Online guitar DADGAD tuner

Guitar string notes in DADGAD

Frequencies are calculated with the reference A at 440 Hz. If your group tunes to a different reference, such as 442 Hz, adjust it with the − and + buttons next to “A = 440 Hz” and the tuner shifts every note.

How to go from standard tuning to DADGAD

Three of the six strings change. All the strings that change go down, so the guitar ends up with less tension than in standard tuning. If you overshoot, drop below the note and tune back up to it: that way the string stays firmly set at the tuning peg. To go back to normal tuning, use the standard guitar tuner.

An open, modal sound

Played open, DADGAD forms a D chord with a suspended fourth: it has no third, so it's neither major nor minor. That ambiguity lets you ring open strings as drones while the melody moves on top, and lets many chord shapes slide along the neck without losing that cushion of sound.

That's why it fits so well in Celtic music, folk and fingerstyle acoustic guitar, though it also shows up in rock and metal.

Where it comes from

It was popularized by British guitarist Davey Graham in the early 1960s, inspired by an oud (Arabic lute) player he heard in Morocco. In traditional Irish music, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Dáithí Sproule were the first guitarists to use it.

Its most famous rock example is Led Zeppelin's “Kashmir”. Acoustic guitarists such as Pierre Bensusan have built much of their repertoire on it.

How to tune your guitar to DADGAD with this tuner

1. Tap Enable microphone and accept the browser's permission request. The sound is analyzed on your device: it isn't recorded or sent anywhere.
2. Leave the tuner on Auto so it recognizes which string you're playing, or tap a note to lock it (tap it again to go back to Auto).
3. Play a single open string with medium force and let it ring.
4. If the needle is to the left, the note is flat: tune up. If it's to the right, tune down. Anywhere between −5 and +5 cents counts as in tune.
5. Once a string stays in tune for a moment, its button gets a green check mark. Keep going until every string has one.
6. Use the speaker icon under each note to hear the reference and train your ear.
7. Go over every string again at the end: the tension of some strings shifts the others slightly.

Tips for tuning your guitar to DADGAD

• Only three strings change: lower the 6th, 2nd and 1st a whole step. The 5th, 4th and 3rd stay as in standard tuning.
• Check the 6th against the 4th: its 12th-fret harmonic should match the open 4th (D).
• The 2nd string (A) should match the open 5th, an octave higher; the 1st should match the 4th, an octave up.
• Explore by letting the open strings ring: in DADGAD, much of the magic is in what you don't fret.

Common tuning problems

• The needle jumps between notes: play a single string, a little more softly, and wait for the sound to settle. The first instant of every note always sounds slightly sharp.
• It doesn't pick up the low strings: phone microphones struggle with low frequencies. Hold your phone closer to the instrument or play the harmonic at the middle of the string (12th fret): the tuner recognizes it as the same string and tells you it sounds an octave higher.
• The open strings are in tune, but what you play sounds off: check that no string is in the wrong octave and that your strings aren't old. If it still sounds wrong, ask your teacher or a luthier to check the instrument's intonation.
• It goes out of tune right away: new strings keep stretching for several days, and changes in temperature and humidity shift the tuning. Tune in the same place where you're going to play.
• The browser doesn't ask for the microphone: check the site permissions in your browser settings and make sure no other app is using the microphone.

Frequently asked questions