My Hope Is Built in Tonic Solfa
My Hope Is Built in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (C)
- Range
- d to r' (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- MELITA
- Words
- Edward Mote
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MELITA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Edward Mote (1797–1874). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dMy- | mhope--missbuilt-son- | lno--lthing-sless-sThan- |
| d'Je--r'sus'-tblood-sand- | sright--feeous--sness.-rI- |
| fdare--fnotmtrust-mthe- | ssweet---sestfeframe,-tBut- |
| swhol--fely-mtrust-lin- | sJe--fesus'-mName.-mOn- |
| mChrist--mthefso--flid- | feRock--feIsstand,-sAll- |
| so--lther-sground-mis- | rsink---dingdsand.- |
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 C · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus' Name.
On Christ the solid
Refrain
Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant,
His blood, Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (C), on the word “My”, 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
The words are by Edward Mote, first published in 1834. The tune, MELITA, is by John Bacchus Dykes (1861). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1834): Edward Mote (1797–1874)
- Music (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MELITA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Edward Mote (1797–1874). 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 My Hope Is Built
What is the doh of My Hope Is Built?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 My Hope Is Built start on?
It starts on d (C in C major), a pickup on the word “My” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is My Hope Is Built in the public domain?
Yes. Edward Mote died in 1874, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were first published in 1834 and the music in 1861. 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.