Playing with DADGAD Tuning

Gary Blanchard

Gary Blanchard

beloved, local musician
I now have several tunes that I play in open D; enough to warrant carrying a second guitar for open tuning. I just downloaded a chord chart for DADGAD tuning and am starting to fool around with that. Funny how I was content with standard tuning for 49 years and am just now getting adventurous. :grin:
 
Gary Blanchard said:
I now have several tunes that I play in open D; enough to warrant carrying a second guitar for open tuning. I just downloaded a chord chart for DADGAD tuning and am starting to fool around with that. Funny how I was content with standard tuning for 49 years and am just now getting adventurous. :grin:
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We have a couple of songs in Open C (CGCGCE). I kinda got there through DADGAD and I'm considering exploring it again. Though, for ease of tuning purposes, it may end up as CGCFGC and then a capo on the 2nd fret.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
We have a couple of songs in Open C (CGCGCE). I kinda got there through DADGAD and I'm considering exploring it again. Though, for ease of tuning purposes, it may end up as CGCFGC and then a capo on the 2nd fret.
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That's what I like about this tuning; I just need to change one string a half-step and I'm set. Easy to do on stage.
 
I've played with it, and to my ears, DADGAD tuning sounds better than standard tuning. Not sure why that is.

The problem I have is "un-learning" standarad chord finger positions and transposing that (on the fly) to DADGAD.

For instance, in my mind, I say to myself "G- chord" and I automatically put my fingers into a G chord.

Doesn't work like that for DADGAD, and then I end up looking at my fingers and trying to fumble around with something I've known instinctively how to play for 25 years.

I find it very frustrating.


But it does sound really good for some songs.
 
With open D, the chord shapes are about the same as banjo chords, so I am comfortable with that. That change from F# to G requires a new set of chord shapes, but I'm okay with that. (I think.)
 
I'm a fan.

It sounds more lush to my ears. Sometimes that is appropriate for the song, sometimes it's not.

Alternate tunings can be a great songwriting tool and a cool way to add unique voicings if you're playing with other players.
 
Coralkong said:
I've played with it, and to my ears, DADGAD tuning sounds better than standard tuning. Not sure why that is.

The problem I have is "un-learning" standarad chord finger positions and transposing that (on the fly) to DADGAD.

For instance, in my mind, I say to myself "G- chord" and I automatically put my fingers into a G chord.

Doesn't work like that for DADGAD, and then I end up looking at my fingers and trying to fumble around with something I've known instinctively how to play for 25 years.

I find it very frustrating.


But it does sound really good for some songs.
Click to expand...


You get used to it and you don't.

It is not uncommon for me to use 3 different tunings over the course of a set. Sometimes it takes me a second to remember how I play that "G-chord" this time, but I always get there. :wink: eventually.

I will say, I enjoy taking a song I'm used to doing in one tuning and moving to it another. Depending on how involved the song is it can be difficult, but two cool things happen. You learn more about the song and wrinkles are made in the brain that connect the two so it get's easier to transpose on the fly.

Ultimately, I think the goal is not to have to transpose at all, but rather just play the G chord. It's kind of like becoming fluent in another language. It's alot easier to speak it when you start to think that way too.
 
rhino said:
You get used to it and you don't.

It is not uncommon for me to use 3 different tunings over the course of a set. Sometimes it takes me a second to remember how I play that "G-chord" this time, but I always get there. :wink: eventually.

I will say, I enjoy taking a song I'm used to doing in one tuning and moving to it another. Depending on how involved the song is it can be difficult, but two cool things happen. You learn more about the song and wrinkles are made in the brain that connect the two so it get's easier to transpose on the fly.

Ultimately, I think the goal is not to have to transpose at all, but rather just play the G chord. It's kind of like becoming fluent in another language. It's alot easier to speak it when you start to think that way too.
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Yep, that's exactly what I'm talking about, and I'm not very good at it.

But I still like to screw around in DADGAD every once in a while.
 
I learned a few songs in DADGAD but I kind of stopped playing them. It was a bit of a pain to return (though chromatic tuners make it pretty easy). I have enough to learn with normal tuning. The musical part of my brain is too small for any extra clutter :(
 
Now that I have enough songs in open D to make it worth carrying two guitars, I am easily able to move the open D into DADGAD. Once Sonik get it mixed and mastered, I share the song I wrote in this tuning with you.
 
nuke_diver said:
I learned a few songs in DADGAD but I kind of stopped playing them. It was a bit of a pain to return (though chromatic tuners make it pretty easy). I have enough to learn with normal tuning. The musical part of my brain is too small for any extra clutter :(
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If you do that thing where you take a kyser style capo and flip it around to where the short side is on the fret board fretting the A, D, and G strings on 2, it gives you DADGAD in E. I small adjustment on the high E string usually needs to be made, but this way takes a lot less time than re-tuning.
 
I've played and written in DADGAD quite a bit over the years, but I actually find myself playing more repetitive licks and progressions in it than standard. :shrug:
 
Kerouac said:
I've played and written in DADGAD quite a bit over the years, but I actually find myself playing more repetitive licks and progressions in it than standard. :shrug:
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I get that.

I find taking a different approach breaks that tendency. Instead of a pick, I'll play with my fingers. Instead of strumming chords, I'll try and focus on coming up with a riff. But really, I think it's most useful for strumming full chord voicings behind other stuff, which is why I think we tend to gravitate that way. :)
 
I learned a couple of celtic songs in DADGAD a few years back, but I had the sheet music and really learned them by memorizing them instead of instinctively knowing the chords and fingerings of DADGAD. Since I haven't played them since then, I wouldn't remember how to, at the moment.

 
^^ that's not me, btw, but a friend of mine. We were in a couple of garage bands together, back in the '80s
 
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