Getting started with DADGAD tuning: 5 chords you need to know

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Loved by the likes of Davey Graham, Roy Harper and Jimmy Page, DADGAD remains a great place to start when exploring alternate tunings, especially on acoustic guitar.

It’s harmonically somewhat ‘ambiguous’ because it contains stable-sounding perfect 4ths (G), perfect 5ths (A) and the root note (D) – but no 3rds to make it major or minor.

Strummed all at once, the open strings are a big, bold Dsus4 chord. It’s a de facto standard alternative to traditional E standard (EADGBE) tuning amongst fingerpickers and percussive players alike.

1. D5

This chord only requires one finger, but creates a huge-sounding D5 powerchord.

2. Bm7

This fingering sounds great as it uses the first and second strings as a drone.

3. Aadd11

This shape also uses a drone. Try swapping between the previous shape and this one.

4. Cadd9

This one can be heard in action by Jimmy Page in his fingerstyle classic, Black Mountain Side.

5. Em11

This final chord provides a huge, resonant Em11 sound thanks to those ringing open strings.