Lesson 18 · All 12 keys

His Eye Is on the Sparrow — Song Trainer

Play the classic gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (Civilla D. Martin & Charles H. Gabriel, 1905) exactly as originally arranged — right-hand melody, left-hand accompaniment, unaltered — in every one of the 12 keys. This arrangement goes beyond the plain major and minor triads of earlier lessons, so it's a great place to hear five 7th-chord colors in real musical context: the dominant 7th, diminished 7th, minor 7th, major 7th, and half-diminished 7th.

Two hands, exactly as written

Unlike the Power in the Blood Song Trainer (which re-harmonized its left hand from scratch), this lesson changes nothing about the original hymn arrangement — only its key:

  1. Right hand — the melody. The hymn's own tune, note for note.
  2. Left hand — the accompaniment. The hymn's own accompaniment line, note for note.
The source arrangement was written in the key of D major and harmonizes mostly with the familiar I, ii, iii, IV, V, and vi triads you already know from earlier lessons. But listen closely and you'll also hear five 4-note chord colors: the dominant 7th (mostly the V7 chord, adding extra pull toward the tonic), the diminished 7th (a tense, symmetrical passing chord), the minor 7th (a warm, settled ii7/iii7 color), the major 7th (a lush, resting tonic color), and the half-diminished 7th (the scale's own diatonic leading-tone 7th chord). Each gets its own dedicated lesson: Dominant 7th, Diminished 7th, Minor 7th, Major 7th, and Half-Diminished 7th — all worth a visit before or after this one.

The chord chart

A harmonic analysis of every chord the two hands sound together in the unaltered arrangement, in order, for whichever key you're practicing in. Gold = major or major 7th, blue = minor or minor 7th, orange = dominant 7th, purple = diminished 7th or half-diminished 7th.

DegreeFunctionChordNotes

About the hymn

"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was written in 1905 — words by Civilla D. Martin, music by Charles H. Gabriel — and has been a beloved gospel standard ever since, famously recorded by Ethel Waters, Mahalia Jackson, and many others. It's long been in the public domain, and opens with the line "Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come?"

Pick a key and press Play to hear the full two-hand arrangement — right-hand melody and left-hand accompaniment together — through the built-in synth or a connected MIDI device, highlighted on the keyboard as it plays.

Right hand (melody) Left hand (accompaniment)
Key of C
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Chord chart in this key

DegreeChordNotesStarts at