Why try alternate tunings? The simple act of changing the tuning of your guitar—even by just one string—can have a magical effect: it’s almost as if you have a new instrument. All kinds of sounds become available that you couldn’t play in standard tuning and familiar fingerings produce surprising results.
Acoustic Classic: A DADGAD Arrangement of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”
One of the pleasures of DADGAD and other open tunings is letting open strings add lush extensions to chords, as in this arrangement of "Wish You Were Here."
Woodshed: How to Play a Dropped-D Gospel Theme as Recorded by Bahamian Guitar Legend Joseph Spence
Listen to any Joseph Spence song and you’ll find unexpected nuance and detail, no matter how many times you have heard it.
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Learn to Play in Dropped-D Tuning
Once you’ve arrived at dropped-D tuning, indulge yourself with the huge D chord you now have at your disposal.
“Dans Kef” – Learn to Play a Mysterious Celtic Arrangement for Solo Guitar
“Dans Kef” is in a sort of modified Orkney tuning I call Celto-Hawaiian, because it can sound like it’s from the islands. The tune is in fact a good case study in how to build your own Celtic arrangement.
Which Alternate Tunings are Most Commonly Used in Blues?
The two principal open tunings used in blues guitar playing have old, vernacular American names: Vastopol and Spanish.
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Ease into Alternate Tuning with This Open D Minor Blues Guitar Lesson
In this guitar lesson, get a taste of open tunings by lowering your strings to open D minor, then playing a handful of chord shapes and applying them to a bluesy etude.
Add Some Color with Open-G Tuning, Dropped-D, and Other Easy Alternate Guitar Tunings
Alternate tunings on guitar can open the door to new sounds, generate complex chords with easy fingerings, and extend the range of the instrument
Guitar Lesson: Try this Alternate Tuning to Play Gorgeous New Chord Voicings
Let your ears guide you and you’ll find that alternate tunings will allow you to create chord voicings that are impossible in standard tuning.
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DADGAD Guitar Essentials | Acoustic Guitar Champions
This is the perfect guide for getting to know DADGAD, whether you're just starting out in alternate tunings or have a bit of experience under your fingers.
Open Tuning Lesson: How to Play the Blues in DADGAD
As you play through these examples, you’ll get a good sense of the abundance of bluesy possibilities inherent in this tuning.
Video Lesson: Exploring Dropped-D Fingerpicking
Fingerpicking and dropped-D tuning fit together like hand and glove. For evidence, just consider the long list of fingerpicking classics played in dropped D, which includes Jorma Kaukonen’s “Embryonic Journey,” Pete Seeger’s “Living in the Country,” the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” Bert Jansch’s “Black Water Side,” Bruce Cockburn’s “Wondering Where the…
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Learn Four Classical and Traditional Songs in Open Tunings
These approachable pieces will be great additions to your fingerstyle repertoire.
Learn J.S. Bach’s “Minuet in D Minor” in DADGAD Tuning
Here's a fun introduction to Bach’s works that’s playable without much classical training—and enjoyable to listen to
Laurence Juber: A DADGAD Lesson with the Fingerstyle Master
Juber is one of the world’s most celebrated fingerstyle guitarists, a two-time Grammy winner, who, over the course of more than two-dozen solo albums, has developed a distinct personal voice on the steel-string acoustic.
World Premiere: Learn to Play Kinloch Nelson’s ‘Solitudes’
You won’t be able to play this piece effectively unless you approach it with a meditative spirit and, most important, a delicate touch.
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How to Go from Standard to Open-G Tuning
Here's how to get into open G tuning on guitar and then play a basic I, IV, V chord progression using the open G chord.
‘Copeland’s Fancy’: Learn a Spirited Country-Blues Number in Open D
The sound of Leonard Copeland’s guitar has remained iconic, and this piece by Steve James reflects that.
‘Spanish Fandango’: Learn a 19th-Century Acoustic Classic in Open-G Tuning
Henry Worrall scored his biggest hit with this tune, a bright melody in triple meter, played in open-G tuning.
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Learn Nathan Salsburg’s “B.B.”: A Melodic Instrumental with an Unusual Origin
Having accidentally overindulged on a giant bowl of rice and beans, Nathan Salsburg sat down uncomfortably with his guitar one night and got to work. Despite his dyspepsia, a new composition soon announced itself: “Bean Bloat.” By the time Salsburg recorded the tune for his most recent album, Third, he…
Laurence Juber’s Solo Acoustic Arrangement of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper”
Though Juber plays the original guitar riff with a bit more finesse than the Beatles did, he maintains the proper spirit and unrelenting groove.
‘Midsummer Moon’ – Watch Al Petteway Perform an Atmospheric Open-C Instrumental
Some 20 years ago, Al Petteway tuned his guitar to an open Csus2 chord—low to high, C G C G C D—and started exploring this rich alternate tuning.
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Acoustic Classic: George Harrison’s ‘Within You Without You’ Arranged for Guitar
Like the Indian traditions it’s based on, “Within You Without You” has no chord changes—the melody unfolds over a drone.
Learn a Traditional Hymn in DADGAD Tuning
In 1984, Steve Baughman was putting himself through college, working as a security guard in an old folks’ home, when he heard one of the residents play “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” on the piano. Baughman was struck by the bombastic quality of this old Charles Wesley hymn, which he…
The Magic of DADGAD
The magic happens immediately upon strumming the open strings and, with only one finger, the three most commonly used chords in the key of D can be played in a new way.
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Learn to Play the Orkney-Tuned Irish Classic ‘Danny Boy’
I encourage you to focus first on getting the melody down. Once you have that in your blood, you may feel free to explore your own bass lines and arpeggios.