Have you tried DADGAD tuning before?
As guitarists, we all sometimes run into little ruts with our playing. We tire of our hands landing on the same notes and chords, and things get a little stale. It’s inevitable, and nothing to worry about.
But instead of just going through the motions until inspiration strikes, why not be your own herald of change? Try a different guitar tuning, for example. If you haven’t tried DADGAD, I highly recommend it. I’ll be looking at some notable examples of DADGAD-tuned songs today, but before I get there: a little on the tuning itself, and how to retune your guitar to get there…
Contents
DADGAD - Celtic, Folk and More
What is Celtic Music?
What is Celtic Music? Good question, and one with maybe a longer answer that this blog has scope to offer. In brief though, Celtic music is traditional/folk music attributed to the Celtic peoples of the world. In rough terms, these would be people from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Northern France, the Isle of Man, and parts of Belgium & Austria. Celts were a nomadic people who spoke various languages and seemed to have no written language, so ‘pinning them down’, as it were, has proven somewhat elusive.
Anyway, there is music attributed to the people from these places, and it is often used for dancing. There are lots of drone notes in Celtic music, which was traditionally played on fiddles, pipes and rhythmic instruments. The songs typically have folkloric lyrics, and the melodies can often use unusual ‘gapped’ scales. This means that some of the scales have intentionally missing notes.
Mysterious and influential music for a mysterious and influential people!
DADGAD Tuning
DADGAD is a very popular tuning with folk players, and is also thought of as being ‘Celtic’. Traditional Celtic music easily translates to the guitar in this tuning. This is due to the special ability of this tuning to work with drones, which can approximate the drones of pipes in traditional Celtic music. Three of the strings are all D, and you can move chord shapes around up and down the neck whilst allowing these drones to ring out.
Folk musician Davey Graham is credited with popularising DADGAD in the 60s, and it quickly caught on throughout the guitar community. Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch, Roy Harper and Richard Thompson are but a few examples of top guitarists from this era who picked up on DADGAD.
I’ll check out some music with you soon, but first: here’s how to get your guitar into DADGAD tuning!
Tuning Your Guitar to DADGAD
Tuning your guitar from standard tuning into DADGAD is easy, and the more you do it, the simpler and quicker it gets.
- Starting with standard tuning, your open string notes - low to high - are the following: EADGBE. That’s your normal notes.
- To tune to DADGAD, you do this:
- Tune the low E string (thickest) down one tone, which is two frets’ worth, to D. If you know Drop-D tuning already, that’s what we are doing here.
- Done that? Okay. Next, do this: tune the high E string (thinnest) one tone down too, so it is now a D as well. You should now have three open D strings: the lowest string, the regular D in the middle, and a high D at the top. Try playing them now and you should hear them all sounding out different octaves of D. Got that?
- Finally, tune the B string (second lightest, and next to the one we just retuned) down one whole step (two frets’ worth again) to A. Check the other strings to make sure they have all settled in their correct pitch. That’s you now in DADGAD!
If you prefer to think of the steps as ‘frets’ rather than whole and half tones, it looks like this, :
- E (-2 frets) =D
- B (-2 frets) =A
- G = no change
- D = no change
- A = no change
- E (-2 frets) =D
7 Great DADGAD Songs
Here are a few examples of DADGAD in use by masterful musicians. I’ve tried to include some proper Celtic folk in here, but also some more mainstream examples that make use of the tuning. You never know where DADGAD will show up!
Si Bheg Si Mor - Tony McManus
This is a traditional Celtic tune that has been interpreted in a number of ways. It works well as an ensemble piece, but as you can see here, it’s perfect for solo fingerstyle guitar, too. Tony McManus is a respected folk guitarist from Paisley, and in this video, you get some performance tips and a breakdown of the intro. A good place to start for the tuning!
Merrily Kissed the Quaker - Pierre Bensusan
Folk artist Pierre Bensusan plays exclusively in DADGAD, so he’s a great source of immersion if you want to get your ears accustomed to the drones and melodies of DADGAD. The French-Algerian whizz blends many different folk cultures into his music, so it’s unfair to label his music ‘traditional’, but it contains many world traditions. It’s not only impressive to hear but beautiful, too. I picked this song because it’s an old folk example, but if you like it, go further with Pierre’s music!
Drifting - Andy McKee
Andy McKee is one of the foremost acoustic tappers, taking inspiration from the great Michael Hedges and moving the technique forward. He’s easily one of the most influential modern-era acoustic players, so I recommend being aware of what he does!
An excellent place to start might be Drifting, one of his earlier singles. Taking a Celtic influence and fusing it to a New Age feel, McKee gives us the blueprint for 21st century fingerstyle playing, and it’s done in DADGAD.
Out on the Western Plain - Rory Gallagher
It’s easy to pigeonhole the great Rory Gallagher into the blues rock corner - since he was brilliant at it - but he had more arrows in his quiver! This song has an American western narrative about cowboys, and though the slide guitar is in Drop-D, the acoustic is DADGAD.
Black Mountain Side & Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
How many guitar fans were introduced to DADGAD thanks to Led Zep? The same is true of Open C tuning (Friends, from Led Zeppelin III) and Open A (In My Time of Dying). Page was obviously doing his homework, and there had always been a folk side to the band anyway. Black Mountain Side displays the influence of Bert Jansch for sure, and it’s not too difficult to get under the fingers of those new to the DADGAD tuning.
Whilst you’re in DADGAD, you might want to crank up the overdrive and try out Kashmir! This epic rocker is also in DADGAD, and is pretty different to the usual stuff played in this tuning!
Poles Apart - Pink Floyd
One more classic rock behemoth for you, to round things off today! Pink Floyd’s Division Bell is a lush record that dispenses with Roger Waters and doubles down on the evocative guitar work. One great cut from it is Poles Apart, a song which could either be about famously troubled ex-Floyd frontman Syd Barrett, or indeed a commentary on those Waters-Gilmour relationship issues.
Either way, that gorgeous acoustic guitar performance which begins the song and underpins the verses is another lovely DADGAD part. Give it a try: for the verse lick, you only need to fret one note!
DADGAD - Celtic, Folk and More
Obviously, today is just an introduction to DADGAD tuning for the guitar. I hope I’ve put the concept across in a straightforward and enjoyable manner, and that you are now tempted to reach for your tuner and give it a go!
You have nothing to lose by spending some time with the tuning, and you may just find that it ignites a new passion in you! Good luck, and enjoy.
