Free easy piano · Hymns
Great Is Thy Faithfulness, easy piano
Great Is Thy Faithfulness for piano in three free versions: an easy arrangement in D major, a late-beginner version in C major, and Runyan's original four-part setting in E-flat. Play each one here, slow it down or loop a bar, then print the PDF or download the MIDI.
- William M. Runyan
- Easy to late beginner, plus the original
- 32 bars · 3/4
- Free: play, print, MIDI
Versions of Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Each version is a request typed into PlayableNotes. Pick one to hear and print it.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make this hymn easier for a second-year student. Put it in D major, a half step lower, so there are two sharps to read instead of three flats. Keep the melody exactly as written, and give the left hand two-note chords from the hymn's harmony, nothing wider than an octave.”
What changed
The whole melody, note for note, over two-note left-hand chords that follow Runyan's harmony, a half step below the hymnal.
- Moved down a half step, from E-flat major (three flats) to D major (two sharps). The melody runs from the C-sharp just above middle C (bar 31) to the D on the fourth line of the staff.
- Right hand: the melody unchanged in all 32 bars, with its dotted rhythms, including the dotted eighth and sixteenth in bars 18 and 20. The hymnal's alto joins it as a second note in most bars, such as D under the F-sharps in bars 1 and 2, G under the rising A, B, C-sharp in bars 9, 21 and 25, and parallel thirds in bars 11 and 27.
- Bars 3 and 15: the alto goes C-sharp, D, C-sharp (bar 3) and D, C-sharp, C-sharp (bar 15) instead of rising to E or dropping to A, so the chord on the last beat keeps its C-sharp.
- Bars 7, 13, 18, 20 and 29: the melody alone, so there is no D-sharp in bar 7 and no E-sharp in bars 13 and 29.
- Left hand: two notes at a time, nothing wider than an octave, from the hymnal's bass and tenor. Its chromatic notes are kept: the A-sharp of the augmented chord in bar 1, the G-sharps in bars 7, 13, 23 and 29, and the C natural in bar 20; the right hand keeps the D-sharp in bar 19 and the F natural in bar 22.
- Bars 2, 3, 15 and 21, where the hymnal's left hand stretches a ninth or a tenth: G and B held in bar 2, an octave above the low G (the hymnal's low A-flat, a half step down); A and E held in bars 3 and 21; A and its octave, then A and G, in bar 15.
- Bars 6, 11 and 27: the hymnal's bass line as single notes: F-sharp, E, D in bar 6, in tenths under the melody, and D, E, F-sharp in bars 11 and 27, rising against the falling melody.
For teachers: For a second-year student who reads two-note chords in the left hand and knows D major's F-sharp and C-sharp. Learn the left hand alone first; about half the bars hold one chord. The left hand's accidentals are in bars 1, 7, 13, 20, 23 and 29; the right hand's are in bars 7, 19 and 22. D major is a half step below the hymnal, so check the key before playing it with singers who use an E-flat hymnal.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make a simpler version for a student near the end of the first year: put it in C major, keep the melody alone in the right hand, and give the left hand one long note or an open fifth at a time. Nothing faster than eighth notes.”
What changed
The melody alone in C major over one long left-hand note or open fifth in most bars, with a single accidental, F-sharp.
- Moved down a minor third, from E-flat major to C major: no key signature. The melody runs from the B below middle C (bar 31) to the C in the third space.
- Right hand: the melody alone, one note at a time, with its rhythms, including the dotted quarter and eighth in bars 2, 6, 10, 14, 26 and 30.
- Bars 18 and 20: the dotted eighth and sixteenth become two even eighth notes (F–E, then G–F) before the half note. It is the only change to the tune.
- Left hand: the hymnal's bass, one dotted half note per bar in most bars, with open fifths C–G, G–D, A–E and D–A in bars 1, 4, 8, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24 and 32. The bass moves only in bars 6 (E, D, C, in the melody's dotted rhythm), 7 (A, then D) and 11 and 27 (C, D, E, in quarter notes); bar 28 is a half note and a rest.
- The only accidental is F-sharp: in the melody in bar 7, and in the left hand in bars 13 and 29, under the hymnal's diminished chord. The augmented chord of bar 1 and the hymnal's other chromatic notes are left out, so bar 19 is an open fifth on A without the hymnal's C-sharp, bar 20 starts on an open fifth D–A instead of the hymnal's minor chord, and bar 22 stays on C major where the hymnal's alto turns to E-flat on the last beat.
- Bars 3, 9 and 21: one G held for the bar, and bar 23 one D, where the hymnal's tenor and alto move. The rest in bar 28 and the fermata in bar 30 are kept.
For teachers: For a student near the end of the first year who reads in C. The tune spans a ninth, so the right hand moves to a new five-finger position about every two bars. No fingering is printed, so pencil in where the thumb goes: C in bar 1, E in bar 5, D in bar 7, G in bar 9, D in bar 11, G in bar 13, C in bar 15, D in bar 17, G in bars 21 to 26, D in bar 27, G in bar 29, and the B below middle C in bar 31. Practice each move on its own: the last note of one bar, then the first note of the next. The left hand stays between the low G and the A below middle C.
The piece as published: Open Hymnal Project, 2025 revision: Runyan's four-part setting (1923), from Victorious Revival Songs (1925), hymn 70.
Original hymnal setting
What changed
What changed
Runyan's four-part setting as the Open Hymnal edition prints it: soprano and alto on the treble staff, tenor and bass on the bass staff, in E-flat major.
- Nothing in the notes; the tempo mark, the Refrain label and the rall. in bar 31 are not printed. This is the source edition, checked bar by bar against its MIDI and PDF, and its melody and bass against a second four-part edition.
- It is written for singers. In bars 2, 3, 15 and 21 the tenor and bass are a ninth or a tenth apart, wider than most hands reach.
For teachers: Use it to hear the full harmony or to check a choir's parts. To play it for singing, take the tenor in the right hand in bars 2, 3, 15 and 21, where the left hand would have to stretch a ninth or a tenth.
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About Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Thomas O. Chisholm wrote the words and William M. Runyan set them to music in 1923, and it was published that year in Runyan's Songs of Salvation and Service. The text draws on Lamentations 3:22–23, and the tune is known as FAITHFULNESS. It became the unofficial theme song of Moody Bible Institute and reached Britain with Billy Graham's 1954 Harringay crusade in London, where George Beverly Shea sang it.
The hymn is 32 bars in 3/4, a verse and a refrain of 16 bars each, and most of the refrain's second half repeats the verse's. The tune itself is simple, but Runyan's harmony is richer than in most hymns, with several chromatic chords, and the hymnal page is written for singers: in four bars the left hand would have to stretch a ninth or a tenth.
The easy version keeps every note of the melody, a half step lower in D major, over two-note left-hand chords from Runyan's harmony. The late-beginner version is the melody alone in C major over long single notes and open fifths. Runyan's four-part hymnal setting is here too, to hear the full harmony or to play from the original.
Practice tips
- Learn the verse first. Bars 25 to 30 of the refrain are bars 9 to 14 again, apart from the rest at the end of bar 28, the accents in bars 29 and 30 and the fermata, so after the verse the only new music is bars 17 to 24 and the last two bars.
- Count the two dotted rhythms differently. In bars 2, 6, 10 and 14, and again in bars 26 and 30, the short note is an eighth, on the "and" of beat 2; in bars 18 and 20 it is a sixteenth, a quick snap just before beat 2 (the late-beginner version makes these two even eighths). Clap each one before you play it.
- Bar 7 climbs to the melody's one accidental (A natural in E-flat, G-sharp in D, F-sharp in C), which leads up into the long note of bar 8. Sing the bar once before playing it.
- Bars 29 and 30 are the high point. Lift both hands at the rest in bar 28, play bars 29 and 30 a little louder with the accents, hold the fermata, then let bars 31 and 32 settle. In bar 31 the melody drops to the note below the keynote before it ends.
- For singing, count through the held notes at the ends of the lines (bars 8, 16 and 24 hold for three full beats), and use the slider on this page to start around 70 before working up toward the hymnal's 100.
Questions about Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Who wrote Great Is Thy Faithfulness?
Thomas O. Chisholm wrote the words and William M. Runyan wrote the music, in 1923. The words draw on Lamentations 3:22–23. Runyan's tune is called FAITHFULNESS, and the setting on this page is his own four-part harmony.
Is Great Is Thy Faithfulness in the public domain?
In the United States, yes: it was published in 1923, and works from that year entered the US public domain on January 1, 2019. In many other countries it is still under copyright, because Runyan died in 1957 and Chisholm in 1960, so check your local law outside the US. The versions here use the music only; no words are included.
What key is Great Is Thy Faithfulness in?
Runyan's setting is in E-flat major, in 3/4, and the original on this page keeps that key. Some hymnals print it a half step lower, in D major, which is the key of the easy version here. The late-beginner version is in C major, a minor third below the hymnal.
Is Great Is Thy Faithfulness hard to play on piano?
The melody is not: it moves mostly in quarter notes, within a ninth, with two dotted rhythms to count. The hymnal page is harder. It has three flats and several chromatic chords, and in four bars the left hand has to stretch a ninth or a tenth. The easy and late-beginner versions move it to D and C with left-hand parts that stay within an octave.
How fast should Great Is Thy Faithfulness be played?
The Open Hymnal edition marks 100 quarter notes per minute. Learn it around 70, then raise the tempo on this page's player as it settles.
Can I download Great Is Thy Faithfulness as a PDF or MIDI file?
Yes, free and without an account. Every version has a Letter-size PDF to print and a MIDI file with the right and left hands on separate tracks.
Source and credits
- Composer
- William M. Runyan
- Source edition
- Open Hymnal Project, 2025 revision: Runyan's four-part setting (1923), from Victorious Revival Songs (1925), hymn 70
- License
- Public domain in the United States
- Arranger
- PlayableNotes
Published in 1923, the music entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2019. It is still under copyright in some other countries, so check your local law outside the US; the words are not included. All 32 bars were checked note by note against the Open Hymnal's own MIDI and PDF of the same file, and the melody and bass against a Hymnary.org four-part engraving. Where printings differ, these versions follow the Open Hymnal edition: the low B-flat in the bass in bars 15 and 21, and the quarter rest at the end of bar 28, where some hymnals hold the F.
Arrangements and facts checked
