Softly Now the Light of Day
by Ira D. Sankey (1840–1908) · Romantic · Beginner
Versions
| Version | Level | Key | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner · Level 1 | 1 of 5 | G major | 0:21 |
The player above plays the first 20 seconds. Learn the whole piece of Softly Now the Light of Day in the PianoKite app: every version, both hands or one at a time, Wait mode on every bar, play-along at 50, 75 or 100% and per-bar feedback. Get early access.
- Era
- Romantic (1830–1910)
- Mood
- Calm · slow and peaceful
- Versions
- 1
About this piece
Ira D. Sankey (1840–1908) is the composer of Softly Now the Light of Day, a Romantic piece that is slow and peaceful. The version here is level 1 of 5 (beginner), in G major and about 0:21 long. In the app it belongs to the Hymns collection.
About Ira D. Sankey (1840–1908): American gospel singer and composer who worked with the evangelist Dwight L. Moody and compiled the widely used Sacred Songs and Solos.
How to play Softly Now the Light of Day on piano
- Find your starting position before you play: look at the first notes on the falling-notes player and place your hand over them, one finger per key.
- Start in Wait mode: the music waits until you press the right key, so you can learn the notes without worrying about speed.
- Practise the right hand alone first. If there's a left-hand part, let the app play it while you learn the melody, then swap.
- Hymns are written in four parts. Play the melody and the bass line first, then add the inner voices, and hold each chord for its full value.
- Short daily sessions beat one long weekly one. Ten focused minutes a day is enough to make steady progress.
In the PianoKite app you can learn it with your own digital piano over Bluetooth or USB, or with any piano through the microphone: the score scrolls past a playhead, the keys light up, and every bar gets a score so you can see what's learned. See how it works. New to the piano? Start with the beginner lessons. Get early access.
License and credits
Arranged by a MuseScore user, from the PDMX dataset. License: Public Domain. Source: MuseScore.
Both the composition and the source file are in the public domain.
PDMX files come from the PDMX dataset (Long et al., 2024, CC BY 4.0).
Text events such as lyrics were removed; the notes are as published. The player on this page plays the first 20 seconds.
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