My Soul, Now Praise Thy Maker in Tonic Solfa
My Soul, Now Praise Thy Maker in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- l, (E)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- NUN LOB, MEIN SEEL
- Words
- Johann Graumann, Catherine Winkworth
- Music
- From Johannes Kugelmann's Concentus Novi, Augsburg, 1540
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune NUN LOB, MEIN SEEL (From Johannes Kugelmann's Concentus Novi, Augsburg, 1540); words by Johann Graumann (1487–1541); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| l,My- | dsoul,---t,now- | l,praise---s,thy- | dma----r_- | mker!---mLet- |
| mall---mwith-- | min---rme- | dbless---t,His- | dname---l,Who- |
| dmak----t,eth- | l,thee---s,par-- | dta----r_- | mker---mOf- |
| mmer----mcies- | mmore---rthan- | dthou---t,dar'st- | dclaim.---dFor-- |
| dget---mHim- | rnot---mwhose- | dmeek--t,_--- | l,ness---l,Still- |
| rbears---rwith- | t,all-d_-l,thy- | s,sin,---s,Who- | dheal----deth- |
| rall---rthy- | mweak------ | dness,---dRe-- | fnews---fthy- |
| mlife---mwith-- | rin.---rWhose- | mgrace---mand- | fcare---fare- |
| send------ | dless---mAnd- | rsaved---s,thee- | t,through-l,the--- |
| s,past;---s,Who- | dleaves---dno- | t,suf----l,f'rer- | rfriend------ |
| rless,---mBut- | frights---mthe- | dwronged-m_-rat- | dlast.--- |
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 G · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
My soul, now praise thy maker!
Let all within me bless His name
Who maketh thee partaker
Of mercies more than thou dar'st claim.
Forget Him not whose meekness
Still bears with all thy sin,
Who healeth all thy weakness,
Renews thy life within.
Whose grace and care are endless
And saved thee through the past;
Who leaves no suff'rer friendless,
But rights the wronged at last.
He shows to man His treasure
Of judgment, truth, and righteousness,
His love beyond all measure,
His yearning pity o'er distress,
Nor treats us as we merit,
But lays His anger by.
The humble, contrite spirit
Finds His compassion nigh;
And high as Heav'n above us,
As break from close of day,
So far, since He doth love us,
He puts our sins away.
For as a tender father
Hath pity on his children here,
He in His arms will gather
All who are His in childlike fear.
He knows how frail our powers
Who but from dust are made;
We flourish like the flowers,
And even so we fade;
The wind but o'er them passes,
And all their bloom is o'er—
We wither like the grasses,
Our place knows us no more.
God's grace alone endureth,
And children's children yet shall prove
How He with strength assureth
The hearts of all that seek His love.
In Heav'n is fixed His dwelling,
His rule is over all;
Angels, in might excelling,
Bright hosts, before Him fall.
Praise Him who ever reigneth,
All ye who hear His Word,
Nor our poor hymns disdaineth—
My soul, O praise the Lord!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 l, (E), on the word “My”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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. 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 Johann Graumann, first published in 1525. The English translation is by Catherine Winkworth (1863). The tune, NUN LOB, MEIN SEEL, is from Johannes Kugelmann's Concentus Novi, Augsburg, 1540. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1525): Johann Graumann (1487–1541)
- Translated (1863): Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Melody (1540): From Johannes Kugelmann's Concentus Novi, Augsburg, 1540
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune NUN LOB, MEIN SEEL (From Johannes Kugelmann's Concentus Novi, Augsburg, 1540); words by Johann Graumann (1487–1541); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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 Soul, Now Praise Thy Maker
What is the doh of My Soul, Now Praise Thy Maker?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Soul, Now Praise Thy Maker start on?
It starts on l, (E in G major), a pickup on the word “My” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is My Soul, Now Praise Thy Maker in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Graumann died in 1541, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878; the words were first published in 1863 and the music in 1540. 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.