Sheet Music Great Is Thy Faithfulness Scores

How to Find and Use Great Is Thy Faithfulness Sheet Music

You want the sheet music for "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." It's one of the most printed hymns in English, so you have options, but not all of them are good. I've bought and downloaded enough versions of this tune to know which ones actually work and which ones are waste of money. The standard version uses the tune "Fanfair" composed by Thomas H. Hatch in 1896. William Chatterton Dix wrote the lyrics in 1869. The hymn is in the key of C major in the simplest arrangements, which is why it shows up in every beginner hymnal. That matters because if you're looking for something to play at a wedding or church service, C major gives you the least friction for guitarists and pianists alike.

Where to Get Sheet Music Great Is Thy Faithfulness Scores

The most reliable free source is Hymnary.org. They have public domain scores scanned from old hymnals. The PDFs are readable but the print quality varies depending on which volume they pulled it from. Some are crisp. Some look like they were faxed through a bad connection in 1987. If you want cleaner engraving, ChristianSheetMusic.com and MusicNotes.com both carry it. MusicNotes has the transcribed versions with interactive playback, which is useful if you're trying to figure out the right voicing. The basic piano/vocal/guitar arrangement runs about $3.99. It's not expensive but it's not free either. The free version on Hymnary works fine if you don't mind small type and occasional blurriness. A specific problem I ran into: I needed this for a wedding in 2019 and downloaded a "real easy piano" version that turned out to be in D flat major instead of C. The pianist couldn't read it fast enough to transpose on the fly. The workaround was downloading the original 1912 arrangement from the Internet Archive's music collection. It had standard notation with clear fingerings and the correct key. I printed that and the service went smoothly.

What to Look for in These Scores

Not all arrangements are equal. The original Hatch tune has four verses typically sung, and the melody sits in the soprano line in most SATB versions. If you're using it for congregational singing, pick a SATB arrangement where the alto and tenor lines don't cross awkwardly. I've seen versions where the tenor part jumps into soprano range on the word "faithfulness" in the third line. That's a real problem for amateur choirs. For solo piano, the simple C major version is all you need for most occasions. The harmony is straightforward: C to F to G7 back to C. The bridge moves to the relative minor, which is Am, and that's where most bad arrangements fall apart. They either skip the modulation entirely or they modulate to the wrong key. A proper arrangement should take you from C major through Am for two measures and then return to C on the "Tis grace" line. Counter-intuitive point: The version in G major is actually harder to play for many musicians than the original C major. This surprises people. The chord shapes in G require more finger stretch on the piano and the transition from the G chord to the Em chord on "season upon season" feels awkward because Em is played with the left hand crossing over. Stick with C major unless your vocalist specifically needs G. The vocal range in C spans an octave plus a third, from middle C up to E. That fits comfortably for most voices. In G major it stretches to G above high C for some sopranos, which pushes the voice uncomfortably high.

Practical Tips for Using the Music

If you're playing this at a church service, test the tempo before the congregation starts singing. The original marking is moderato, roughly 92 beats per minute. Most churches play it slower than that because people want to sing every word. 72 to 80 BPM is a safer range for general congregational use. If you go too slow, the melody loses its shape and it drags. If you go too fast, people can't keep up with the lyrics. For guitar players, the standard chord progression is C F G7 C with the Am insertion in the second half of the first verse. The strumming pattern that works best is a simple down-down-up-up-down-up pattern at a moderate pace. Don't rush the Am chord change. That's where most guitarists lose time. One more thing about arrangements. Some publishers add a piano intro that is longer than necessary. The hymn doesn't need a three-minute introduction. Two measures of the main chord progression is enough to establish the key and tempo. Anything longer and you've turned a congregational hymn into a recital piece, which defeats the purpose.

If you need the music for a recording, the public domain versions are your best bet financially. Just verify the key and the arrangement type before you print or download. The last thing you want is to discover the wrong key fifteen minutes before the service starts.