Northern Sky — Nick Drake

Tuning D A D G D F# Capo 1st fret Key idea a signature Drake tuning, not one of the 33 free built-ins

One of Nick Drake's own signature tunings — the same one he used for "Cello Song" — built so a D chord and an E minor 9th can both ring mostly open at once. The whole song barely moves off that D↔Em9 vamp, which is exactly why it sounds so effortless: with the strings tuned like this, the hard chords become the easy ones. The turnaround leans on Asus4, Em11, and A7sus4 before settling back on D.

D→ Em9→ D→ Em9→ Asus4→ Em11→ A7sus4→ D

Because D A D G D F# isn't one of Open—Shape's 33 free built-in tunings, hearing the real voicings here takes Pro — the button below will show you exactly what's locked.

This tuning isn't in the free plan. Unlock Pro to dial in D A D G D F# with capo 1 and hear the real Northern Sky voicings.

Remix with Open—Shape

Every chord verified against the app's own voicing engine in the real D A D G D F# tuning with capo 1 — no standard-tuning substitute.