This is from the theory section on Alternate Tunings where we look at modal tunings such as this D sus4 (DADGAD) setup.

This is a simple 'droning' tune that sounds good fast or slow. Listen to the normal speed audio to hear it played fast, but don't worry about playing that speed yet. Get it steady at a slow speed first, speed is always secondary to that.

The tune is a simple fingerpicking tune following the T123 pattern. The Thumb plays the bass notes (which drone), and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers stay on the highest 3 strings. The thumb is used to alternate between strings, but don't worry - the fretboard hand only plays 3 notes! That means you can concentrate a little more on your fingerpicking technique.

It's important to let the strings ring out throughout the tune to get that nice droning effect.

There are only 3 small riffs to the tune:

Riff 1: T123 - T123 with your finger on the A note on the fretboard. Notice that the first T (thumb) plays the Low D string, and the second time play the Middle D string. This part repeats.

Riff 2: This is exactly the same as before in terms of fingerpicking, the only difference is that you take your 1st finger off the A note and just play the open G string instead. Just play this once then play Riff 1 again.

Riff 3: This time the bass note changes as you thumb pick between F and G notes. The fingers stay consistent on picking the high 3 strings just like throughout the rest of the tune.

Alternate twice between Riff 3 and 2, then just start all over again from Riff 1.

Once you can play this, why not try out some of your own riffs and experiment a little. This really is a magic tuning and well worth a dabble!