What a Friend We Have in Jesus in Tonic Solfa
What a Friend We Have in Jesus in Tonic Solfa to CONVERSE, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all three verses and a piano.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (C)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- CONVERSE
- Words
- Joseph M. Scriven
- Music
- Charles Crozat Converse
Tune CONVERSE by Charles Crozat Converse (1832–1918); words by Joseph M. Scriven (1819–1886). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sWhat--salfriendswemhavedin | dJe----l,sus,--- |
| s,All--dourmsinsdandsgriefsmto | rbear!-----__ |
| sWhat--salpriv-si-mlegedto | dcar----l,ry--- |
| s,Ev---dery-mthingrtodGodt,in | dprayer!-----__ |
| rO--dewhatrpeacemwefof-rten | mfor----sfeit,--- |
| lO--lwhatsneed-mlessfpainmwe | rbear,-----__ |
| sAll--sbe-lcauseswemdodnot | dcar----l,ry--- |
| s,Ev---dery-mthingrtodGodt,in | dprayer!----- |
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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee;
Thou wilt find a solace there.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (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.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t and the chromatic de. 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 Scriven, an Irish-born teacher who settled in Canada, wrote the words as a poem around 1855. Charles Crozat Converse set them to the tune most churches now use in 1868.
- Words (written c. 1855): Joseph M. Scriven (1819–1886)
- Melody (1868): Charles Crozat Converse (1832–1918)
Tune CONVERSE by Charles Crozat Converse (1832–1918); words by Joseph M. Scriven (1819–1886).
Questions about What a Friend We Have in Jesus
What is the doh of What a Friend We Have in Jesus?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 What a Friend We Have in Jesus start on?
It starts on s (C in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is What a Friend We Have in Jesus in the public domain?
Yes. Joseph M. Scriven died in 1886, Charles Crozat Converse died in 1918; the words were first published in 1865 and the music in 1868. 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.