When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
by Lowell Mason (1792–1872) · Romantic · Easy
Versions
The player above plays the first 20 seconds. Learn all 0:53 of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross 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
- 2
About this piece
Lowell Mason (1792–1872) is the composer of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, a Romantic piece that is unhurried and gentle. You can choose between 2 different easy arrangements (level 2 of 5), from 0:43 to 0:53 long. In the app's library you'll also find it in the Hymns collection.
About Lowell Mason (1792–1872): American hymn composer and music educator; his tunes include Bethany (Nearer, My God, to Thee).
How to play When I Survey the Wondrous Cross on piano
- Learn each hand on its own before putting them together. In the app, choose Left or Right and the other hand plays for you, so you still hear the whole piece.
- Use Wait mode for the first few runs, then play along at 50% speed with the count-in.
- Work in short sections of four to eight bars rather than always starting from the top.
- 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.
- Start with the level 2 version. When you've learned about 80% of it, move on to the next harder version; the notes you already know make it quicker to learn.
- 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.
The other versions are MuseScore arrangements marked Public Domain or CC0, from the PDMX dataset (Long et al., 2024).
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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