Rathbun: hymn tune in Tonic Solfa
Rathbun, the hymn tune by Ithamar Conkey, in Tonic Solfa (doh is Bb): the solfa line by line, staff notation and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Bb major
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (F)
- Range
- d to m' (B♭ to D, a tenth)
- Metre
- 8.7.8.7
- Music
- Ithamar Conkey
Melody from the Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary (CCEH, public domain); tune RATHBUN by Ithamar Conkey (fl. 1849). Sources and licences.
The solfa
| s---d'- | m'---d'- | t-l-s- | d'-s--- |
| s---l- | m---r- | m-m-fe- | s----- |
| s---d'- | m'---d'- | r'-d'tls | d'-s--- |
| s---l- | s---d'- | m---r- | d----- |
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, easy to copy into your own notes or a WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is Bb · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Bb major.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
About the tune
- Music (1849): Ithamar Conkey (fl. 1849)
Metre: 8.7.8.7. Hymns on this site in the same metre: Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me.
Melody from the Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary (CCEH, public domain); tune RATHBUN by Ithamar Conkey (fl. 1849). The CCEH gives its tunes as four-part scores; this page has the melody only, read from its MIDI file and checked against its incipit, and NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from the notes. It has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
Questions about Rathbun
What is the doh of Rathbun?
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 Rathbun start on?
It starts on s (F in Bb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
What words can be sung to Rathbun?
Rathbun is in the metre 8.7.8.7: lines of 8, 7, 8, 7 syllables. Words written in the same metre fit it, such as Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me; check where the stresses fall before you sing them together.
Is Rathbun in the public domain?
Yes. Ithamar Conkey's work dates from 1849; the tune was first published in 1849. Everyone named died before 1955 and it was published before 1929, so the tune is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements of it can still be under copyright.