That Men a Godly Life Might Live in Tonic Solfa
That Men a Godly Life Might Live in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- f to r' (F to D, a sixth)
- Tune
- DIES SIND DIE HEIL
- Words
- Martin Luther, Richard Massie
- Music
- From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DIES SIND DIE HEIL (From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sThat-sman-sa- | sgod--sly-slifel_tmight- | d'live,---__d'God- |
| r'did-r'these-d'ten-scom-- | lmand--tments-d'give--- |
| __d'By-r'His-r'true- | d'ser--svant-lMo--sses,- |
| fhigh---__fUp-- | lon-tthe-d'mount--- |
| taSi--sna--tai.--- | taHave--lmer-scy,--- |
| sLord.------- |
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 C · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
That man a godly life might live,
God did these ten commandments give
By His true servant Moses, high
Upon the mount Sinai.
Have mercy, Lord.
I am thy God and Lord alone,
No other God besides
Me own; On My great mercy venture thee,
With all thy heart love thou
Me.
By idle word and speech profane
Take not My holy Name in vain;
And praise not aught as good and true
But what God doth say and do.
Hallow the day which God hath blest,
That thou and all thy house may rest;
Keep hand and heart from labor free,
That God may so work in thee.
Give to thy parents honor due,
Be dutiful and loving too;
And help them when their strength decays
So shalt thou have length of days.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (G), on the word “That”, 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 f s l t and the chromatic ta. 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 Martin Luther, first published in 1524. The English translation is by Richard Massie (1854). The tune, DIES SIND DIE HEIL, is from Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1524): Martin Luther (1483–1546)
- Translated (1854): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
- Melody (1200): From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DIES SIND DIE HEIL (From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). 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 That Men a Godly Life Might Live
What is the doh of That Men a Godly Life Might Live?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 That Men a Godly Life Might Live start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “That” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is That Men a Godly Life Might Live in the public domain?
Yes. Martin Luther died in 1546, Richard Massie died in 1887; the words were first published in 1854 and the music in 1200. 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.