Whiter Than Snow in Tonic Solfa
Whiter Than Snow in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- A major
- Doh
- A
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s, (E)
- Range
- s, to s (E to E, an octave)
- Tune
- WHITER THAN SNOW
- Words
- James L. Nicholson
- Music
- William Gustavus Fischer
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WHITER THAN SNOW by William Gustavus Fischer (1835–1912); words by James L. Nicholson (1828–1876). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| s,Lord- | s,Je--dsus,-rI- | mlong--rtodbe- | rper--mfect--rly- | dwhole;---s,I- |
| s,want-dThee-rfor-- | mev---rerdto- | rlive-min-rmy- | dsoul,---mBreak- |
| sdown-mev--d'ry- | l,i-d_ddol,-dcast- | fout-fev--f'ry- | mfoe;---s,Now- |
| s,wash-dme-mand- | mI--rshalldbe- | rwhit---derrthan- | dsnow.----- |
| rWhit--rer-rthan- | rsnow,---dyes,- | mwhit--der-l,than- | s,snow;---s,Now- |
| l,wash-dme,-fand- | mI--rshalldbe- | rwhit---derrthan- | dsnow.--- |
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 A · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in A major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul,
Break down ev'ry idol, cast out ev'ry foe;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Refrain
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up myself, and whatever I know,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet,
By faith, for my cleansing, I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait,
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never said'st ``No,''
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum A 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, (E), on the word “Lord”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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. 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 James L. Nicholson, first published in 1872. The tune, WHITER THAN SNOW, is by William Gustavus Fischer (1872). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1872): James L. Nicholson (1828–1876)
- Music (1872): William Gustavus Fischer (1835–1912)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WHITER THAN SNOW by William Gustavus Fischer (1835–1912); words by James L. Nicholson (1828–1876). 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 Whiter Than Snow
What is the doh of Whiter Than Snow?
In this version, in A major, doh is A. 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 Whiter Than Snow start on?
It starts on s, (E in A major), a pickup on the word “Lord” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Whiter Than Snow in the public domain?
Yes. James L. Nicholson died in 1876, William Gustavus Fischer died in 1912; the words were first published in 1872 and the music in 1872. 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.