Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston) in Tonic Solfa
Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston) in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- m to d' (E to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- BOYLSTON
- Words
- John Fawcett
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BOYLSTON by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by John Fawcett (1740–1817). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sBlest- | mbefthestie-lthat- | sbinds---d'Our- | d'heartstinlChrist--lian- | slove;---sThe- |
| mfel-flow-sship-sof- | lkin-tdredd'minds-tIs- | d'likeltosthat-sa-- | sbove.--- |
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 C · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
Before our Father's throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.
We share each other's woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.
From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (G), on the word “Blest”, 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.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d m f s l t. 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 John Fawcett, first published in 1782. The tune, BOYLSTON, is by Lowell Mason (1832). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1782): John Fawcett (1740–1817)
- Music (1832): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BOYLSTON by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by John Fawcett (1740–1817). 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 Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston)
What is the doh of Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston)?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston) start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “Blest” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston) in the public domain?
Yes. John Fawcett died in 1817, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were first published in 1782 and the music in 1832. 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.