In this video, I play the song with lots of arpeggiated color chords. If you are not used to playing arpeggios, you can also play this song using simple block chords or ballad chords.

I use several color chords e.g. 2nd, 6th, and 7th chords to make the music more vibrant. In addition, I also rearrange the chords for accompaniment on the piano. This technique is great for those who cannot read music notes but can play chords. To learn more about color chords and other chord techniques, please visit Definitive Piano Improvisation course

The more variation you introduce to your accompaniment, the more refreshing it is going to sound to your listeners.

To learn more about how to play Danny Boy and piano accompanying techniques, please visit Mastering Piano Accompaniment course.

As one of the most popular songs for St. Patrick's Day, Danny Boy is patterned from Londonderry Air. You can easily learn to play this on the piano. Londonderry Air is an easy piece and can be learned by pianists even at the beginner level. Click the link to download and print the sheet music (original).

Danny Boy was composed by an English lawyer named Frederic Weatherly. He wrote the lyrics in Bath, Somerset in the year 1910. After two year, Frederic's Irish-born sister-in-law sent him a copy of Londonderry Air. Frederic liked the tune of Londonderry Air so much that he modified the lyrics to fit in the melody of Londonderry Air.

The first recording of Danny Boy was produced in 1915 by Ernestine Schumann-Heink and was made popular by singer Elsie Griffin.

Several variations of the lyrics emerged years after Danny Boy was officially aired. But the Irish Americans and Irish Canadians consider Danny Boy (the original version) as their signature song or anthem. Below are the original lyrics by Frederick Weatherly.

Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side,
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
And I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so!

But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me;

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!

Mastering the Art of Piano Accompaniment Course