The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing in Tonic Solfa
The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing in Tonic Solfa to MELITA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThe- | mbird--mthatssoars-son- | lhigh--lest-swing-sBuilds- |
| d'on-r'the-tground-sher- | slow--fely-snest;-rAnd- |
| fshe--fthatmdoth-mmost- | ssweet---slyfesing-tSings- |
| sin-fethe-mshade-lwhen- | sall-fethings-mrest:-mIn- |
| mlark--mandfnigh--ftin-- | fegale--fewessee-sWhat- |
| shon--lor-shath-mhu-- | rmil---di-dty.- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (C)
- Range
- d to r' (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- MELITA
- Words
- James Montgomery
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MELITA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854). 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 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
The bird that soars on highest wing
Builds on the ground her lowly nest;
And she that doth most sweetly sing
Sings in the shade when all things rest: —
In lark and nightingale we see
What honor hath humility.
When Mary chose the better part,
She meekly sat at Jesus' feet;
And Lydia's gently opened heart
Was made for God's own temple meet: —
Fairest and best adorned is she
Whose clothing is humility.
The saint that wears heaven's brightest crown
In deepest adoration bends;
The weight of glory bows him down
Then most when most his soul ascends: —
Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.
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 d (C), on the word “The”, 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 and the chromatic fe. 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
James Montgomery wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 353 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Humility”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Long Metre, six lines (8.8.8.8.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MELITA; any other Long Metre, six lines tune fits them as well.
- Words: James Montgomery (1771–1854)
- Music (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MELITA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854). 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.
Sung to the same tune: As Every Day Thy Mercy Spares, Captain of Israel's Host, and Guide, Come, O Thou Prophet of the Lord, Comfort, Ye Ministers of Grace, Eternal Father, Strong to Save, Eternal Lord of Earth and Skies, Expand Thy Wings, Celestial Dove, Father of Jesus Christ the Just, Father of Mercies! God of Peace, Forgive Us for Thy Mercy's Sake, Forth from the Dark and Stormy Sky, Great God, This Sacred Day of Thine, Great God! the Heavens' Well Ordered Frame, He Sendeth Sun, He Sendeth Shower, How Precious Are Thy Thoughts of Peace, How Rich Thy Gifts, Almighty King, I Want the Spirit of Power Within, I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath, I’ll Praise My Maker Whilst I’ve Breath, Jesus, the Gift Divine I Know, Jesus, with Kindest Pity See, Leader of Israel's Host, and Guide, Let All the Earth Their Voices Raise, Like Israel's Hosts to Exile Driven, Master, I Own Thy Lawful Claim, My Hope Is Built, O Father, — Draw Us After Thee, O Father! Lift Our Souls Above, O God of My Salvation, Hear, O God of Peace and Pardoning Love, O God, If Thou Art Love Indeed, O God, Thy Righteousness We Own, O Jesus, to Thy Servants Give, O Lord, My God, I Cry to Thee, O Love, How Cheering Is Thy Ray, O Love, Who Formedst Me to Wear, O, Draw Me, Father, After Thee, O, Still Trust on, If in the Heart, Ours Is a Lovely World, How Fair, Peace, Doubting Heart! My God's I Am, Saviour, to Thee We Humbly Cry, Spirit of Truth, Essential God, Sweet to the Soul the Parting Ray, The Lord My Pasture Shall Prepare, The People That in Darkness Lay, Thou Art, O God, the Life and Light, Thou Hidden Love of God, Whose Height, Thy Power and Saving Truth to Show, To Christ, the Son, the Father Spake, What Am I, O Thou Glorious God, When in the Clouds the Lord Appears, While Here as Wandering Sheep We Stray, With Grateful Hearts with Joyful Tongues, Within Thy Courts My Praise Shall Rise.
Questions about The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing
What is the doh of The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing?
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 The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing start on?
It starts on d (C in C major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing in the public domain?
Yes. James Montgomery died in 1854, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1861. 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.