Learning to use the DADGAD tuning Part 1

[xDuBBx85]

Very nice... This has been helpful it's very similiar to open E but it's in D I can't believe after years of playing I am just now discovering this tuning... thank you for taking the time to make this video.



[ryanoneillmusic]

The only handicap to DADGAD is that it rocks...but only if you're in the key of D. Any other key, you're screwed. What I do, is if I lead worship with 2 guitars, I leave one in standard and one in DADGAD and switch back and forth. If there's only one guitar, either somehow transpose all your songs to D, or tune on stage. Still, it's a better idea to have two guitars because the tuning is sweet, but like all sweet stuff, too much of it is a bad thing. Use it tastefully.

[brendo12345]

Do you have these chords in a pdf format possibly??? Please let me know!

[syan9184]

what are some songs you recommend for a Dadgad beginner?? haha

[GuitarMaster2207]

@syan9184 well, "the wonderful cross" by chris tomlin is a good one. 

[JosephTDavid]

@syan9184 Trace Bundy songs :)

[tk1070]

Wow! I've got to say that I have you to thank for coming across this type of tuning. I saw that a lot of your tabs for Steven Curtis Chapman are in DADGAD, so I started looking into it. I'm a beginner guitarist at 40 and have been singing Steven's songs for over ten years now, but I feel like I need to play too. I'm switching to DADGAD permanently, it fits the style of music I love to sing and will play. May the Lord bless you in all He has for you Jordan. ; ) - Todd

[stepsafer]

Really good DADGAD tutorial. I just discovered of the tuning and thanks to Utube I can get lots of advice. I hope to p[lay it as well as you someday..

[OleBlues]

Do you ever play in standard tuning? Or are you just primarily a DADGAD player?

Thanks.... You're awesome by the way :)

[GuitarMaster2207]

@OleBlues i can't remember the last time my guitar was in standard.

[OleBlues]

@OleBlues DADGAD seems to fit you and your style. Keep the faith. Be Blessed :)

[guitarman3190]

good video...gives me good ideas and such.....i know its not EXACTLY to explain it but DADGAD tuning is like what you would get is if you played Dorian as a chord...if that makes any sense lol. instead of root third fifth its, like Root Fourth Fifth....but this is probably the best video i have seen explaining this Modal Tuning :)

[CaseyViolette92]

@guitarman3190 may god bless your heart guitar man

[plummetdown]

is there a way to play lord of the dance in Dadgad? I only see it in C tunning...on your site. I appreciate it. God blessssss you!!!

[GuitarMaster2207]

@plummetdown yes, i play it in DADGAD...that is if yo're talking about the SCC song. i have a how-to vid on it, but it was about 3 years ago and i hadn't gotten it "down" yet. go to my tab site and see if it's there: w w w (dot) gmtabs (dot) zoomshare (dot) com

[frmertd]

this was excellent and exactly what I've been looking for. People start dadgad and immediately ask "how do I make a G major?" but you don't play a G major in dadgad , you play it this way. Wonderful explanation and tour of the fretboard. This was very helpful for me.

[tah654]

Boomer sooners? You're from Oklahoma? I am too. :) where?

[GuitarMaster2207]

@tah654 all over really. but mostly the durant area

[shaunrainbow]

Brilliant - wish I could turn the clock back about 40 years!

[jamminmusicman]

IVE BEEN PLAYING IN THE DADGAD TUNING FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW I HAVE SOME OF THE OPEN CHORDS DOWN AND GOT THE MAJOR BAR CHORDS COULD YOU EXPLAIN HOW TO MAKE THE MINOR BAR ON ALL 6TH STRINGS IN DADGAD GET BACK WITH ME

[wesmatron]

Outstanding! Thanks!

[akquarius]

I'm using dadgad mainly in the celtic fingerstyle Side. But your vid Gabe me Somerset nice ideas. Thanks a Lot!

[TheLingnerFamily]

The christmas melody example sounded alot like a mountain dulcimer. (for obvious tuning reasons) Thanks Jordan... will check out some of your other stuff. God bless.

[Marvin16x]

what a skilled girl i hardly know ones that can play something else than C, Am, G and F :P

[sunil79]

god bless you girl

[christrealized]

Awesome post! You Rock!

How old are you ?

Very impressive video!

[GuitarMaster2207]

i was 18 in this video. i'm about to turn 20 now.

[sivmeister]

I'm sure you know this but at 4:30 you were playing octaves, but I liked the way you described it so anyone would know what you were talking about :)

[GuitarMaster2207]

yes, i know what octaves are. lol.

[sivmeister]

That's fantastic :D

[knoxelectra]

Thanks a bunch for posting this. I'm jammin in DADGAD now!

[savethedowns]

thanks for the tips it sounds beautiful, but your accent is way too southern to be wearing a "i love ny" tee, please tell me your longhorn shirt was dirty

[GuitarMaster2207]

two words....BOOMER SOONERS!!!

[savethedowns]

everyone knows that Sooner players were rejects from Texas haha no offense...

[cady987]

could you please make a cover of cinderella by Chapman? that'd be awesome!

[Hazenstones]

Very cool, but music has nothing to do with religion. Take out the words and it is just music. I would recommend 'The Harmonic Experience' by Walter Mathieu. You play what you are exposed to; music has no labels.

[GuitarMaster2207]

You know you're right. take the words out, and it's just music. but the difference is in the heart. it's all about WHY I play, not WHAT i play. God has freed me from so much junk, i'm not who i used to be, and I know it's not by my own power that i'm free. i couldn't do it myself. I sing as an act of gratitude and in effort to tell everyone that hears me sing that there is a living God and He's crazy about them!

[Hazenstones]

Ok. I didn't mean to be offensive. I'm just too old to relate to points of view. But if this is what works for you, then go ahead. In life, there is no right and wrongs of doing things. If anything, all that it matter is how it looks to you. Still, take a look at that book I suggested, get the most out of it and then toss away.

[Ayato3]

@Hazenstones your right mate, i don't know who's the moron that had down tumbed u, but that right music has no labels, music is everything and nothing at the same time. and that's the beauty of it :)

[Hazenstones]

Thank you Ayato. It doesn't bother me to be thumbed down. I'm not looking to be elated. I can play from Classical to Middle Eastern to Indian Ragas all the way to Blues and Jazz. There are no labels. Thanks Ayato.

[TOADIEWINDSOR]

Cool!

[108vasudeva]

Excellent lesson Jordan. You are a talented and blessed young lady. Your appreciation for the guitar, your genuine humility despite your formidable skills are a testament to yourbfine character. Thank you so much for the post. Your an EXCELLENT teacher! Please post more!

[Rozjen]

I just tuned my guitar in DADGAD, didn't knew there were so beautiful chords in DADGAD like the ones you play. Great instruction video! Thanx!

[davidb0064]

Thanks for posting this Jordan! Super helpful.

[BRENDAN75100]

you should come to IRELAND play along with irish musicians dadgad sounds great with irish music youd see it put to its full potential . great lesson thanks

[JosephEaorle]

Just want to point out, that while you first mention the bottom string as the highest (in pitch), and the top as the lowest, you then refer to the the second string as the second highest, and the fifth as the second lowest. It is always better to stick to the convention of referring to the lowest string as the lowest in pitch, and the highest, the highest in pitch (closest to the ground though)

[Chesbay53]

well done. very uderstandable. you know your stuff! thanks.

[kelvis97]

Great Instruction

[artnmusic909]

Great vid; helped me a lot:I'm jumping into DADGAD. You're awesome ma man.

[guitarman0215]

thnx this helped ha

[jateh88]

this was really helpful! thx a bunch

[meangreen4321]

How old are you kid? You're great.

[GuitarMaster2207]

i was 17 at that time. i'm almost 20 now.

[paghob]

Hey!! Thanks for a great lesson. That was superb. Have been playing (regular) guitar for some time, but recently became interest in this haunting tuning. Say can you do White Summer by Jimmy Page? It is also in DADGAD. One other question. Do you know a Christian Band called the Walker Band. I saw them in my youth about 20 years ago in England (where I live). Walker's guitar playing was close to genius. Do they still exist?

[GuitarMaster2207]

not sure i have heard of the Walker Band. and as for "White Summer", it sounds familiar but i cannot play it. thanks for watching. :)

Jordan

[johnmadox]

AWESOME !!!! thank you...

plenty of good riffs.

[johnz6808]

awesome

[BrownieMusic]

Such a great lesson. This is my new favorite tuning! Thanks

[Bolo1981]

Thank you for this vid.

You're a dude!

[murishmac]

super very well explained,and great playing... thank you very much....Mo

[mikepwilliams]

love this simple way of aproch. and love the responce about hope and futre

[twelvemeister]

you are ace

[kumarooooo]

thank you so much awesome playing

[PurplestickieDotCom]

ew religious musicians

[GuitarMaster2207]

nah, just a musician with hope and a future. religious and ritualistic i am not.

[Jesterhead87]

this helped me a lot with dadgad tuning, thx mate!

[unaminousjd]

Great, thanks mate

[Shinichi1213]

Wow!!! DADGAD really sounds great!!! this is the first time that i've heard of this tuning! this will help me a lot to improve my guitar skill..tnx!

^___^

[kc7wwy]

KEEP ON PLAYING and ALWAYS PLAY FRO THE HEART,

[glorygiver]

heck yeah its helpful and inspires me to learn more guitar, I have been stuck in a kinda rut this has help pushed me out thanks a bunch sista!

[peteyweakskeet]

Good stuff. Thank you.

[morriboy88]

Hey. Great video. Thanks from Scotland! Wondering what the tune is that you play right after you say it's going to be Christmas music??

[GuitarMaster2207]

That would be "angels we have heard on high".

[ssmith42469]

Thanks and keep on creating great videos.

[ssmith42469]

Love the sound of this tuning, I was wondering if this would pair well with another guitar that was in standard tuning or does it even matter as long as your in the same key? I am looking to do an acoustic duo act but want to get away from a traditional sound and try to get a different voicing in the rythym section. or would it be better if both guitars were in the same tuning? Thoughts anybody.

[GuitarMaster2207]

this is a common question. lots of acoustic sets are done with the guitars in various tunings, from open G and DADGAD, to standard. it will add demension and body to your sound if you play in different tunings, as long as you are playing in the same key.

[rileesdad7]

I have been playing in open d tuning from the begining ,,,,,,,,,,but this video helped me tremendously .

Thank you for posting it . have a good night.

[JANicolson]

Dont let some people upset you. You are helping old guys like me discover a new set of sounds in this tuning. Be happy in the knowledge that some people appreciate what you are trying to do. Thanks!!

[tako379]

im gonna learn this tuning and try it out, i love the sound of it

[austinproject]

Hey GM2207,

Excellent lesson. I am 50 years old and have been playing for 20+ years, but I never ever tried the whole DADGAD scene before. Who knew? I was looking for a jump start and there you were. Thanks for the overview. I'll be putting the time in no doubt, but thanks for the quick cheat.

If I had only started at your age. Your gonna be a monster! You are a natural for sure...

Peace, Mitch - (search youtube - austinproject oh yeah)

[scrappingmompj]

Thanks so much!! Would love to have all this info written down somewhere. Guess I will just have to watch the video over and over again!

[thefamousb]

I think you can play guitar grrreat. btw.. i loooove your accent! & what taylor do you own? thank you :)

[GuitarMaster2207]

thanks. everyone likes the accent. lol. i own a taylor 114e. it's low end, but so great for the price. clean deep sound.

[firecop3b]

awsome and very informative thank you alot

[MattRenoufAcoustic]

Actually.. DADGAD has been used and experimented with for a long time by a lot of players, since the 60's or so. Pierre Bensusan has been using DADGAD's modal characteristics for around 30 years, not to mention Eric Roche, Thomas Leeb, and many more. Cheers

[mmmutz]

dear guitarmaster. thanks for the very helpful tutorial. very nice playing and presentation! best wishes and thanks again, martin

[Tadhg64]

If I use DADGAD, will I be filled with the Holy Spirit?

[GuitarMaster2207]

dude if you're gonna make fun of people, why comment? geez i'm so weary of people going out of their way to belittle others. really, what's the point, other than to make yourself feel like somebody big?

[ducatichris9]

guitarmaster i think not!

[GuitarMaster2207]

i absolutely agree. my screenname is very sarcastically chosen. lol. it'd be like if i were 400 lbs and i chose my screenname to be "SwimSuitModel". lol. it's meant to be chuckled at.

[knoxelectra]

Thanks for posting this, bro.

Great talent.

[yurama2001]

Hello there! I'm from the Philippines and am thanking God for your talent. I'm a big fan of SCC. i also love your guitar rendition of The First Noel as much as I love SCC's songs. I got a question, hope you don't mind, I'd like to know who your guitar influences are. Thanks!

[jteran29]

What kind of guitar is that? It has a pretty good sound.

[GuitarMaster2207]

it's a taylor 114e

[hmrdulcimer]

Can you play a Dadgad tuned guitar with a regularly tuned guitar together?

[GuitarMaster2207]

yes that's quite common for a group of guitarists to use different tunings playing the same song. it adds deminsion. see the video of Chris Tomlin and Steven Curtis Chapman on New Song Cafe "We Fall Down". it's on youtube. they do that.

[StoneAndPete44]

hmrdulcimer: If you've ever heard of the band Pearl Jam, there are two guitarists: Stone Gossard and Mike McCready. McCready usually keeps his guitar in standard but Stone uses standard, Open D, Open A, and Open G for most of the songs, even while playing simultaneously with McCready. A great example of standard and open-tuned guitars playing together is the song Even Flow by Pearl Jam. Stone (rhythm guitar) uses an Open D tuning for that song while McCready (lead and solos) uses standard.

[lsur04]

Excellent series of videos - very helpful. Thank you very much for these!

[DrinkPizza]

I actually found this really useful. Cheers for the vid

[physicalgrafiti12345]

Could you give me some assistance with White Summer/Black Mountainside?

[GuitarMaster2207]

never heard of those songs, but i like the titles. very intriguing.

[physicalgrafiti12345]

Well Black Mountainside was re-written by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin from a version of a traditional Irish folk song called Black Waterside and it was recorded on Led Zeppelin's first album, White Summer was Jimmy's guitar solo so in the middle of it he put in Black Mountainside because they are both in DADGAD. Black Mountainside is really good song you should check it out. I was hoping you could help me cause there a bunch of covers of it on the internet but no lessons.

[Difrancoism18]

thank you so much for this video...i haven't ever played out of standard tuning, but this opened up so much for me...i hope to see more from you

[krthriller]

could you send me chord charts? :)

[GuitarMaster2207]

chord charts for the songs or the formations?

[GuitarMaster2207]

okay, go to gmtabs(dot)zoomshare(dot)com everything i have is there

[normbdt]

Hi,

I was hoping to get a chart for the chord demontrated in this video if that is possible. I have been playing for over 40 yrs. and am very excited about DADGAD

Thanks normbt

[GuitarMaster2207]

chord charts for the songs or the formations?

[normbdt]

Formations, I guess... the chord diagrams just to get me started playing something.

Thanks

[krthriller]

i keep trying to reply... i dont know if it would work... but whatever you have... I'm trying to spruce up our worship :)

[newmaieustai]

Thanks very much for this video! I've seen your answer to clouseau62n; could you send me too, please?

[GuitarMaster2207]

yeah, but i'll need your email address. or visit my website: gmtabs.zoomshare(dot)com i'll post them there too soon.

[newmaieustai]

Thanks very much!!!

[normbdt]

Very enlightening! Could I also impose upon you for a chord chart?

Normbt

[GuitarMaster2207]

chord chart for which one?

[jeneal4]

Great job!! I am just getting in to DADGAD tuning. I had to learn a song that used it on the lead, and I like to learn as close to recording as possible. Your video was great.

[mashedash]

Thanks matey, learnt a bit from ya, my first ever dadgad jam, damn its nice! Nice one!

Ash

[tubevzn]

Was that Hinder @ 1:44?

[GuitarMaster2207]

i don't guess so...

[McKenzieTube]

ha, pretty close. cool videos. Thanks for all your effort.

[tubevzn]

Thanks a million!!!!

[clouseau62n]

Im just learning DADGAD, even at my ripe old age, and wondered if there is a chart of chord formations available for this tuning. I would appreciate any links to that. Thanks, great video by the way.

[GuitarMaster2207]

i can sendyou some by email if you give me an address to send it to.

[Xerxes4242]

This tuning is also useful for fast fingerstyle playing, and accompanying Irish tunes. Although there are no limits to what you can do on a guitar!

[littlegooddeeds]

hey! these videos are so awesome! I can now play D, G, A, and Bm! Thanks so much :) PS-do you find this tuning easier than standard tuning? I do!

[GuitarMaster2207]

good job, i'm glad you're learning. yes, it's SO much easier than standard! lol

[Darrrrrrragh]

that was sooooooo helpful! cheers!

[G1bsonlp]

Thank you. Truly inspirational.

[givitgas]

Hey Jordan, thank you for making that video.Its the best lesson on DADGAD that Ive seen yet. Youre a good teacher and a soulful player.

[motoxkrazy]

hey Jordan, how can you make an Am in DADGAD?

[GuitarMaster2207]

Am is 7th fret: top 2 strings, and 5th fret: 3rd string from the bottom.

[tolga1975]

Thanks for helpful explanations about dadgad tunning.............Peace

[willielokie]

Wow.... this is REALLY helpful... do you leave your guitar in DADGAD?.. i heard that that would cause problems with your guitar neck because of uneven tension. i haven't been playing that tuning because the tuning and de-tuning has caused my strings to snap once or twice.

[GuitarMaster2207]

yeah i do leave me guitar in dadgad all the time. i have a different guitar that i usually keep in standard. i haven't noticed any problems with tuning or anything, so that I can tell it isn't warping my neck.

[playandteach]

Really enjoyed this. I'm a music teacher (not a guitarist, but wanted to get into it). This is exactly what I've been looking for, so many thanks. Looking forward to the next 'lessons'. Slightly humbling to learn so much from someone so much my junior, though. Pete

[GuitarMaster2207]

haha, ah thanks. glad these are helpful.

[smithmusic07]

How do you tune your guitar down... my tuner won't let me tune my strings down a step... bad tuner? or maybe I'm not doing it right... I haven't learned to tune by ear yet...

Keep bringing your video's they are great...

I also seen in one of your video's that you been playin for 5 years... how old would that make you now?

Your good... Just keep playin'!

and may the good Lord Bless You!

Richard

[GuitarMaster2207]

hey rich. i'm 17 right now, 18 in march. i have made a video showing how to go down to DADGAD. and yeah, some tuners will only tune you to standard. what you need is a chromatic tuner. that will help you alot. i got one for christmas and it's wonderful! look up my video though. it may help you out.

[joebrassmonkey]

Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin used DADGAD tunning quite frequently. One example would be the song "Kashmir". Anyways, I'm no good with any tunning besides regular and Open G.

[starrchild99]

That was great mate, a nice intro to DADGAD and demo of the nice chords you can get.

[marvswede]

Sweet. Thanks for giving a free lesson! It´s very appreciated.

[marvswede]

Thanks for sharing.

[lpd0084]

That was sweet!!! Probably the best mini DADGAD tutorial I've seen b/c it's about something other than Irish music:)

[GuitarMaster2207]

haha, that's funny. I've noticed how all the dadgad music on youtube is for Irish music. But not me, i'm ALL american and I play american music...though I must confess I do play the tin whistle. :)

[ckrieger36]

Great lesson, my friend!