Watch the second string. Dropping B to A is the change players most often under- or over-shoot; take it slowly and confirm it matches the open fifth string an octave up.
• Let strings ring. The tuning rewards open, sustained playing — capo at the second fret to play in E, or the seventh to play in A, while keeping the drone character.

How to use this tuner

• Click Start Tuner and allow microphone access when prompted.
• Pluck each string in turn — the matching peg below lights up automatically.
• Tap any peg to hear its exact target pitch before you tune to it.
• Drop the low E, B and high E strings until each dial settles in the green band, then strum open to hear the Dsus4 drone.