Get inspired with DADGAD: my favourite alternate tuning

[@Scablander]

If I had had Adrian as a teacher I could have saved 20 years getting to where I am now.

[@Blue_3rd]

Tell me about it!

[@frankmasterson9243]

I know the feeling. Seems like I have learned through trial and error. Lol

[@anthonyclegg1511]

It isn't where you are, it's the journey that matters.

[@skeletonkey6]

Absolutely, I could not agree more with this statement!

[@Cris_Borgnine]

The man is a damn good musician I've definitely learned a lot from his teaching.

[@cthomas2949]

Thanks Adrian. Love the way you come across as informative and educational with these lessons. You are an awesome player, but with zero arrogance or aloofness. Anyone with a weeks guitar experience or 50 years or more can benefit from this. Your enthusiasm for the instrument and the guitarist you are talking about shines through.

[@mooseyard]

DADGAD is fun! Lately I’ve been playing in EADGBD, dropping the high E string. It’s uncommon, but Lou Reed used it for “Venus In Furs.” I learned that song and then have stayed in that tuning for months now. Almost all standard chord shapes still work, they just sound … different. Darker, weirder. I love it.

[@frankblakley8249]

I use a capo on the high string side to effectively get drop e by having it on the second fret below the low e I've also tuned down a whole step on the high e for double drop e. Might use two capos sometime or get a spider capo in the future.

[@guskalogeros9021]

Adrian. Your channel is so good. I’ve been a fan ever since I saw you play a spot on rendition of Holidays in Cambodia.

[@prkeene]

Such a beautiful tuning. Also it never ceases to amaze me that just by dropping that G down a half step you get Open D which is super useful slide and dropping down another half step gets to Open Dm and now your in spooky Skip James territory. So much tonal quality variation by changing that one string.

[@GaryBook]

You are brilliant mate. You make DADGAD so easy to play. I love open tunings. Open G - Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Dire Straits; Open D - Dylan Blood on the Tracks; Open E - Duane Allman, Joni Mitchell, Black Crowes; Double Drop D - Going to California; other interesting tunings: CSN & Y, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell.

[@chrisforbes]

Thanks Adrien - now I must get a Davey Graham album out… love that stuff!

[@mitarrguitars]

Adrian, has always it is a treat your lessons. My own students young and older are very familiar with your channel. Keep up the great content. I would say for your viewers the A suspended is Asus2 add11. Even your Drag Racer video by Doug Wood has been very well received, and enjoyed. Best wishes from South Wales. Mike.

[@hermetech]

Brilliant, best DADGAD intro I've watched so far. I would love you to do a tutorial on any of the classic Folk fingerstyle versions of 'She Moves Through The Fair' or 'Black Waterside'.

[@wickedmessenger179]

I second that👍

[@hermetech]

@@wickedmessenger179 Or My Lagan Love etc.

[@widdlemonk]

Nice introduction to DADGAD. Very interesting . Thank you.

[@fishfullness]

I've played around with Open D Minor - close to dadgad but actually dadfad - primarily for playing the wonderful song The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Gaz Coombes. I always thought I was too much of a novice to try songs in alternate tunings but was using your Open G tuning based lesson for Cemetry Gates by the Smiths and, like you say, the tuning can actually do a lot of the work for you - almost with a drone like quality for those Open strings you end up playing. Great stuff as usual Adrian :)

[@Pete_R199er5]

Thanks Adrian, I found this video very inspiring. I've tried DADGAD before but not had much sucess so I'll be having another go. Cheers.

[@donyoung7874]

You mentioned a number of my favorite acoustic guitarists right off the top! You don't hear Roy Harper mentioned by many people. I have the Takamine mahogany J349 that Martin sued them over; it looks exactly like your guitar and I usually play around with open tunings on it. Unfortunately I think most of what I come up with sounds the same. I'll have to pull this video up tomorrow and see if I can find some other things. Off and on, I try to play Richard Thompson's version of Banish Misfortune in this tuning. Have you heard his Strict Tempo album from the 80's? Phenomenal stuff. When I found it it opened up another world of music for me.

[@ptangyangkipperbang3295]

Excellent lesson. Thank you

[@michaeld.mahoney9106]

Outstanding lesson, great tuning. Thanks so much.

[@UncleBillyBob732]

Excellent knowledge and presentation.

[@boomerdell]

Adrian's lessons are ALWAYS so good!

[@dakotablackstone4486]

Best DADGAD lesson! Thank you!

[@martynspooner5822]

Thanks as always Adrian, always variety and always cool as Cheers

[@stevenbrownlie2095]

By far the best introduction to DADGAD on YT. Drop the G to F# and you are in Open D which is great for slide and some trad blues tunes. Jeff Martin from The T Party is another guitarist who uses DADGAD and many other tunings to evoke a middle eastern or celtic feel. He’s also a fan of the late great Bert Jansch. Check out his instrumental The Badger (open D I think). Another great lesson Adrian. Thank you.

[@cmaddox1020]

Another great tutorial, Adrian. Thanks for sharing！

[@cptntwang]

Thank you a lot. That’s good stuff I never thought about. Great

[@heidimillington2257]

Awesome lesson thankyou. Going to tune my old dreadnought to dadgad immediately

[@deirdreniemann4044]

DADGAD is the best tuning for amazing and beautiful open cords even for beginners!! There is a shortage of DADGAD videos

[@guyguyguyjean]

always usable teachings from Adrian!!!

[@salubrious]

Cheers Adrian, very informative.

[@TwelveSticks]

That was great - and quite unusual to just do a "this is some of what you can do - go figure it out for yourself" style thing. Refreshing...

[@switch1e]

dude i've been playing a lot of sun kil moon lately and a lot of their songs are DADGAD. weird timing

[@davidmarsh9897]

I've really started to like this tuning and have been following a guy called Aodan Coyne. He clearly explains how to play good old Irish jigs etc. He's a great teacher and an accomplished guitarist.

[@MrFoggyNotion]

Thanks! I've been reading Cameron Knowler's book 'Guitars have feelings too'. He talks about old time guitarists backing up fiddle players vs flatpicking bluegrass guitarists, the history of it all etc... This is the first time I've come across someone actually teaching this: backing up a fiddle player instead of making it all about the guitar. Very cool!

[@misorodzinak8829]

YES! Thank you.

[@kevinlucken8558]

Thank U. And what a beautiful guitar

[@graemethorne4540]

Thanks 👍 yes more please

[@johnw4659]

Thank you, Adrain.

[@mikesmithwick1570]

DADGAD is totally addictive....since rediscovering it a few years ago I now have to force myself to play in standard tuning😅

[@JohnnyArtPavlou]

I just wrote and recorded a piece in DADGAB. I was just hunting around, trying to do some alternate tunings, and after a lot of twisting, ended up in that God. And then I decided to mess with it.

[@meeno_the_man]

Fantastic lesson!!!!

[@Bruisewillies]

I've recently built up a guitar specifically to use alternate tunings, specifically DADGAD and Open D. They honestly play themselves!

[@frankblakley8249]

I use a les Paul with heavy bottoms and 9 Guage high e. Best of both worlds. Easy to play high strings and low strings that easily handle being defined. Took the screws out of the bridge pickup to get a single coil sound with humbucking. I blend the two pickups to get a nice tonal quality close to what I do with a Ric bass.

[@wulfboy01]

Excellent!!!

[@stealthy7]

Great lesson !

[@joshwallis]

Oh! That’s the Nick Drake tuning!

[@jsimes1]

Actually CGCFCE is the Nick Drake tuning! 🙂

[@stevebumstead9840]

I too loved Jimmy Page's acoustic work. Thank you.

[@robertoestebanmoreno6996]

AWESOME!

[@kalvino67]

Great tutorial!!! 👍🏽👍🏽

[@donwright3427]

When I went to the Philippines I missed my banjo so much and not being able to buy one there I bought a cheap acoustic and experimented with open tunings

[@davidt9841]

Adrian, you are solidly among my favorite music instructors! I've been subscribed for quite some time, and I am currently looking to purchase a Mahogony Martin D15 StreetMaster Acoustic that I can leave in DADGAD tuning. What is it that you're playing here?

[@duaneulman9915]

Thank you

[@youbecha64]

A few months ago I picked up a second guitar, just so I could leave it tuned to DADGAD...specifically for Kashmir...

[@gustavoberocan]

Dad left the guitar on a barn A good day i picked it up, or did it pickep me? Devil told me some old licks Good times was when i had stolen a few more Are you in love for the Craviola? Dude, what is this tuning?! * oh yes, this tuning is also my favorite. so inspiring that i just made this silly acrostic

[@steveblease]

I struggle with long pieces with lots of different section because I have no visual memory at all. Where people can be shown or read something and recall it, I can't do that at all.

[@tbirdmason]

A great DADGAD song for us to learn would be Breaking News by Michael Stanley. Please have a listen if you have the time. I would love to learn that song.

[@teleplucker6802]

I think Steven Stills used DADDAD on many songs.

[@douglasthiboutot8963]

Lawrence Juber is a DADGAD master. Check him out !

[@gregorycickavage8503]

Has a Nick Drake kinda groove.

[@Billsingsong]

What popular pop rock songs can you play in the tuning dadgad?

[@TerribleUsernameAmirite]

Kevin Shields likes this.

[@horroroffab]

What string gauge would best suit this tuning on electric?

[@acpg]

Works fine for me using my usual Ernie Ball Slinkys which are 10s. A set of 11s might work even better.

[@ardiris2715]

DADGAD on a 12 string is mush. DADGAD on a 6 over a 12 string loop is amazing. (:

[@frankblakley8249]

Nashville strung guitars sound great with dadgad. Got a buddy who only puts the low E on his twelvestring doubled. Rest Nashville strung with tape on the unused tuning keys. Gives you a lot of space for articulation and makes do I wanna know by artic monkeys.

[@ardiris2715]

@@frankblakley8249 I had Sweetwater set up a new guitar for me with Nashville tuning. A fun instrument that never gets in the way of the bass. (:

[@robertoestebanmoreno6996]

Is there a place I can drop you some coin? Thank u shifu!

[@cskueny]

Adrian is on Patreon; the link is in the description above.

[@philipmbirch]

Adrian has a PATREON page :)

[@lamper2]

Shouldn't there be, by now, a phone app that will put your guitar into any tuning. Seems archaic to have to actually twist tuning pegs.

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

I have wrote a few in DADFAD, which I came across when I learnt killing floor blues (the version from 'oh brother where art though?") Like deployed 👍 😎🎙🎸✅️ Edit:- *thou 😂

[@ravensmead1558]

my daughter says I use BAD DAD Tuning

[@TeleStratman]

Ah..... How did you forget to mention Rory Gallagher 😮

[@Chafflives]

Do you mean Page plagarised yet someone else ? 😲😲😲

[@johnpandolfino8663]

Nick Drake?

[@stealthy7]

Some, but Drakes tunings were a lot more complex in the main

[@littleninpo]

Ha was going to ask the same

[@jsimes1]

Nick Drake used CGCFCE and a few other oddball tunings. He was a genius who did his own thing.

[@Andrew-cu9lf]

Duly inspired.

[@charlesrense5199]

So basically this is the guitar cheat code, right?

[@morecowbell69]

Kashmir

[@GeneseeBen]

My shits fucked up be zevon is in this tuning...

[@rayjames9835]

🙏👍🇭🇲

[@LUCKYB.]

George Harrison used that tuning on Norwegian wood.