The Morning Nightcap – Iconic Irish Guitar Groove (DADGAD Lesson)
Aodan Coyne - DADGAD
7,280 views
In this lesson I break down the first tune from The Morning Nightcap set by Lúnasa — one of the most recognisable modern Irish session tunes, with its iconic guitar groove originally laid down by Donogh Hennessy.
On the surface it uses just a small set of chord shapes, but the real challenge is the rhythmic feel — accents, muting, and right-hand control that give the tune its lift and drive.
In this video we cover:
• The core chord shapes used throughout the tune
• How the groove works rhythmically (where the lift really comes from)
• Muting and accent techniques to lock it in
• How to approach this style in a session setting
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:23 Strum example
00:54 Strum foundation
01:25 Strum accents
03:45 Strum mutting
04:47 Strum playthrough
06:01 Chords
07:47 Tune Intro - Chords & Strum
09:00 Accent strum with chords
09:41 Mute strum with chords
10:50 Line 4 chords
12:19 Outro
This tune is a great example of how modern Irish guitar accompaniment relies less on harmonic complexity and more on rhythm, touch, and feel.
⸻
🎸 Irish Guitar Academy members
IGA members get:
• Early access to this lesson
• Longer-form explanations and full tune examples
• No ads
• Downloadable chord and strumming PDFs
• Context that can’t go on YouTube due to copyright limits
• Monthly Zoom lessons with the best Irish guitarists in the World
👉 Learn more about the Irish Guitar Academy here: https://iga.sale/iga-monthly-yt
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The Morning Nightcap – Iconic Irish Guitar Groove (DADGAD Lesson)
Aodan Coyne - DADGAD
7,280 views
In this lesson I break down the first tune from The Morning Nightcap set by Lúnasa — one of the most recognisable modern Irish session tunes, with its iconic guitar groove originally laid down by Donogh Hennessy.
On the surface it uses just a small set of chord shapes, but the real challenge is the rhythmic feel — accents, muting, and right-hand control that give the tune its lift and drive.
In this video we cover:
• The core chord shapes used throughout the tune
• How the groove works rhythmically (where the lift really comes from)
• Muting and accent techniques to lock it in
• How to approach this style in a session setting
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:23 Strum example
00:54 Strum foundation
01:25 Strum accents
03:45 Strum mutting
04:47 Strum playthrough
06:01 Chords
07:47 Tune Intro - Chords & Strum
09:00 Accent strum with chords
09:41 Mute strum with chords
10:50 Line 4 chords
12:19 Outro
This tune is a great example of how modern Irish guitar accompaniment relies less on harmonic complexity and more on rhythm, touch, and feel.
⸻
🎸 Irish Guitar Academy members
IGA members get:
• Early access to this lesson
• Longer-form explanations and full tune examples
• No ads
• Downloadable chord and strumming PDFs
• Context that can’t go on YouTube due to copyright limits
• Monthly Zoom lessons with the best Irish guitarists in the World
👉 Learn more about the Irish Guitar Academy here: https://iga.sale/iga-monthly-yt