Joy to the World for Cellohear it, slow it down, play along
- Tune: ANTIOCH
- Lowell Mason, after Handel
- Cello
- D major
- 2/4
- 19 bars
On the cello
It is in bass clef and runs from D3 to D4. Everything fits in first position.
It is in D major, at concert pitch: what you read is what sounds.
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.
More hymns
Questions
- Is there Joy to the World sheet music for cello?
- Yes. This page shows the melody written for Cello in D major, 19 bars in 2/4, and plays it. The notes are public domain.
- What notes does Joy to the World 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 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.
- 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, 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.
