Kashmir- DADGAD tuning

I got at recent request to write a lesson on how to play Kashmir by Led Zeppelin.  The first thing you need to know about this songs is that it is not in standard tuning.  It it is in a modal tuning called  Open Dsus4 tuning, or commonly refer to as “dad gad.”  Obviously it is called “dadgad” tuning because the letters spell out the individual strings.  Below is a chart on how to tune to dadgad from standard tuning:

String	Standard	transistion	DADGAD
1	E	down whole step	D
2	B	down whole step	A
3	G	stays same	G
4	D	stays same	D
5	A	stays same	A
6	E	down whole step	D

Ok, now that we have the tuning, lets get to the riffs.  Even though the song is fairly long, there are four riffs that make up the entire thing.

Riff #1

This first riff is the first and most famous riff in the song.

***Hint*** if you’re having trouble playing the riff, you can omit the 5th fret on the A string that you have to play through out.  You already are playing a D so omitting the second D will make have a little less full sound but it will be much easier if you’re having trouble.

Riff #2

This next riff follows a simple pattern all the way down the fretboard.  Pretty easy.

Riff #3

Another basic riff.

Riff #4

This one shows you how to play some super-sized power chords in dadgad tuning.  I call them power chords because each though they use all 6 strings, they contain only a root and a 5th in various octaves.

There you go.  Before I end here is the actual song.

Back to Blog Map

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• MD’s Weekly Riff 7/25
• Riff of the Week 7/25
• Fretting Hand Strength Exercises: Thunderstruck
• Cool Guitar Songs in Drop D Tuning…