He Who Would Valiant Be in Tonic Solfa
He Who Would Valiant Be in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- t, to d' (C♯ to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- MONKS GATE
- Words
- John Bunyan, Percy Dearmer
- Music
- Traditional English
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MONKS GATE (traditional English); words by John Bunyan (1628–1688) and Percy Dearmer (1867–1936). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dHe--r_ | mwho-dwould-mval-f_siant- | lbe---s'gainst--- |
| sall-ddis--t,a--dster,- | ----dLet--r_ |
| mhim-din-mcon-f_sstan-- | lcy---sfol---- |
| slow-dthe-t,Mas--dter.- | ----sThere's--- |
| d'no-ldis--tcour--d'age-t_ | lment-----sshall- |
| mmaker_dhim-monce-fre-- | slent-----d'His- |
| sfirst--sa-lvoweds_fin-m_ | rtent-lto-sbe-da- |
| t,pil--dgrim.--- |
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 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
He who would valiant be 'gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy follow the Master.
There's no discouragement shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim.
Who so beset him round with dismal stories
Do but themselves confound his strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might; though he with giants fight,
He will make good his right to be a pilgrim.
Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end, shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away! I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.
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 d (D), on the word “He”, 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
The words are by John Bunyan and Percy Dearmer, first published in 1684. The tune, MONKS GATE, is Traditional English. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1684): John Bunyan (1628–1688)
- Words (1684): Percy Dearmer (1867–1936)
- Melody: Traditional English
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MONKS GATE (traditional English); words by John Bunyan (1628–1688) and Percy Dearmer (1867–1936). 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 He Who Would Valiant Be
What is the doh of He Who Would Valiant Be?
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 He Who Would Valiant Be start on?
It starts on d (D in D major), a pickup on the word “He” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is He Who Would Valiant Be in the public domain?
Yes. John Bunyan died in 1688, Percy Dearmer died in 1936; the words were first published in 1684 and the music in 1904. 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.