DADGAD tuning and bottleneck

[therhythmman]

Hi,

 

I'm going to try to use the DADGAD tuning with my heavily modded Danelectro with a heavy brass slide. Any info about this? Does anybody use this tuning for bluesy-bottleneck stuff?

Thanks!

[fingerpicker]

There are several people on the forum , including myself, who use altenate tunings. DADGAD w/ a slide can give you a bluesy sound. What type of specific information are you looking for?

[slider]

DADGAD. who uses this tuning? just about every slide player in the world.

it's great for blues. 'Rollin and Tumblin' , 'Little Red Rooster'. the list goes on and on.

[54merk]

Originally posted by slider DADGAD. who uses this tuning? just about every slide player in the world. it's great for blues. 'Rollin and Tumblin' , 'Little Red Rooster'. the list goes on and on.

 

Slider,

Not so sure about that. One of the benefits of an open slide tuning is that you have an open chord anywhere on the guitar by just moving the slides to various positions. D, G, C, A , E are all used, although D and G are the most convenient with std string gauges since they do not create too much or too little tension.

 

With DADAGAD the open chord is not a major triad, so it really does not fit with the blues songs which you mentioned above.

 

DADGAD is a great tuning and I suppose it could work for solo licks and fills, if that's what you're aiming for. Essentially, it's a favorite for fingerstylists, but I don't think it was ever used by Muddy Waters.

 

If you've figured out how to use it for 12 bar blues numbers please start a thread and explain. I really would like to try this!

 

:cool:

[slider]

54merk. you are right! ive been playing in C6 for awhile and when I saw DADGAD it appeared to be something else.

 

DADGAD is a tuning that Ben Harper uses.

 

correct me if Im wrong(again) but I think Muddy Waters used open G.

 

I have found that open E is get for the I V VII. you just have to watch that third string G#. one fret down gives that minor. otherwise it works well for blues.

[KCStrat]

I've never had much patience with DADGAD as a slide tuning for some reason but I love it for fingerstyle stuff. I use G and D and dropped D but to be honest I play most of my slide in standard tuning.

[54merk]

Originally posted by slider correct me if Im wrong(again) but I think Muddy Waters used open G.

 

I think it was G, or if not D. He also used to put a capo on the first fret sometimes. I heard a story that some young rockers were playing with him and with the capo they were in Ab and they were have a hell of a time playing in that key. Afterwards they mentioned it to Muddy and he said something like: you should've told me and I would've just taken the capo off.

 

[Audiophile]

Can you use a tuner like a Korg GA-30 to tune to DADGAD?

 

Thanks

Paul G.

[maudib]

this is the D open tuning which would give you more of a blues sound than DADGAD. F# being the 3rd of D makes all notes part of the D chord. From what I've seen DADGAD is more of a Celtic type tuning. CGCGCE is a good open C tuning. I know Jimmy Page used these on some acoustic Zep songs..

[ksargent]

 

Originally posted by slider DADGAD. who uses this tuning? just about every slide player in the world. it's great for blues. 'Rollin and Tumblin' , 'Little Red Rooster'. the list goes on and on.

 

 

Slider, you are confusing DADGAD with open D (DADF#AD). No historical blues artist that I know of ever used DADGAD.

 

As has been pointed out already, DADGAD was invented to play Celtic music - to simulate the sounds of traditional instruments. It first appeared in the 60's - Davey Graham is usually given the credit for being the first to use it. It's prime purpose is to enable the player to accompany melodic playing with drones in the open bass strings. While you certainly can do anything you want, I have never found DADGAD to be well-suited for slide playing.

 

Ken

[ksargent]

 

Originally posted by Audiophile Can you use a tuner like a Korg GA-30 to tune to DADGAD? Thanks Paul G.

 

 

You can use any chromatic tuner you have handy.

 

Ken

[slider]

Ben Harper uses this tuning.

[ksargent]

I'll take your word for it although I haven't located any songs which he uses it. The ones I've seen use Open-D and DGCFAD (called in one place a "Ben Harper" tuning). Harper is, of course, not a traditional blues player - hardly a blues player at all.

 

Like I said - you can do anything you want. Many players have made names for themselves using techniques or instruments not usual to their style. My inital reaction to your posting that "nearly every slide player in the world" uses DADGAD was merely to point out that it was incorrect. Quite the opposite - few if any do.

 

I can assure you that Muddy Waters ("Rollin' and Tumblin'" - at least the most common version, the song actually goes back to Robert Johnson) and Howlin' Wolf ("Little Red Rooster") never heard of DADGAD - much less used it.

 

Ken