# DADGAD tuning, songs, and approaches



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Anyone here fairly good at using DADGAD on an acoustic? This is my first serious foray into alternate tuning on guitar, so even though I have 30 years playing experience, I've stuck to standard tuning. My understanding is that it works especially well with fingerstyle, which I'm pretty good at. My taste leans into Page who has used it on a number of occasions, and it's also used by Mikael Akerfeldt in a number of Opeth tunes, amosgst many other well known artists.

I've tuned one acoustic (Seagull S6) to this just now and have been pissing around a bit, but I NEED STRUCTURE and ideas. I really haven't researched any common chord shapes or finger patterns yet, so I'm hoping some of you guys, especially the old farts, can chime in with some stuff you've found over the years. I'm not opposed to learning a few covers to get started, but I'm on an original kick right now (as always actually), so I need to know and understand it as well.

Any help you guys can afford is greatly appreciated!


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2017)

I found this. It has quite a list.
List of ALL (major) DADGAD Songs


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Bensusan has a pretty good instructional book, likely still available from his website. I attended a workshop he conducted in 2001, it was quite enlightening even though I'd been using the tuning for years. I've just recently started using it again after years of neglect, but mostly to create my own stuff rather than play the music of others.


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

I consider dadgad my standard tuning, and keep at least one acoustic guitar on a stand always ready to go. My electrics tend to be in eadgbe.

DADGAD Guitar Open Tuning Chord Chart

Brian's huge chordlist collection [Guitar in DADGAD-Tuning (D, A, D G A D')]


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Thanks for the start guys. Appreciate it. I'll be checking this stuff out this weekend. After playing around a bit lst night I figured out a few sets of strings diatonic ally up and down the neck. Mainly just on the top 3 with some open DAD using the thumb. I'm getting more of a sense of where this can go. I've been using a lot of open string ideas for standard tuning lately so this just opens it up even more. I have to get the notion that I'm cheating on the guitar because it isn't standard tuning out of my head though. I probably think that way at the moment because I'm unfamiliar with some of the differences in chord and melody construction though.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I'm of Scottish descent and I understand that a number of Celtic tunes use this. It's also popular in many other cultures that relate to old school Folk tunes. I would like to get a bit Medieval on this at some point soon, if it applies!
.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Understanding DADGAD for Fingerstyle Guitar eBook+Online Audio - Mel Bay Publications, Inc. : Mel Bay

DADGAD Tuning eBook+Online Audio - Mel Bay Publications, Inc. : Mel Bay

I've used a couple of these titles as well.


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2017)

Try u-tube too.
Scottish tunes DADGAD


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

You're going to want to save a copy of this on your computer.
It's the biggest and most comprehensive list of DADGAD chords I've ever found.

http://benfarmer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Dadgad.pdf


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

In my forays into alternate tunings, having a song to learn helped a lot. I think that would expose you to some of the structure you're looking for. But I also think it boils down to finding the notes needed to make the chord. It's still music, and you need 2, 3, 4 notes, just in a voicing that you like.


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## Guyfrets (Aug 20, 2012)

I'll add my voice to Mooh's recommendation, Understanding DADGAD for Fingerstyle Guitar by Doug Young. It includes scales, chord shapes and simple tunes, all in DADGAD tuning.


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