It Is Well with My Soul in Tonic Solfa
It Is Well with My Soul in Tonic Solfa to VILLE DU HAVRE, doh is Db: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the verses and refrain, and a piano.
- Key
- Db major
- Doh
- Db
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (A♭)
- Range
- r to r' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- VILLE DU HAVRE
- Words
- Horatio G. Spafford
- Music
- Philip Paul Bliss
Tune VILLE DU HAVRE by Philip Paul Bliss (1838–1876); words by Horatio G. Spafford (1828–1888). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sWhen- | speace,---flike-ma- | mriv----rer,-mat-- |
| ftend--l_-seth-fmy- | mway,-----sWhen- |
| d'sor----trows-llike- | lsea---sbil--felows- |
| sroll;-----sWhat-- | d'ev----d'er-tmy- |
| llot,---lThou-lhast- | r'taught---r'me-d'to- |
| tsay,---lIt-sis- | d'well,---d'it-d'is- |
| d'well---twith--d'my | d'soul.---sIt-sis- |
| swell------- | ----swith-smy- |
| ssoul,------- | ----mIt-sis- |
| lwell,---lit-d'is- | d'well---twith--d'my |
| d'soul.----- |
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 Db · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Db major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Db 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 (A♭), on the word “When”, 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 and the chromatic fe. 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
Horatio Spafford wrote these words after his four daughters died when the ship Ville du Havre sank in 1873. Philip Bliss composed the tune and named it after the ship; the hymn was published in 1876.
- Words (1873): Horatio G. Spafford (1828–1888)
- Melody (1876): Philip Paul Bliss (1838–1876)
Tune VILLE DU HAVRE by Philip Paul Bliss (1838–1876); words by Horatio G. Spafford (1828–1888).
Questions about It Is Well with My Soul
What is the doh of It Is Well with My Soul?
In this version, in Db major, doh is Db. 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 It Is Well with My Soul start on?
It starts on s (A♭ in Db major), a pickup on the word “When” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is It Is Well with My Soul in the public domain?
Yes. Horatio G. Spafford died in 1888, Philip Paul Bliss died in 1876; the words were first published in 1876 and the music in 1876. 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.