It Is Well with My Soul for Cellohear it, slow it down, play along
- Tune: VILLE DU HAVRE
- Philip P. Bliss
- Cello
- C major
- 4/4
- 21 bars
On the cello
It is in bass clef and runs from D3 to D4. Everything fits in first position.
It is in C major, at concert pitch: what you read is what sounds.
How it goes
A four-line verse, then a refrain. In the refrain the melody holds two long notes of six beats each while, in the hymnal, the lower voices echo “it is well”. Played alone, count them out.
A way to practise it
Count the long notes in the refrain with the player at the slow tempo: it is easy to come in early after them. Then loop the bars near the end of the verse that reach the top note.
- Slow ♩ = 60
- Practice ♩ = 76
- Goal ♩ = 92
About the hymn
Horatio Spafford wrote the words late in 1873, after his daughters died when the French liner Ville du Havre sank. His friend Philip P. Bliss wrote the tune, named it after the ship, and published it in Gospel Hymns No. 2 in 1876.
This page has the verse and the refrain. Hymnals print it in different keys; this one is in C major.
It Is Well with My Soul for other instruments
Each version is written in a key that suits the instrument, with its own page and player.
More hymns
Questions
- Is there It Is Well with My Soul sheet music for cello?
- Yes. This page shows the melody written for Cello in C major, 21 bars in 4/4, and plays it. The notes are public domain.
- What notes does It Is Well with My Soul use on cello?
- In this version the melody runs from D3 to D4. Everything fits in first position. Press play and watch the cursor: it follows the notes as they sound.
- How fast should I play It Is Well with My Soul?
- Hymnals don't fix one speed, and churches sing it at different tempos. Start around ♩ = 60, practise at 76, then match the speed your church sings it. The player's tempo buttons move in steps of 4.
- Is this the same key as my hymnal?
- Maybe not: hymnals print It Is Well with My Soul in different keys. This page sounds in C major. Check the key signature in your hymnal before you play along with the organ or piano.
- Can I play it together with other instruments?
- Yes: the versions for Violin, Flute, B♭ clarinet, B♭ trumpet, E♭ alto sax, F horn sound in the same key, C major, so you can play them at the same time, each reading their own page.
Photograph your own part with ScoreLens.
This player is the one in the app. Photograph a printed melody or instrumental part, and ScoreLens plays it back, slower or in another key. It reads one line on one staff: a hymnal page with four voices on two staves is out of reach for now, and so is handwriting.
