O That the Lord Would Guide My Ways in Tonic Solfa
O That the Lord Would Guide My Ways in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- s, (E♭)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- EVAN
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Music
- William Henry Havergal
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EVAN by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| s,O--- | s,that-dthe-mLord---rwould--- | dguide-l,my-s,ways---s,To--- |
| s,keep-dHis-msta----dtutes--- | rstill!-------fO--- |
| mthat-rmy-dGod---rwould--- | mgrant-dme-l,grace---s,To--- |
| s,know-dand-mdo---rHis--- | dwill!------- |
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 that the Lord would guide my ways
To keep His statutes still!
O that my God would grant me grace
To know and do His will!
O send Thy Spirit down to write
Thy law upon my heart!
Nor let my tongue indulge deceit,
Nor act the liar's part.
From vanity turn off mine eyes;
Let no corrupt design,
Nor covetous desires arise
Within this soul of mine.
Order my footsteps by Thy Word,
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.
Assist my soul, too apt to stray,
A stricter watch to keep;
And should I e'er forget Thy way,
Restore Thy wand'ring sheep.
Make me to walk in Thy commands, 'Tis a delightful road;
Nor let my head, or heart, or hands, Offend against my God.
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 Isaac Watts, first published in 1719. The tune, EVAN, is by William Henry Havergal (1847). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1719): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1847): William Henry Havergal (1793–1870)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EVAN by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 That the Lord Would Guide My Ways
What is the doh of O That the Lord Would Guide My Ways?
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 That the Lord Would Guide My Ways 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 That the Lord Would Guide My Ways in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, William Henry Havergal died in 1870; the words were first published in 1719 and the music in 1847. 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.