DADGAD Tuner
← All toolsDADGAD is D2 73.42 Hz, A2 110.00 Hz, D3 146.83 Hz, G3 196.00 Hz, A3 220.00 Hz and D4 293.66 Hz. Coming from standard, three strings move and each drops a whole tone: the sixth, the second and the first. What you are left with is three D strings spanning two octaves and two As — a chord with no third in it, which is where the whole sound of the tuning comes from. Tap a string to hear it, or use the mic for live readings.
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Guitar — DADGAD
| String | Note | Frequency | Reference tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | D2 | 73.42 Hz | |
| 5th | A2 | 110.00 Hz | |
| 4th | D3 | 146.83 Hz | |
| 3rd | G3 | 196.00 Hz | |
| 2nd | A3 | 220.00 Hz | |
| 1st | D4 | 293.66 Hz |
Tap Tone to hear a string and tune to it by ear — no microphone needed. Auto is on, so the needle below follows whichever string you are nearest.
Live pitch — microphone
Microphone audio is processed on-device and never leaves your browser — and the chart and reference tones above never need it at all.
How to use the DADGAD Tuner
- Lower the sixth string from E2 82.41 Hz to D2 73.42 Hz, which is the same move as drop D.
- Lower the second string from B3 246.94 Hz to A3 220.00 Hz, and the first from E4 329.63 Hz to D4 293.66 Hz.
- Leave the fifth, fourth and third strings alone at A2 110.00 Hz, D3 146.83 Hz and G3 196.00 Hz.
- Strum everything open and confirm the three D strings ring as clean octaves against each other before you play anything.
Why DADGAD sounds unfinished, usefully
Sort the open strings by pitch and you have D2 73.42, A2 110.00, D3 146.83, G3 196.00, A3 220.00 and D4 293.66 Hz: three Ds, two As and a single G. In interval terms that is a root, a fifth and a fourth, repeated over two octaves. There is no third anywhere, and a chord without a third is neither major nor minor.
That ambiguity is what suits it to modal music. Irish and Scottish melodies often sit in Dorian or Mixolydian, where the third of the key is not the one a guitar in standard tuning would assume, and an accompaniment that refuses to specify a quality can never contradict the tune. The same property makes it forgiving under fingerstyle arrangement, because open strings can ring through almost any fretted shape without clashing.
It also places open D strings above and below the middle of the instrument, so a melody on the third and fourth strings gets drones on both sides of it rather than only underneath.
Arriving at DADGAD without wrecking your intonation
Three strings move and all three move down, so the guitar sheds tension overall and the neck relaxes a fraction. Expect the fifth, fourth and third strings to drift sharp even though you never touched them, and plan on two passes rather than one.
The checks that confirm you have arrived are all octaves and unisons, which are far easier to judge than a needle. The open first string D4 293.66 Hz is one octave above the open fourth at D3 146.83 Hz and two octaves above the open sixth at D2 73.42 Hz; sound them in pairs and wait for the beating to disappear. The open second string A3 220.00 Hz is one octave above the open fifth at A2 110.00 Hz. If those relationships are clean, the tuning is right whatever a display says about the last cent.
Coming back to standard, raise the second and first strings before the sixth, and approach every note from below.
How DADGAD is reached from standard
Three strings move down a whole tone each: the 6th E2 to D2, the 2nd B3 to A3, and the 1st E4 to D4. The 5th, 4th and 3rd never move. Read the three rows below as one instruction and the retune takes under a minute.
| Tuning | Strings, low to high | Frequency (Hz, A4 = 440) |
|---|---|---|
| Guitar — Standard (EADGBE) | E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 | 82.41 110.00 146.83 196.00 246.94 329.63 |
| Guitar — Drop D (DADGBE) | D2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 | 73.42 110.00 146.83 196.00 246.94 329.63 |
| Guitar — DADGAD | D2 A2 D3 G3 A3 D4 | 73.42 110.00 146.83 196.00 220.00 293.66 |
FAQ
- Is DADGAD major or minor?
- Neither, and that is the point. The open strings give you D, A and G, so there is no third to settle the question — the chord is Dsus4. Your ear hears a root and a fifth with the G hanging where a major or minor third would normally sit, so the sound reads as unresolved and modal. Fret a third anywhere and the tuning snaps into a key; leave it out and it keeps floating.
- How is it different from drop D?
- By two strings. Drop D lowers only the sixth to D2 73.42 Hz and leaves B3 246.94 Hz and E4 329.63 Hz on top. DADGAD takes those two down a whole tone as well, to A3 220.00 Hz and D4 293.66 Hz. That is why it is the easiest alternate tuning to reach if you already play in drop D, and why the bottom half feels identical while everything above the third string has changed.
- Will my top strings feel floppy?
- A little. Tension rises with the square of frequency, so dropping the first and second strings a whole tone takes roughly a fifth of the tension off each, and a light gauge set can feel slack and buzz under hard strumming. Players who live in DADGAD often move to slightly heavier plain strings or a heavier set overall. Nothing on the guitar needs adjusting unless the action is already very low.
- Can I use a capo in DADGAD?
- Yes, and it is common. A capo raises every string equally, so all the intervals and every shape you know are preserved; at the second fret DADGAD becomes Esus4, which is where a great many session tunes get played. Only the pitch changes, so a fingering learned in open position works identically further up. Retune after clamping, since a capo pushes strings slightly sharp.
