Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways in Tonic Solfa
Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways in Tonic Solfa to PLEYEL'S HYMN, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mBlest-sIn--rstruc---mtor! | ffrom-rthy-mways--- |
| mWho-scan-rtell--mhow | foft-rhe-dstrays?--- |
| rSave-mfrom-der---rror's | t,growth-l,our-s,mind,--- |
| mLeave-snot,-rLord,--mone | froot-rbe--dhind.--- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (B)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- PLEYEL'S HYMN
- Words
- James Merrick
- Music
- Ignaz Joseph Pleyel
Tune PLEYEL'S HYMN by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined); words by James Merrick (1720–1769). 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Blest Instructor! from thy ways
Who can tell how oft he strays?
Save from error's growth our mind,
Leave not, Lord, one root behind.
Purge us from the guilt that lies
Wrapt within our heart's disguise;
Let us thence, by thee renewed,
Each presumptuous sin exclude.
Let our tongues, from error free,
Speak the words approved by thee:
To thine all-observing eyes,
Let our thoughts accepted rise.
While we thus thy name adore,
And thy healing grace implore,
Blest Instructor! bow thine ear:
God our strength! propitious hear.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (B).
- Count the time. 4/4 means four 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 r 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
James Merrick wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 334 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Freedom from Error, Guilt and Folly”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens (7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to PLEYEL'S HYMN; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: James Merrick (1720–1769)
- Arranged (1790): Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined)
Tune PLEYEL'S HYMN by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined); words by James Merrick (1720–1769).
Sung to the same tune: As the Sun's Enlivening Eye, Choice of God, Thou Blessed Day, Christ, from Whom All Blessings Flow, Come, Said Jesus' Sacred Voice, For a Season Called to Part, Heralds of Creation! Cry, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, I Will Praise Thee Every Day, Interval of Grateful Shade, Lift Aloud the Voice of Praise, Morning Breaks upon the Tomb, Oft in Sorrow, Oft in Woe, Prayer an Answer Will Obtain, Sleep Not, Soldier of the Cross, Softly Now the Light of Day, Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows, Swell the Anthem, Raise the Song, Thus Said Jesus: — "Go and Do, When, My Saviour, Shall I Be.
Questions about Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways
What is the doh of Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Instructor! from Thy Ways start on?
It starts on m (B in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways in the public domain?
Yes. James Merrick died in 1769, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel died in undefined; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1790. 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.