The name already tells you the tuning: from low to high the strings are D A D G A D. Strummed open it sounds neither quite major nor minor, but open and a little floating. Musicians call that sound Dsus4.
Retuning
- low E string down a whole step to D
- A, D and G strings stay the same
- B string down a whole step to A
- high E string down a whole step to D
What DADGAD is good for
In Irish and Celtic music the guitar often accompanies fiddle, flute and voice. The many open D and A strings sound like a bagpipe drone that keeps humming along. Songs in D and G fit best. Many chord shapes are smaller than usual because the open strings can often ring along.
Setting it up in the app
In the tuner, tap “Other tuning …” at the bottom and choose “DADGAD”. The app then works out every chord chart for DADGAD, in the songs and the blues too. A note at the top of every page shows the tuning; “Back to standard tuning” switches back.
To the tuner