Danny Boy ranks as one of the most beautiful melodies to ever come out of Ireland, although the lyrics as we know them were written by an Englishman, Frederic Weatherly. He wrote the lines in the early 20th century to a different melody before he was introduced to the tune known as Londonderry Air, which had its origins in the 17th century.

This arrangement started out as a project for a student and I thought to try to keep it somewhat simple or straightforward and just bring in a little harmony below the melody notes, most of which are thirds or sixths. The main difficulty became playing it lyrically and connecting the voices smoothly.

My student begged off as he thought it was too hard but I figured I might as well make the most of it and polish it up a bit. I hope you enjoy it.