Joy to the World for Alto Saxhear it, slow it down, play along
- Tune: ANTIOCH
- Lowell Mason, after Handel
- E♭ alto sax
- B major
- 2/4
- 19 bars
On the alto sax
It runs from B4 to B5 (written).
It is written in B major, a major sixth above how it sounds, so it sounds in D 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
Nineteen bars in 2/4. The first four bars walk down a whole octave of the scale. The middle bars repeat a short run of eighths, then a run of repeated notes climbs back up before the last line.
A way to practise it
Play the opening scale slowly and evenly, landing on the low home note. Then loop the repeated-note bars in the middle: count the sixteenths at the end of each bar.
- Slow ♩ = 60
- Practice ♩ = 80
- Goal ♩ = 100
About the hymn
Isaac Watts's words, after Psalm 98, were published in 1719. Lowell Mason published the tune ANTIOCH in the 1830s and credited it to Handel; its opening phrases recall choruses of Messiah (1741).
This page has the melody of Mason's setting, the form most hymnals print.
Joy to the World for other instruments
Each version is written in a key that suits the instrument, with its own page and player.
Reading a transposed part
E♭ alto sax reads a different note from the one that sounds. How alto sax transposition works, with a chart you can listen to.
More hymns
Questions
- Is there Joy to the World sheet music for alto sax?
- Yes. This page shows the melody written for E♭ alto sax in B major, 19 bars in 2/4, and plays it. The notes are public domain.
- What notes does Joy to the World use on alto sax?
- In this version the melody runs from B4 to B5 (written). Press play and watch the cursor: it follows the notes as they sound.
- How fast should I play Joy to the World?
- Hymnals don't fix one speed, and churches sing it at different tempos. Start around ♩ = 60, practise at 80, 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 Joy to the World in different keys. This page sounds in D 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 alto sax?
- Written pitch. E♭ alto sax sounds a major sixth lower than written, so the B major on this page sounds in D 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, F horn sound in the same key, D 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.
