Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign in Tonic Solfa

Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign in Tonic Solfa to ALL SAINTS, NEW, doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is Bb4/4

sOh!-

mnot--fa-slone-d'with-

d'out---twardtsign,-d'Of-

r'fear,-m'or-f'voice-m'from-

r'heaven,-----r'The-

m'mes---r'saged'of-ta-

ttruth--ldi-lvine,-lThe-

scall-d'of-tGod,--d'is

d'given;-----d'Awak--

d'en--d'ing-tin-tthe-

lhu---lmanlheart,-lLove-

sfor-sthe-strue-sand-

sright,-----fZeal-

mfor--fthesChrist--d'ian's-

d'bet---ttertpart,-d'Strength-

m'for-r'the-d'Christ--tian's-

d'fight.-----

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Key: Bb major
Doh: Bb
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (F)
Range: m to f' (D to E♭, a ninth)
Tune: ALL SAINTS, NEW
Words: John Greenleaf Whittier
Music: Henry Stephen Cutler

Tune ALL SAINTS, NEW by Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902); words by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). 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 Bb · 4/4

| s - Oh!| m - - f s - d' - not alone with| d' - - t t - d' - |outward sign, Of

| r' - m' - f' - m' - fear, or voice from| r' - - - - - r' - |heaven, The

| m' - - r' d' - t - message of a| t - - l l - l - |truth divine, The

| s - d' - t - - d' call of God, is| d' - - - - - d' - |given; Awak-

| d' - d' - t - t - ening in the| l - - l l - l - |human heart, Love

| s - s - s - s - for the true and| s - - - - - f - |right, Zeal

| m - - f s - d' - for the Christian's| d' - - t t - d' - |better part, Strength

| m' - r' - d' - t - for the Christian's| d' - - - - - |fight.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in Bb major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Oh! not alone with outward sign,
Of fear, or voice from heaven,
The message of a truth divine,
The call of God, is given;
Awakening in the human heart,
Love for the true and right,
Zeal for the Christian's better part,
Strength for the Christian's fight.

Though heralded by nought of fear,
Or outward sign or show;
Though only to the inward ear
It whisper soft and low;
Though dropping as the manna fell,
Unseen, yet from above,
Holy and gentle, heed it well:
The call to truth and love.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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 (F), on the word “Oh”, 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

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 821 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “The Call of Truth”.

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 ALL SAINTS, NEW; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
Music (1872): Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902)

Tune ALL SAINTS, NEW by Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902); words by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892).

Sung to the same tune: All Nature's Works His Praise Declare, Amid Surrounding Gloom and Waste, Father, When O'er Our Trembling Hearts, God of All Grace and Majesty, I Looked upon the Righteous Man, Jesus, My Master and My Lord, Lord, Soothe My Anxious, Troubled Soul, Now Gird Your Patient Loins Again, O Where Are Kings and Empires Now, O, Not Alone with Outward Sign, O, Who Shall See the Glorious Day, Our Pathway Oft Is Wet with Tears, The Aged Sufferer Waited Long, Thy Servants in the Temple Watched, When, on Devotion's Seraph Wing.

Questions about Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign

What is the doh of Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign?

In this version, in Bb major, doh is Bb. 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 Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign start on?

It starts on s (F in Bb major), a pickup on the word “Oh” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign in the public domain?

Yes. John Greenleaf Whittier died in 1892, Henry Stephen Cutler died in 1902; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1872. 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.