Let Us Join, as God Commands in Tonic Solfa
Let Us Join, as God Commands in Tonic Solfa to HOLLINGSIDE, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mLet-sus-ljoin,-sas- | sGod--fcom-mmands,--- |
| d'Let-tus-ljoin-sour- | mhearts-dand-rhands,--- |
| mHelp-sto-lgain-sour- | scall---fing'smhope;--- |
| mHelp-fto-mbuild-reach- | moth---rerdup;--- |
| dCar--fry-mon-fthe- | taChrist--lian's-sstrife;--- |
| lWalk-lin-tho--d'li-- | fness-mof-rlife;--- |
| mFaith--sful--lly-sour- | sgifts--fim-mprove--- |
| mFor-fthe-msake-rof- | mhim--rwedlove;--- |
Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →
Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (F♯)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- HOLLINGSIDE
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune HOLLINGSIDE by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Anonymous. 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
Let us join, as God commands,
Let us join our hearts and hands,
Help to gain our calling's hope;
Help to build each other up;
Carry on the Christian's strife;
Walk in holiness of life;
Faithfully our gifts improve
For the sake of him we love; —
Still forget the things behind;
Follow Christ in heart and mind;
Toward the mark unwearied press;
Seize the crown of righteousness,
While we walk with God in light,
God our hearts will still unite;
Dearest fellowship we prove —
Fellowship in Jesus, love.
Still, O Lord, our faith increase;
Cleanse from all unrighteousness:
Thee th' unholy cannot see:
Make, O make us meet for thee:
Every vile affection kill;
Root out every seed of ill;
Utterly abolish sin;
Write thy law of love within.
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♯).
- 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 ta. 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
These words were printed without an author's name in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 905 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Call to Social Worship”, where the book credits them to the Methodist Collection.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to HOLLINGSIDE; any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune HOLLINGSIDE by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: A Believer, Free from Care, After All That I Have Done, Depth of Mercy! Can There Be, Does the Gospel-word Proclaim, Fix My Heart and Eyes on Thine, Hark! the Song of Jubilee, Let Us Join, ('Tis God Commands), Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray, Lord, in Heaven, Thy Dwelling-place, Pilgrim, Burdened with Thy Sin, See How Great a Flame Aspires.
Questions about Let Us Join, as God Commands
What is the doh of Let Us Join, as God Commands?
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 Let Us Join, as God Commands start on?
It starts on m (F♯ in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Let Us Join, as God Commands in the public domain?
Yes. John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1861. 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.