Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour in Tonic Solfa
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour in Tonic Solfa: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all four verses with the refrain, and a piano.
- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (C)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- PASS ME NOT
- Words
- Fanny Crosby
- Music
- William Howard Doane
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune PASS ME NOT by William Howard Doane (1832–1915); words by Fanny Crosby (1820–1915). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mPass--rmednot,-,t,Odgen--,l,tle | s,Sa----dviour,--- |
| rHear--rmydhum--rble- | mcry;-----__ |
| mWhile--rondo--,t,thersdThou-,l,art | s,call----ding,--- |
| rDo--dnotmpass-rme- | dby.-----__ |
| sSa----mviour,--- | rSa---d_l,viour,--- |
| s,Hear-dmy-mhum--dble- | rcry;-----__ |
| mWhile--rondo--,t,thersdThou-,l,art | s,call----ding,--- |
| rDo--dnotmpass-rme- | dby.----- |
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 · 4/4
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
Pass me not, O gentle Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Refrain
Saviour, Saviour,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief.
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.
Thou the spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heaven but Thee?
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 m (C).
- 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m 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
Fanny Crosby wrote these words in 1868, and William Howard Doane wrote the tune for them in 1870.
- Words (1868): Fanny Crosby (1820–1915)
- Melody (1870): William Howard Doane (1832–1915)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune PASS ME NOT by William Howard Doane (1832–1915); words by Fanny Crosby (1820–1915). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune 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 Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour
What is the doh of Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour?
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 Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour in the public domain?
Yes. Fanny Crosby died in 1915, William Howard Doane died in 1915; the words were first published in 1868 and the music in 1870. 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.