Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me in Tonic Solfa
Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (C)
- Range
- t, to s (E to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- EVENING PRAYER
- Words
- Mary Lundie Duncan
- Music
- John Stainer
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EVENING PRAYER by John Stainer (1840–1901); words by Mary Lundie Duncan (1814–1840). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sJe--ssus,-sten--fder- | mShep--mherd,-mhear-rme;- |
| dBless-rThy-mlit--mtle- | sla-fmbmto--rnight;--- |
| sThrough-sthe-sdark--fness- | mbe-mThou-mnear-rme;- |
| dWatch-rmy-msleep-mtill- | fmorn--t,ing-dlight.--- |
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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me;
Bless Thy little lamb tonight;
Through the darkness be Thou near me;
Watch my sleep till morning light.
All this day thy hand has led me,
And I thank Thee for Thy care;
Thou hast clothed me, warmed and fed me,
Listen to my evening prayer.
Let my sins be all forgiven;
Bless the friends I love so well;
Take me, when I die, to heaven,
Happy there with Thee to dwell.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (C).
- 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 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 Mary Lundie Duncan, first published in 1839. The tune, EVENING PRAYER, is by John Stainer (1898). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1839): Mary Lundie Duncan (1814–1840)
- Music (1898): John Stainer (1840–1901)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EVENING PRAYER by John Stainer (1840–1901); words by Mary Lundie Duncan (1814–1840). 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 Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me
What is the doh of Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me start on?
It starts on s (C in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me in the public domain?
Yes. Mary Lundie Duncan died in 1840, John Stainer died in 1901; the words were first published in 1839 and the music in 1898. 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.