[DADGAD Tuning Tutorial] 3 Ways To Play Guitar In DADGAD Tuning

In this video, I am going to show you how to play your guitar in DADGAD tuning. DADGAD is a beautiful tuning for your guitar playing opening up many possibilities that aren’t available in standard tuning.
In this tutorial, I will first show you how to tune your guitar to DADGAD tuning.
After this, I will run you through 3 approaches you can take with DADGAD on your guitar.
- Approach 1: Chords
First, we look at very simple ways to create beautiful sounding chord progressions using DADGAD tuning. Chords in DADGAD sound amazing!
- Approach 2: Melodies
Next, you will learn ways to play melodies in a DADGAD tuning. It’s super simple and sounds awesome!
- Approach 3: 5ths/Octave Shapes
Finally, you will learn some additional ways to use DADGAD tuning on your guitar with 5ths and octave shapes. While you can do these things in standard tuning, they are made much easier to play in DADGAD and sound better!
Learn more ways to get the awesome sound of DADGAD tuning into your guitar playing: acousticguitarlessonsonline.n...
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[@acousticguitarlessons]

Tablature for examples presented in this lesson can be found here: acousticguitarlessonsonline.net/dadgad-guitar-tuning-tutorial

[@ianalexander7575]

I love you sir

[@kimroney8788]

Wonderful tutorial! Thank you so much.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@kimroney8788, you are very welcome! :)

[@andypowers6894]

Thanks Simon for the great video, looking forward to diving into your eBook!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Andy! I hope you enjoy the ebook :)

[@laotzu7555]

Thank you Simon, a very clear and effective lesson

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Lao! :)

[@michaelsentelle1016]

Thank you SO much for sharing your knowledge! I've watched videos and also had people try to explain this to me. You have a clear, concise explanation and it absolutely helps tremendously that you show the tabs at the same time. This one allowed me to lock in like nothing else has! Thanks again!!!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome @michaelsentelle1016 I'm so glad my video helped you with DADGAD Tuning! :)

[@ballsteven4926]

Thank you so much for this very helpful guitar lesson. I have been playin guitar for about 20 years, a very slow learner and have only managed to accomplish the very basics. Your lesson was very clearly explained and your focus is on helping others... not showing off which is very appreciated. Again, thank you so much. Kind Regards.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Ball Steven, you are very welcome! I appreciate your kind words :)

[@Raymond-rr5iv]

I love the sound of open D tuning. And I play songs in open D. I figured buckets of rain off of the blood on the tracks album... some others from Joni Mitchell... some blues etc. However, I couldn't explain what notes I played. Your video helps me understand D tuning unlocking the mystery with the notes. Probably, other tutorials have attempted to do so successfully for others ... but your video is a first fore me. Thank you very much and I did subscribe and am looking forward to more.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Raymond! Great to hear the video has helped your understanding of DADGAD Tuning. I appreciate the sub too! New videos every week :)

[@michaelspahn3675]

Never got an idea how it works with the DADGAD tuning, you opened my mind for harmonic improvisation - thx a lot

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are so welcome Michael! He was to hear you found the video useful :)

[@scotturnquist1240]

Thanks for this video. You have a great gift of teaching that helps me learn DADGAD.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@scotturnquist1240, you are very welcome! :)

[@scottfishkind5335]

Love this presentation, it’s extremely organized and user friendly. I taught piano for 34 years and you are a truly gifted teacher!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@scottfishkind5335, thank you! Gald you found this video helpful :)

[@aubreymcbride4118]

Great lesson thanks for you expertise!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Aubrey! Glad you enjoyed the lesson :)

[@GillisGil]

Excellent! Thanks!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are so welcome GillisGil! :)

[@karenkirwan1280]

Very helpful. Thank you 🙏

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Karen! 🙂

[@keithlamontdavis8047]

Suddenly, I'm exotic! Thank you so much!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Keith Lamont Davis! :)

[@tysonbrasher2114]

Thank you brother🎉

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@tysonbrasher2114 you are very welcome! :)

[@petethefeet5281]

Thank you Simon for a great video - I've been fooling around with dadgad for some time now so your vid was a great help - what about a vid on suggested songs/ finger patterns

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome! :) To clarify, are you meaning a video on fingerpicking patterns needed to play certain songs?

[@petethefeet5281]

@@acousticguitarlessons Yes, that kind of thing, I've been playing various travis patterns for some years now but none of them seem to adapt to dadgad very well so a couple of patterns on songs such as poor wayfaring stranger would be a great help - I don't have full 'finger indipendance' but i'm ok if i learn a standard pattern and keep it going thru the song Thanks so much for coming back to me

[@edwardjubic8282]

Great lesson

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Thanks! Glad you liked it :)

[@OlivierLouet]

thx a lot

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are most welcome Olivier! :)

[@damienchristian8536]

Brilliant. I remember somebody mentioned DADGAD on a jam night at the local, it was hilarious listening to a guy on whisky trying to say DADGAD a few times! Then gave up.

[@damienchristian8536]

forgot to mention he had no teeth , sorry.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

lol! Glad you liked the video Damien :)

[@MelissaCox1992]

Thank you for this very informative lesson, Verry well structured and clear. as an aside, what Guitar, strings an mics are you using? Dadgad sounds perfect and not all guitar body shapes project with clarity in this way. everything is so clear even when playing chordal passages... Thank You. Regards: Melissa Cox. PS: Subscriber as of now.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@MelissaCox1992, glad you liked the lesson and found it helpful :) I am playing a Maton Em325c acoustic guitar, I use Elixir 80/20 Bronze Nanoweb strings Guage 11 - 52. The mic I am using is a Zoom H2. It's old, but does the job. Thanks for the sub! :)

[@rwaterman9677]

This was a wonderful lesson, Simon. Could you please explain the process how I transpose a song played in standard (or any other tuning) into DADGAD tuning?

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@ r waterman, glad you enjoyed the lesson! :) I like the idea of what you are asking as a topic for a future video. In short, if you want to transpose a song from standard tuning to DADGAD, let's say Hotel California for example, you would find the chords of the song in DADGAD tuning. There would be many options for this, so you can experiment and see what you like the sound of the most. Then you would pick through those chords as happens in the original arrangement. Don't expect to here exactly the same thing as the original, otherwise what would be the point of this exercise :) The idea is you'd come up with a very cool version of the song. I do like this idea for a video :)

[@rwaterman9677]

@@acousticguitarlessons Thanks so much for your quick response. A lesson would be great! I also get what you're saying about finding the chords in DADGAD (so you get that DADGAD flavor). My challenge is finding valid chords and their different voicings. Cheers, Russ

[@mybrainisdum]

i would like to know how many times “ DADGAD tuning “ was said in this video 😅 thank you though, it’s a really nice video

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Ha ha, I'm guessing I said it quite a lot! Glad you liked the video :)

[@johnmcleod8961]

hello Simon...do u offer a more comprehensive course in dadgsd tuning...like blues, jazz, arranging, composing, etc., in this tuning?...maybe learn some songs already arranged.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@johnmcleod8961 at this stage I do not I'm afraid. I have the eBook that is promoted in this video, however not much more on DADGAD but may remedy this in the future :)

[@PetriJuuhansson-wh4zp]

I quess its a simple tuning for simple people. Nothing wrong with that. 99% of people in earth are simple

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@PetriJuuhansson-wh4zp, try saying that to Pierre Bensusan :)

[@PetriJuuhansson-wh4zp]

All chords sounds allmost the same. I never have found any use for this tuning. Watching these videos in hope to find something but so far watched 10 vids and they are all the same. Just the face of the person changes :D

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@PetriJuuhansson-wh4zp, perhaps open tunings aren't for you :)