What Child Is This? in Tonic Solfa
What Child Is This? in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 6/8
- Starts on
- r (E)
- Range
- l, to d' (B to D, a tenth)
- Tune
- GREENSLEEVES
- Words
- William Chatterton Dix
- Music
- Traditional English
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune GREENSLEEVES (traditional English); words by William Chatterton Dix (1837–1865). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| rWhat | fChild-sislthis-,ta_lwho, | slaid-mtodrest-,r_mOn | fMa--rry'srlap-,de_ris | msleep---l,ing?-rWhom |
| fan--sgelslgreet-,ta_lwith | san--mthemsdsweet,-,r_mWhile | fshep--,m_rherdsdewatch-,t,_deare | rkeep---ring?-- |
| d'This,--d'this-,t_lis | sChrist-mthedKing,-,r_mWhom | fshep--rherdsrguard-,de_rand | man--dgelsl,sing;-- |
| d'Haste,--d'haste,-,t_lto | sbring-mHimdlaud,-,r_mThe | fBabe,-,m_rthedeSon-,t,_deof | rMa---rry.- |
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 D · 6/8
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 r (E), on the word “What”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t and the chromatic ta 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
The words are by William Chatterton Dix, first published in 1865. The tune, GREENSLEEVES, is Traditional English. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1865): William Chatterton Dix (1837–1865)
- Melody (1600): Traditional English
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune GREENSLEEVES (traditional English); words by William Chatterton Dix (1837–1865). 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 What Child Is This?
What is the doh of What Child Is This??
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Child Is This? start on?
It starts on r (E in D major), a pickup on the word “What” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to r.
Is What Child Is This? in the public domain?
Yes. William Chatterton Dix died in 1865; the words were first published in 1865 and the music in 1600. 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.