It Is Well with My Soul for French Hornhear it, slow it down, play along
- Tune: VILLE DU HAVRE
- Philip P. Bliss
- F horn
- G major
- 4/4
- 21 bars
On the french horn
It runs from A3 to A4 (written).
It is written in G major, a perfect fifth above how it sounds, so it sounds in C major, the same key as the concert-pitch versions. You can play it together with a violin or flute reading their own page.
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.
Reading a transposed part
F horn reads a different note from the one that sounds. How french horn transposition works, with a chart you can listen to.
More hymns
Questions
- Is there It Is Well with My Soul sheet music for french horn?
- Yes. This page shows the melody written for F horn in G 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 french horn?
- In this version the melody runs from A3 to A4 (written). 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.
- Is this in concert pitch or written pitch for french horn?
- Written pitch. F horn sounds a perfect fifth lower than written, so the G major on this page sounds in C major. The player plays it at the pitch you would hear.
- Can I play it together with other instruments?
- Yes: the versions for Violin, Cello, Flute, B♭ clarinet, B♭ trumpet, E♭ alto sax 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.
