Danny Boy
Folk · 1800s · Traditional (Londonderry Air, publ. 1855); lyrics Frederic Weatherly, 1913
Sing Danny Boy with pitch feedback
“Danny Boy” is transcribed here with its tonic on C4 at 63 bpm in 4 beats to the bar. The 11 notes span G3 to A4 — 14 semitones — which rates Hard to sing, and a full 4-pass session runs about 0:53.
14 semitones as transcribed. The practice room transposes it to sit in your own range.
- One time through
- 0:13 at 63 bpm
- A full session
- 0:53 — 4 passes
- Leaps of a third or more
- 1
Danny Boy lyrics, as transcribed here
- Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
The songbook transcribes the opening phrase rather than the whole song, because 4 tight repetitions of a phrase you can hear yourself improve on beats one distracted run at the full thing.
Origin and copyright status
The Londonderry Air melody was published in 1855; Frederic Weatherly’s lyrics date from 1913, before the 1929 US public-domain cutoff.
- Attribution
- Traditional (Londonderry Air, publ. 1855); lyrics Frederic Weatherly, 1913
- Language
- English
Every melody in the songbook is public domain, which is why the whole thing can be sung in a browser without a licence. A specific recording or arrangement of the same tune can still be under copyright — this is our own transcription of the melody.
Genre, era and what it drills
Tags describe what the melody asks of a voice, not what it sounds like — “ballad” is the reason to pick it on a given day.