My Shepherd Is the Lord on High in Tonic Solfa
My Shepherd Is the Lord on High in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sMy- | sShep---mherdmis-sthe- | sLord--ronrhigh;-mHis- |
| fhand-ssup--lplies-tme- | sstill;-----sIn- |
| spas---mturesmgreen-she- | smakes--rmerlie,-r'Be-- |
| de'side-r'the-m'rip--lpling- | r'rill:-----sHe- |
| m'cheers--m'myr'soul,-d're-- | d'lieves--tmytwoes,-d'His- |
| r'glo--try-lto-sdis-- | d'play;-----d'The- |
| d'paths--loflright--d'eous-- | d'ness--shesshows,-sAnd- |
| lleads-d'me-sin-r'his- | d'way.----- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- MATERNA
- Words
- John Quincy Adams
- Music
- Samuel A. Ward
Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by John Quincy Adams (1767–1848). 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 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 Shepherd is the Lord on high;
His hand supplies me still;
In pastures green he makes me lie,
Beside the rippling rill:
He cheers my soul, relieves my woes,
His glory to display;
The paths of righteousness he shows,
And leads me in his way.
Though walking through death's dismal shade,
No evil will I fear;
Thy rod, thy staff shall lend me aid,
For thou art ever near:
For me a table thou dost spread
In presence of my foes;
With oil thou dost anoint my head;
By thee my cup o'erflows.
Thy goodness and thy mercy sure
Shall bless me all my days;
And I, with lips sincere and pure,
Will celebrate thy praise:
Yes, in the temple of the Lord
Forever I will dwell;
To after time thy name record,
And of thy glory tell.
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 s (G), 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 de. 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
John Quincy Adams wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 648 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Psalm 23”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)
- Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)
Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by John Quincy Adams (1767–1848).
Sung to the same tune: And Let This Feeble Body Fail, Behold, the King of Zion Rides, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O God, That Madest Earth and Sky, O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word, The Earth, All Light and Loveliness, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.
Questions about My Shepherd Is the Lord on High
What is the doh of My Shepherd Is the Lord on High?
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 Shepherd Is the Lord on High start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “My” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is My Shepherd Is the Lord on High in the public domain?
Yes. John Quincy Adams died in 1848, Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1882. 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.