Skip to content
hymnal.net
hymnal.net
My Songs

About Numbered Notation

All steps
  1. The numbers are the notes of a scale
  2. “1=C” tells you where to start
  3. Dots make a note higher or lower
  4. How long each note lasts
  5. 0 means rest
  6. Bar lines and the time signature
  7. Curves: ties and slurs
  8. The words sit under the numbers
  9. Repeat signs and 1. 2. endings
  10. Minor keys: “6=A”
  11. Put it together: a line of a hymn
  12. Check yourself
  13. Try it on a hymn

The numbers are the notes of a scale

Numbered notation (jianpu, 简谱) writes a melody as numbers instead of notes on a staff. You do not need to read music: take one small step at a time and press Play on any example to hear it while each number lights up. Sound only starts when you press Play.

Instead of notes on a staff, each note is a number from 1 to 7. They are the seven steps of the scale you already know: do re mi fa sol la ti. After 7 the scale starts again at 1.

The seven numbers with their names. Press Play and say each name as its number lights up.
Sing along: do re mi fa sol, and back down to do.

If you can sing do re mi, you can already sing every number from 1 to 7. Tap or click any number to hear just that note.

“1=C” tells you where to start

At the top left of the sheet you will see something like 1=C. It means the number 1 (do) is the note C, and every other number counts up from there. 1=G means do is G, so the whole tune sits a little higher. Nothing else changes: the same numbers make the same shape, only higher or lower.

1=C: do is C.
1=G: the same numbers, starting higher.

Not sure where C is? On a piano it is the white key just left of the two black keys. Or ignore the letter and start on any note that is comfortable for your voice: the tune only has to keep its shape. The − and + key buttons on a hymn page shift the key for you.

Dots make a note higher or lower

A dot above a number means one octave higher. A dot below means one octave lower. Two dots mean two octaves. No dot is the middle range, where most of a tune lives. The name stays the same; only the height changes.

The same number at three heights: dot below, no dot, dot above.
A tune that climbs: it starts on a low sol and ends on a high do.

How long each note lasts

Tap your foot at a steady pace: each tap is a beat. A plain number lasts one beat, so you sing a new number on every tap. Dashes, lines and dots change that.

A plain number is one beat

Four numbers, four beats: one number for each tap.

A dash holds the note longer

Each dash adds one beat. The 5 lasts two beats and the 3 lasts four.

A line underneath makes it shorter

One line is half a beat, so two underlined numbers share one beat. (Two lines are a quarter of a beat.)

A dot after makes it half as long again

A dot after a number adds half its length. The first 5 lasts a beat and a half, and the short 3 fills the rest of the second beat.

0 means rest

A 0 is silence for one beat. Keep counting and keep tapping, but do not sing. Dashes after a 0 make the silence longer, just as they hold a note longer.

Sing 1 3 5, stay quiet for one beat, then come back down. Rests light up too, so you can feel the pause.

Bar lines and the time signature

Tall lines cut the music into bars, each holding the same number of beats. The two small numbers at the start, like 4/4 or 3/4, say how many: 4/4 is four beats in every bar, 3/4 is three. The first beat of each bar is the strongest, so lean on it a little. A double line with a thick edge marks the end.

4/4: count 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4. The first beat of each bar sounds a little louder.
3/4: count 1 2 3, 1 2 3, the lilt of a waltz.

Curves: ties and slurs

A curve over numbers joins them. If it joins two of the same number, it is a tie: sing the note once and hold it for both. If it joins different numbers, it is a slur: sing them all on one syllable, gliding from one to the next.

A tie: the 5 is sung once and held across the bar line, six beats in all.
A slur: “Him” is sung on two notes, 3 then 2.

The words sit under the numbers

Each number gets one syllable, written right underneath it. A short dash after part of a word means the word carries on under the next number. If a number has nothing under it, it belongs to a curve or a dash: keep singing the syllable you are on.

Read left to right, one syllable for each number: Twin-kle, twin-kle, lit-tle star.

Repeat signs and 1. 2. endings

A bar line with two dots, :|, means go back and sing that part again, from the matching |: sign (or from the start if there is none). Sometimes the repeat has two endings. Sing ending 1. the first time; on the repeat, skip it and sing ending 2. instead.

Play it: you hear the 1. ending, the repeat, then the 2. ending. Watch the highlight jump back.

Minor keys: “6=A”

A song in a minor key, which usually sounds more serious or tender, is labeled like 6=A instead of 1=C. It means the number 6 (la) is the home note, here A. The numbers keep their usual names; the tune simply feels at home on 6 and often ends there. 6=A uses the same notes as 1=C.

It starts and ends on 6 (la), the home note. Listen to the darker colour.

Put it together: a line of a hymn

This is the first line of hymn 8, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow”, written in numbered notation. Try the slow tempo first, and sing the words as each number lights up.

1=G in 4/4. Three silent beats, then “Praise” on beat 4. The dots under 7, 6 and 5 mean those notes dip one octave lower.

Check yourself

Four quick questions, with no score and no pressure. Tap an answer to see right away why it is right or wrong. You can always try another answer.

Tap the number that is held the longest.

Tap the 5 that is one octave higher than the first 5.

What does a 0 mean?

Under 1=G, which note is the number 1?

Try it on a hymn

You opened this from a hymn that has a Numbered view, so you can try it right now.

  1. Look at the top left of the sheet: the key, such as 1=D, and the time signature, such as 3/4.
  2. Find the first number and sing it. Then follow the numbers from left to right with the words underneath, one syllable for each number. Press Play in the player to hear the recording while you follow.
  3. Letters above the numbers (C, G7) are chords for a guitarist or pianist. Ignore them while you learn the tune.
  4. To be guided, open the Learn tab and press Play. Under Display, set Learn notation to Numbered (or choose Numbered on the Lead Sheet tab first). For hymns that have numbered lines, each line of numbers scrolls into view in time with the recording while a bouncing ball follows the words; other hymns show the piano notation there. The Speed menu slows it down.

Open this guide as its own page

Download limit reached

Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me

Longings For Expression of Christ

English403
1
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
In all things Thy will be done;
I but a transparent vessel
To make visible the Son.
2
Consecrated is Thy temple,
Purged from every stain and sin;
May Thy flame of glory now be
Manifested from within.
Let the earth in solemn wonder
See my body willingly
Offered as Thy slave obedient,
Energized alone by Thee.
3
Every moment, every member,
Girded, waiting Thy command;
Underneath the yoke to labor
Or be laid aside as planned.
When restricted in pursuing,
No disquiet will beset;
Underneath Thy faithful dealing
Not a murmur or regret.
4
Ever tender, quiet, restful,
Inclinations put away,
That Thou may for me choose freely
As Thy finger points the way.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.

Delete Comment

Delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Cc

London, United Kingdom

Sep 22, 2026

Lord Jesus Lord Jesus
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
In all things Thy will be done;
I but a transparent vessel
To make visible the Son.
Amen amen

Read more
Anonymous

Woodland Retreat Camp One Week Training -, London, United Kingdom

May 12, 2026

Gain me Lord Jesus

No longer I who lives but Christ lives in me, Christ lives through me

Christ be wrought in me

Triune God be wrought in me

I now live by the genuine living faith - in Christ and of Christ

Amen amen amen
3
Every moment, every member,
Girded, waiting Thy command;
Underneath the yoke to labor
Or be laid aside as planned.
When restricted in pursuing,
No disquiet will beset;
Underneath Thy faithful dealing
Not a murmur or regret.

Read more
Un Hermano

Nov 4, 2025

I. EXPRESSING CHRIST IN HUMAN LIFE

God desires that Christ be expressed through human life. We see this in 3:18—4:1, a sister passage to Ephesians 5:22—6:9 , regarding the believers’ ethical relationships. In Ephesians the emphasis is on the need of spirit-filled ethical relationships for the expression of the Body in the normal church life. In Colossians the emphasis is that we should hold Christ as our Head and take Him as our life by having His rich word dwelling in us, that the highest ethical relationships, issuing not from our natural life but from Christ as our life, may be realized for His expression.

If we live in union with Christ, Christ will be expressed through our humanity. Christ is to be expressed in the human life, not in the angelic life. Angels cannot express Christ. The Father has ordained that we, His chosen ones, be the expression of His Son. “Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, ” should be our prayer (see Hymns #403).

If we would be those through whom Christ can live, we need to pass through the first two and a half chapters of the book of Colossians. Then, coming to 3:15 and 16 , we need to be those in whom the peace of Christ arbitrates and in whom the word of Christ dwells richly. Then Christ will be expressed in our human living.

Life-study of Colossians

Message 30 (LSM)

Read more
Jim Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Aug 19, 2025

Frances Ridley Havergal experienced frequent illness throughout her life, including a near-fatal bout of typhoid fever in 1874. She also suffered from peritonitis, which ultimately led to her death at the age of 42. Her health challenges often interrupted her work and ministry, but she viewed these periods of illness as opportunities for spiritual growth and submission to God's will.  Except for a brief period of study in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1852–53, she lived a sheltered life, residing first with her parents and then with her sisters; she never married.

Read more
Bilal Sindhu

Lahore, Pakistan

Jun 18, 2025

What is concecration? It is just to Live Christ.

Live thyself Lord Jesus Through

Read more
Jeffrey Hall

Church In Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Mar 2, 2025

After our surrender, We are willing slaves of Christ. If we have truly died to self, Christ makes His home in our hearts and He becomes our living. We just gotta hand Him the wheel, no matter what it may be, no one can handle it like Christ. He is the only righteous one. We have to get out of His way and allow Him to come in and take over. There is no more"ME", no more"I" There should only be Him, the Christ in You!

Read more
Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Dec 4, 2024

Praise the Lord! Our walk is by faith, not by sight.

Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me,
For my very life art Thou;
Thee I take to all my problems
As the full solution now.
Hallelujah 😀

Read more
James Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Oct 26, 2024

I enjoyed this hymn again this morning. “Live your life, Lord Jesus through me. ” This is a very deep love song. It is summed up when the writer says “live your life Lord through me for my very life art thou. ”This is a captured heart. Not that many have the experience of this kind of deep love. Not many are willing to be martyred. I was helped by the comment below by Anna Lara. Christ is the one who has this kind of love. Isn’t He constrained by us? He is deeply committed to us even now as we are betrothed or engaged to Him. We must return this kind of love back to Him. In a marriage, we can experience some of these things like being consecrated and committed to our wife or spouse and being constrained by that relationship as our love grows. This is why we hold marriage such high esteem. It is a picture of our relationship with Christ . And as our love grows we become more like our spouse. This is a picture of us becoming one with Christ. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. He is our pattern.

Read more
James Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Oct 11, 2024

I was really appreciating this hymn this morning. I recently saw a video by Michael Jackson about changing the world by looking at the man in the mirror. This is man’s thought that he can improve himself and change the world. We all know that doesn’t work. That is not what God is after. He wants His son to be magnified by us living Him out. We must become transparent so the world can see that Christ in us. We must be consecrated and give ourselves to Him that He may work in us. This is the change we need! The hymn shows how the writer was dealt with for this process to occur. We must stay under His faithful dealing and sometime be put away out of any lime light. That is not easy. This is a deep working in us. This is a life long process. We must redeem the time. I pray Lord that you would live your life through me! I must cooperate with your dealing and take the direction you point to. What a deep aspiration to be transparent and let that inner life shine out. Lord you are my very life.

Read more
Tony Thomas

Kottayam, Kerala, India

Jul 17, 2024

Every moment, every member,
Girded, waiting Thy command;
Underneath the yoke to labor
Or be laid aside as planned.
When restricted in pursuing,
No disquiet will beset;
Underneath Thy faithful dealing
Not a murmur or regret.

Read more