DADGAD is the secret to "Kashmir

Yes. Jimmy Page tuned his guitar to DADGAD for “Kashmir” – a drop-D variant where the two middle strings are tuned down a whole step each. The result is essentially a droning, open chord that rings across the whole fretboard.

Most rock riffs rely on conventional tuning where notes change cleanly. DADGAD gives you this ambiguous, almost modal sound – notes that blur together, a constant low D pedal tone underneath everything. Page stumbled onto it messing around in India and it became his go-to for that hypnotic, Eastern-quality riff.

The tuning allowed him to play the main riff with just one finger sliding between two positions, while the open strings kept ringing. That’s why the song feels like it’s both moving and standing still. The orchestra, the drums – it all sits on top of that weird, open, drone-y foundation.

You can’t get that sound in standard tuning. You’d have to bend, mute, or re-finger everything. DADGAD does the work for you.