6-String Guitar tuner – DADGAD (D Modal)
D-A-D-G-A-D · Modal
Also known as Celtic, Modal D
Press “Start tuner” – the browser will ask for microphone access. Sound is analysed on this device and never uploaded.
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your 6-String Guitar is to DADGAD (D Modal) tuning (D-A-D-G-A-D). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.
About DADGAD (D Modal) tuning
Compared with Standard E, DADGAD (D Modal) moves 3 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 2 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard E.3 strings stay exactly where they were.
| String | Standard E | DADGAD (D Modal) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E2 | D2 | down 2 semitones |
| 5 | B3 | A3 | down 2 semitones |
| 6 | E4 | D4 | down 2 semitones |
Played open, the strings sound D-A-D-G-A-D – from D2 at the bottom to D4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fifth, a fourth, a fourth, a whole tone, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
Strummed open, with nothing fretted, the strings spell Dsus4. That is what makes a tuning like this useful for slide playing and drones – a full chord is one straight barre away at any fret. See Dsus4 shapes in this tuning →
DADGAD came into western playing through Davy Graham, who adapted it after hearing oud players in Morocco, and it became the sound of Celtic guitar. The open strings spell a Dsus4 – no third at all – so the tuning never commits to major or minor and sits comfortably under modal melodies that would fight a normal chord.
Jimmy Page used it for "Kashmir"; Pierre Bensusan has played almost nothing else for decades. Practically, it rewards a light touch: droning open strings against a moving line on the middle strings is the idiom, and full barre chords are mostly beside the point.
The drop is small enough that a standard set handles it. If the lowest string starts to rattle against the frets, one step up in gauge fixes it.
History
Where the DADGAD (D Modal) tuning comes from
DADGAD was introduced by the English guitarist Davey Graham in the early 1960s. He said he worked it out after a trip to Morocco, to accompany the melodies he had heard there, and his 1963 arrangement of “She Moved Through the Fair” made it known. Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch and Pierre Bensusan took it into British and French folk.
It became the standard tuning for accompanying Celtic music, and Jimmy Page used it for “Kashmir” (1975). Its name comes simply from the note names of the open strings.
Other 6-String Guitar tunings
Standard
Drop
Open
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my 6-String Guitar to DADGAD (D Modal)?
Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (D-A-D-G-A-D).
Which notes are used in DADGAD (D Modal) tuning?
DADGAD (D Modal) tuning for 6-String Guitar uses the notes D-A-D-G-A-D, listed from the lowest string to the highest.
Can I tune without a microphone?
Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.