God Is My Strong Salvation in Tonic Solfa
God Is My Strong Salvation in Tonic Solfa to AURELIA, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mGod- | mis-mmy-fstrong-msal-- | mva----rtion;-dWhat- |
| dfoe-lhave-sI-fto- | mfear?-----fIn- |
| sdark--d'ness-d'and-ttemp-- | tta----ltion-sMy- |
| fLight,-smy-mHelp,-dis- | rnear.-----rThough- |
| mhosts-fen--scamp-la-- | lround---sme,-d'Firm- |
| d'to--tthelfight-mI- | fstand;-----rWhat- |
| mter--mror-fcan-mcon-- | mfound---rme-dWith- |
| dGod-rat-dmy-t,right- | dhand?----- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (F♯)
- Range
- t, to d' (C♯ to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- AURELIA
- Words
- James Montgomery
Tune AURELIA by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854). 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 D · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
God is my strong salvation;
What foe have I to fear?
In darkness and temptation
My Light, my Help, is near.
Though hosts encamp around me,
Firm to the fight I stand;
What terror can confound me
With God at my right hand?
Place on the Lord reliance;
My soul, with courage wait;
His truth be thine affiance,
When faint and desolate;
His might thine heart shall strengthen;
His love thy joy increase;
Mercy thy days shall lengthen;
The Lord will give thee peace.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (F♯), on the word “God”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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 Montgomery wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 636 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Confidence in God. Ps. 27”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to AURELIA; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: James Montgomery (1771–1854)
- Melody (1864): Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876)
Tune AURELIA by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854).
Sung to the same tune: God Comes, with Succor Speedy, How Lost Was My Condition, Jesus, I Will Ponder Now, O Father, All Creating, The Church’s One Foundation.
Questions about God Is My Strong Salvation
What is the doh of God Is My Strong Salvation?
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 God Is My Strong Salvation start on?
It starts on m (F♯ in D major), a pickup on the word “God” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is God Is My Strong Salvation in the public domain?
Yes. James Montgomery died in 1854, Samuel Sebastian Wesley died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1864. 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.