Hymn · Tonic Solfa
Silent Night in Tonic Solfa
Silent Night in Tonic Solfa (doh is Bb): the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all three verses and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Bb major
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 6/8
- Starts on
- s, (F)
- Range
- d, to f (B♭ to E♭)
- Tune
- STILLE NACHT
- Words
- Joseph Mohr, John Freeman Young
- Music
- Franz Xaver Gruber
The solfa with the words
| s,Si---l,lents,night,- | m,_----- | s,ho---l,lys,night,- | m,_----- |
| rAll---ris- | t,calm,----- | dall---dis- | s,bright,----- |
| l,Round---l,yon- | dvir---t,ginl,moth-- | s,er--l,ands,child.- | m,_----- |
| l,Ho----l,ly- | din---t,fantl,so- | s,ten---l,ders,and- | m,mild,----- |
| rSleep---rin- | fheav---ren-t,ly- | dpeace,----- | m_----- |
| dSleep-s,in-m,heav-- | s,en---f,lyr,peace.- | d,_----- |
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 Bb · 6/8
| s, - - l, s, - | m, - - - - - | s, - - l, s, - | m, - - - - - |Silent night, holy night,| r - - - r - | t, - - - - - | d - - - d - | s, - - - - - |All is calm, all is bright,| l, - - - l, - | d - - t, l, - | s, - - l, s, - | m, - - - - - |Round yon virgin mother and child.| l, - - - l, - | d - - t, l, - | s, - - l, s, - | m, - - - - - |Holy infant so tender and mild,| r - - - r - | f - - r t, - | d - - - - - | m - - - - - |Sleep in heavenly peace,| d - s, - m, - | s, - - f, r, - | d, - - - - - |Sleep in heavenly peace.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
Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born!
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
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).
- Count the time. 6/8 means two dotted-crotchet beats (six quavers) 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
Joseph Mohr, a young priest in Austria, wrote the German words; Franz Xaver Gruber, the local schoolmaster and organist, set them to music, and the carol was first sung at Christmas 1818 in Oberndorf. The English words most churches sing are John Freeman Young's translation of three of Mohr's verses.
The tune is in 6/8: count two beats in a bar, each beat split into three. In the solfa grid every cell is half a crotchet, so a bar has six cells.
- German words, Stille Nacht (1816): Joseph Mohr (1792–1848)
- English translation (1859): John Freeman Young (1820–1885)
- Melody (1818): Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863)
Questions about Silent Night
What is the doh of Silent Night?
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 Silent Night start on?
It starts on s, (F in Bb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Silent Night in the public domain?
Yes. Joseph Mohr died in 1848, John Freeman Young died in 1885, Franz Xaver Gruber died in 1863; the words were first published in 1859 and the music in 1818. 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.