I Sing the Mighty Power of God in Tonic Solfa

I Sing the Mighty Power of God in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.

Key: Bb major
Doh: Bb
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (F)
Range: m to f' (D to E♭, a ninth)
Tune: ELLACOMBE
Words: Isaac Watts
Music: From Gesangbuch der Herzogl. Hofkapelle, Wurttemberg, 1784

The solfa with the words

Doh is Bb4/4

sI-

d'sing-tthel_smigh--d'ty-

mpow'r-fof-sGod,-sThat-

lmadet_d'the-r'moun--r'tains-

m'rise;-----sThat-

d'spread-tthel_sflow--d'ing-

mseas-fa--sbroad,-sAnd-

lbuiltt_d'the-d'lof--tty-

d'skies.-----d'Ir'_

m'sing-r'the-m'wis--f'dom-

r'that-tor-d'_r'dained-d'Ther'_

m'sun-r'to-m'rule-f'the-

r'day:-----sThe-

d'moon-tshinesl_sfull-d'at-

mHis-fcom--smand,-sAnd-

lallt_d'the-d'stars-to--

d'bey.-----

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 Bb · 4/4

| s - I| d' - t l s - d' - sing the mighty| m - f - s - s - |pow'r of God, That

| l t d' - r' - r' - made the mountains| m' - - - - - s - |rise; That

| d' - t l s - d' - spread the flowing| m - f - s - s - |seas abroad, And

| l t d' - d' - t - built the lofty| d' - - - - - d' r' |skies. I

| m' - r' - m' - f' - sing the wisdom| r' - t d' r' - d' r' |that ordained The

| m' - r' - m' - f' - sun to rule the| r' - - - - - s - |day: The

| d' - t l s - d' - moon shines full at| m - f - s - s - |His command, And

| l t d' - d' - t - all the stars o-| d' - - - - - |bey.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in Bb major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

I sing the mighty pow'r of God,
That made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day:
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord,
That filled the earth with food:
He formed the creatures with His word,
And then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed,
Where'er I turn my eye;
If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky.

There's not a plant or flow'r below,
But makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise and tempests blow,
By order from Thy throne.
Creatures that borrow life from Thee
Are subject to Thy care:
There's not a place where we can flee,
But God is present there.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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 (F), on the word “I”, 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 Isaac Watts, first published in 1709. The tune, ELLACOMBE, is from Gesangbuch der Herzogl. Hofkapelle, Wurttemberg, 1784. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.

Words (1709): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Melody (1784): From Gesangbuch der Herzogl. Hofkapelle, Wurttemberg, 1784

Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ELLACOMBE (From Gesangbuch der Herzogl. Hofkapelle, Wurttemberg, 1784); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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.

Sung to the same tune: Hosanna, Loud Hosanna.

Questions about I Sing the Mighty Power of God

What is the doh of I Sing the Mighty Power of God?

In this version, in Bb major, doh is Bb. 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 I Sing the Mighty Power of God start on?

It starts on s (F in Bb major), a pickup on the word “I” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is I Sing the Mighty Power of God in the public domain?

Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748; the words were first published in 1709 and the music in 1784. 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.