A Child of the King in Tonic Solfa
A Child of the King in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- BINGHAMTON
- Words
- Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell
- Music
- John Bunnell Sumner
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BINGHAMTON by John Bunnell Sumner (1838–1918); words by Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell (1834–1910). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mMy- | sFath---feersis- | mrich---min- | mhous---reesmand- | dlands,---dHe- |
| rhold---rethrthe- | rwealth-mof-fthe- | fworld-min-rHis- | mhands!---mOf- |
| sru---febiessand- | mdia--mmonds-mof- | fsil---fverfand- | lgold---lHisl_ |
| scof---sferssare- | mfull,‑---dHerhas | mrich--mes--run- | dtold.---dI'm-,ma |
| schild--feofsthe- | mKing,---ma- | mchild--reofmthe- | sKing:---sWith- |
| d'Je---tsuslmy- | sSav-mior--lI'mfa | mchild-mof--rthe | dKing.--- |
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is Eb · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds of silver and gold
His coffers are full— He has riches untold.
Refrain
I'm a child of the King, a child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior I'm a child of the King.
My Father's own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wander'd o'er earth as the poorest of men,
But now He is reigning forever on high,
And will give me a home in heaven by and by.
I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth!
But I've been adopted, my name's written down—
An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.
A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They're building a palace for me over there!
Tho' exiled from home, yet, still I may sing:
All glory to God, I'm the child of a King.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on m (G), on the word “My”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t and the chromatic fe re. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
The words are by Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell, first published in 1877. The tune, BINGHAMTON, is by John Bunnell Sumner (1877). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1877): Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell (1834–1910)
- Music (1877): John Bunnell Sumner (1838–1918)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BINGHAMTON by John Bunnell Sumner (1838–1918); words by Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell (1834–1910). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Questions about A Child of the King
What is the doh of A Child of the King?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does A Child of the King start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major), a pickup on the word “My” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is A Child of the King in the public domain?
Yes. Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell died in 1910, John Bunnell Sumner died in 1918; the words were first published in 1877 and the music in 1877. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.