O for a Thousand Tongues in Tonic Solfa
O for a Thousand Tongues in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 19 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- s, (E♭)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- AZMON
- Words
- Charles Wesley
- Music
- Carl Gotthelf Gläser
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune AZMON by Carl Gotthelf Gläser (1784–1829); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| s,O--- | dfor-da-rthou----rsand--- | mtongues-rto-dsing---rMy--- |
| mgreat-mRe--fdeem----mer's--- | rpraise,-------sThe--- |
| sglo--mries-mof---dmy--- | dGod-l,and-l,King,---dThe-l,_- |
| s,tri--dumphs-dof---rHis--- | dgrace!------- |
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 Ab · 3/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears,
'Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the pow'r of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.
Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.
In Christ your Head, you then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.
Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heaven.
On this glad day the glorious Sun
Of Righteousness arose;
On my benighted soul He shone
And filled it with repose.
Sudden expired the legal strife,
'Twas then I ceased to grieve;
My second, real, living life
I then began to live.
Then with my heart I first believed,
Believed with faith divine,
Power with the Holy Ghost received
To call the Savior mine.
I felt my Lord's atoning blood
Close to my soul applied;
Me, me He loved, the Son of God,
For me, for me He died!
I found and owned His promise true,
Ascertained of my part,
My pardon passed in heaven I knew
When written on my heart.
Look unto Him, ye nations, own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.
See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.
Awake from guilty nature's sleep,
And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,
And wash the Æthiop white.
Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.
Murderers and all ye hellish crew,
Ye sons of lust and pride,
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.
With me, your chief, ye then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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, (E♭), on the word “O”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/2 means three minim 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. 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 Charles Wesley, first published in 1740. The tune, AZMON, is by Carl Gotthelf Gläser (1828). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1740): Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Music (1828): Carl Gotthelf Gläser (1784–1829)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune AZMON by Carl Gotthelf Gläser (1784–1829); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). 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 O for a Thousand Tongues
What is the doh of O for a Thousand Tongues?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 for a Thousand Tongues start on?
It starts on s, (E♭ in Ab major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is O for a Thousand Tongues in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, Carl Gotthelf Gläser died in 1829; the words were first published in 1740 and the music in 1828. 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.