My Hope is Built On Nothing Less – Guitar Chords, Tabs, and Fingerpicking Arrangement

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less is a classic hymn by Edward Mote, with music by William B. Bradbury.

Whether you’re playing in a worship setting or just want to enjoy this classic at home, this lesson will help you learn it step by step on guitar.

We’ll start with the basic chords, then the melody with tabs, and finally a fingerpicking arrangement that ties it all together.

It’s a great piece to grow your skills in chord changes, reading tab, and finger-style technique, all while playing a meaningful song you can enjoy solo or share with others.

Grab your guitar and let’s get started!

How to read the guitar chord charts

To clarify how to read the chord charts in the next section, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand. 

For example, on the C Major chord, you use the:

• 1st finger on the 2nd string, 1st fret
• 2nd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret
• 3rd finger on the 5th string, 3rd fret
• Circles represent open strings
• X means to avoid the string
  

You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less guitar chords

The basic chords for this song are C Major, A minor 7, G Major, D minor 7, C/E, and F Major. You can click on the chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord.

Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them. These chords will be written above the melody in the next section.

By the way, you can get all the PDFs of this post below.

Here are some resources on chords related to this song:

• Master the basic chords on guitar
• 6 tips to get better at switching between chords on guitar
• How to play the essential 7th chords on guitar
• How to play chord inversions on guitar
  

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less guitar tabs and chords

This section shows you the melody of the song with guitar tabs and the chords written above the staff. Keep in mind that the melody and chords are meant to be played as separate parts. We’ll look at how to connect these parts later in the arrangement section of this post.

You can refer to this simple guide to understanding music symbols if needed.

You can also learn the finger-style guitar arrangement of this song after the lyrics below.

My Hope is Built On Nothing Less Lyrics

Verse 1:
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Chorus:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 2:
When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. (Chorus)

Verse 3:
His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. (Chorus)

Verse 4:
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found:
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. (Chorus)

Reference: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less. hymnary.org

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less – guitar arrangement

In this section, we are essentially connecting the melody and chords together using a finger-style method of playing.

The numbers next to some notes on the top staff indicate which fingers to use on the fretting hand.

If needed, check out this post to learn how to finger pick on guitar.

If you like this style of playing, you can check out this post to learn how to connect a melody and chords on guitar.

📘 Get the free guitar practice guide here!

Want to learn more songs? Check out the sheet music with guitar tabs resource on this site.

All the best,

JG Music Lessons

Explore Songs with Guitar Tabs

Stop guessing and finally make real progress with the FREE Guitarist's Practice Blueprint! 🎸

Get it sent straight to your email!

Your emailemail@example.com

Send it to me!

I agree to sign up for the newsletter to receive tutorials, updates, and offers. I accept the terms in the privacy policy.