O Come, All Ye Faithful in Tonic Solfa
O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) in Tonic Solfa, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, four verses and a piano.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ADESTE FIDELES
- Words
- John Francis Wade, Frederick Oakeley
- Music
- John Francis Wade
Tune ADESTE FIDELES by John Francis Wade (died 1786); words by John Francis Wade (died 1786) and Frederick Oakeley (1802–1880). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dO- | dcome,---s,all-dye- | rfaith----s,ful,--- |
| mjoy--rful-mand-ftri-- | mum----rphant,-dO- |
| dcome---t,ye,-l,O- | t,come-d_-rye-mto- |
| t,Beth----l,_--s,le- | s,hem;-----__ |
| sCome---fand-mbe-- | fhold---mHim,--- |
| rborn-mthe-dKing-rof- | t,an---l,_s,gels:-dO- |
| dcome,-t,let-dus-ra-- | ddore---s,Him,-mO- |
| mcome,-rlet-mus-fa-- | mdore---rHim,-mO- |
| fcome,-mlet-rus-da-- | t,dore---dHim,-f_- |
| mChrist---r_--dthe | dLord.----- |
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 · 4/4
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
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of angels:
Refrain
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
Very God,
Begotten, not created:
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God
In the highest:
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesu, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing:
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 d (G), on the word “O”, 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. 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 Latin carol Adeste fideles and its tune survive in manuscripts copied by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic music copyist living in France, in the 1740s. Frederick Oakeley's English translation, made in 1841, was published in 1852 and is the one most churches sing.
- Latin words, Adeste fideles (c. 1743): John Francis Wade (died 1786)
- English translation (1841): Frederick Oakeley (1802–1880)
- Melody, from his manuscripts (c. 1743): John Francis Wade (died 1786)
Tune ADESTE FIDELES by John Francis Wade (died 1786); words by John Francis Wade (died 1786) and Frederick Oakeley (1802–1880).
Questions about O Come, All Ye Faithful
What is the doh of O Come, All Ye Faithful?
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 O Come, All Ye Faithful start on?
It starts on d (G in G major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is O Come, All Ye Faithful in the public domain?
Yes. John Francis Wade died in 1786, Frederick Oakeley died in 1880, John Francis Wade died in 1786; the words were first published in 1852 and the music in 1782. 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.