Acquaint Thee, O Spirit, Acquaint Thee with God in Tonic Solfa
Acquaint Thee, O Spirit, Acquaint Thee with God in Tonic Solfa to FOUNDATION (FUNK), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,Ac--l,_- | dquaint---l,thee,-dO- | s,spir----dit,-rac-- |
| mquaint---rthee-mwith- | s,God,---s,And--- |
| djoy,---l,like-dthe- | s,sun----dshine,-rshall- |
| mbeam---ron-rthy- | droad;---mAnd--- |
| speace,---mlike-sthe- | ddew,---dshall-rde-- |
| mscend---rround-mthy- | s,head,---s,And--- |
| dsleep,---l,like-dan- | s,an----dgel,-rshall- |
| mvis----rit-rthy- | dbed.--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 2/2
- Starts on
- s, (E♭)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- FOUNDATION (FUNK)
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Joseph Funk
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FOUNDATION (FUNK) by Joseph Funk (1778–1862); words by Anonymous. Sources and licences.
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 message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is Ab · 2/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Acquaint thee, O spirit, acquaint thee with God,
And joy, like the sunshine, shall beam on thy road;
And peace, like the dew, shall descend round thy head,
And sleep, like an angel, shall visit thy bed.
Acquaint thee, O spirit, acquaint thee with God,
And he shall be with thee when fears are abroad;
Thy safeguard in danger that threatens thy path,
Thy joy in the valley and shadow of death.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 s, (E♭), on the first syllable of “Acquaint”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 2/2 means two minim beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m s l — only 5 different notes, so it is a good one for a choir new to solfa. 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
These words were printed without an author's name in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 199, “Acquaint Thee with God”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Elevens (11.11.11.11), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to FOUNDATION (FUNK); any other Elevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1832): Joseph Funk (1778–1862)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FOUNDATION (FUNK) by Joseph Funk (1778–1862); words by Anonymous. The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: How Firm a Foundation, Our Father in Heaven, We Hallow Thy Name.
Questions about Acquaint Thee, O Spirit, Acquaint Thee with God
What is the doh of Acquaint Thee, O Spirit, Acquaint Thee with God?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 Acquaint Thee, O Spirit, Acquaint Thee with God start on?
It starts on s, (E♭ in Ab major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Acquaint” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Acquaint Thee, O Spirit, Acquaint Thee with God in the public domain?
Yes. Joseph Funk died in 1862; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1832. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.