Guitar chord tuning refers to how the strings on a guitar are tuned, which can have a direct impact on its tone and ease of playing certain chords.
Electronic tuners offer the easiest method of tuning your guitar. Simply pick a string, tune it until its pitch reflects that of the reference pitch on the tuner, and release.
DADGAD
DADGAD tuning is one of the more commonly employed open tunings on guitar. As it departs less from standard tuning than drop D tuning does, players find it easier to transition from existing chord shapes and scales into this new tuning.
This tuning can help create ethereal sounds on the guitar, by shifting chords an octave lower while opening strings provide sympathetic drones above and below fretted notes to give chords an airier sound than when tuned with standard tuning. This tuning gives chords more airiness and expansiveness compared to standard tuning.
DADGAD can also be an ideal way to experiment with dominant 7th chords. These chords feature four notes as opposed to the three present in triads and are popularly found in rock music. You can either fingerstyle or strum them – the latter works especially well when open strings are strung to produce a droning sound; similar to what an oud has. Musicians such as Rory Gallagher from Russian Circles make use of this instrument!
DADGBE
Though commonly associated with Celtic music, DADGAD tuning can be applied across many genres and used for power chords. Furthermore, its easy learning curve and distinctive sound give this tuning its place on any instrument.
Alternative guitar tunings can add new sounds and spark creativity into your songs, while making certain chords easier to play. Experimentation is key for finding which tuning suits you best; each guitarist must find his or her perfect tuning combination.
DADGBE tuning (or Drop-D tuning), also known as Drop-D tuning, is an alternate tuning that lowers the pitch of the lowest string by one full step, making it popular with guitarists looking to play power chords more quickly and effortlessly with one finger across all three strings – much faster and simpler than using multiple fingers to form power chords. Drop-D tuning can also be used to play octaves.
DADGBD
Although DADGAD guitar is most frequently associated with folk music, its usage spans many other styles as well. Perhaps most famously is Led Zeppelin’s timeless track “Kashmir”. This acoustic tune features a haunting riff and mesmerizing string melody while an acoustic guitarist plays simple chord progressions to provide room for other instruments and vocalists to express themselves freely.
This song showcases an arpeggiated DADGAD chord progression and fingerstyle techniques, written and performed by Swedish musician Christoffer Wadensten for inclusion on his 2016 album, The Only Boy Awake. This track serves as an excellent example of using DADGAD tuning creatively.
Fin Greenall, an English singer-songwriter-guitarist-DJ producer is known for exploring alternate guitar tunings. Here he repurposes an Alison Moyet pop single from 1984 into an emotionally charged folk ballad; perhaps you have even heard it featured on Scrubs!
DADGAE
This week Cam is trying out a popular open tuning, DADGAD. This tuning provides an opportunity to expand your chord repertoire by exploring folk, blues and Celtic classics, while adding old-school touches to contemporary songs.
DADGAD is one of the more versatile open guitar tunings and has been adopted by musicians from a range of genres – including legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page who utilized this tuning for Kashmir and Black Mountain Side songs. Furthermore, its interplay between its open strings droning away while fretting produces unique sounds which makes for some highly interesting fingerpicking sessions.
DADGAD tuning is easily adjusted from standard tuning, making it the perfect tuning choice for beginners looking to explore an alternate open tuning. Furthermore, its three open D strings and two open A strings give you more freedom when it comes to chord voicings since less common chord shapes won’t be impossible in other tunings.