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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.

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Down from His glory

Praise of the Lord His Incarnation

English82
1
Down from His glory,
Ever living story,
My God and Savior came,
And Jesus was His name.
Born in a manger,
To His own a stranger,
A Man of sorrows, tears and agony.
 
O how I love Him! How I adore Him!
My breath, my sunshine, my all in all!
The great Creator became my Savior,
And all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.
2
What condescension,
Bringing us redemption;
That in the dead of night,
Not one faint hope in sight,
God, gracious, tender,
Laid aside His splendor,
Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul.
3
Without reluctance,
Flesh and blood His substance
He took the form of man,
Revealed the hidden plan.
O glorious myst’ry,
Sacrifice of Calv’ry,
And now I know Thou art the great “I AM.”

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Noah Kim

Inje, Gwangwon-do, South Korea

Sep 6, 2026

How wonderful! How Glorious! How mysterious! The Great Creator became our savior! Thank you and Praise you Lord Jesus!

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Djchow

Centennial, CO, United States

Jul 26, 2026

"And now I know Thou art the great 'I AM. '"

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Jim Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Mar 22, 2026

Praise the Lord now we can see and know who our God is and experience Him personally and subjectively in spirit. This is how we can come to love Him. I love the last comment. We know the great I Am! He is Christ our Savior. He is the glorious mystery that reveals God’s plan, the church.

Old Testament (God): When Moses asked for God's name at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14, God responded, "I AM WHO I AM" (or "I AM THAT I AM"). This name signifies that God is self-existent, eternal, and always present.

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Dr. Michael Kowalski

Paris, IL, United States

Feb 22, 2026

Exodus 3:14; John 8:24, 28, & 58❣️

The great creator became my/our savior; O glorious myst’ry, Sacrifice of Calv’ry, and now I know Thou art the great “I Am”❣️

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Nicole Ho

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Dec 14, 2025

The Lord came down from His glory so He can save us and have us partake of His glory, how great is His love for us!

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Erlinda Oyaman

Purók Waling-waling Poblacion 2 Midsayap, North Cotabato, Philippines

Nov 17, 2025

Véry beautiful song to remember the birth and life of our Lord Jesus Christ,

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John Birchman

Houston, TX, United States

Nov 2, 2025

I’ve been singing, speaking, and praying this hymn for more than 50 years. I love Jesus much more now than when I first sang this hymn! I still adore Him, worship Him, and very much appreciate Him. Praise the Lord!

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Un Hermano

Jun 28, 2025

The Firstborn of All Creation

As the allotted portion of the saints, Christ is the Firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15). Since Christ is the Firstborn of all creation, He is the first of all creation. Christ as God is the Creator. However, as man, sharing the created blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14a), He is part of the creation. Firstborn of all creation refers to Christ’s preeminence in all creation, because from Colossians 1:15-18 the apostle stresses the first place that Christ has in all things. Verse 15 reveals that Christ is not only the Creator but also the first among all created things, the first among all creatures.

As God, Christ is eternal and did not need to be born, but in verse 15 He is called the Firstborn of all creation. Anything that requires birth must be a creature, part of creation. If Christ were only God and not man, He could not have been born, for God is infinite and eternal, without beginning or ending. But as a man, Christ had to be born. Christ was born as a man. In keeping with this, Isaiah 9:6 says, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us; /... And His name will be called... Mighty God, / Eternal Father. ” As a child born to us, Christ is called Mighty God; as a Son given to us, His name is called Eternal Father. As the Mighty God and the Eternal Father, Christ is eternal, but as a child and a Son, He had to be born. Some argue that Christ was born but not created. According to the Bible, birth is the carrying out of creation. Therefore, to be born is to be created.

We may apply this matter of the different ways of reckoning time to Christ as the Firstborn of all creation. According to our sense of time, Christ was born in Bethlehem approximately two thousand years ago, but in the eyes of God, the Lord Jesus was born before the foundation of the world. If He was slain from the foundation of the world, certainly He must have been born before then. Therefore, according to God’s perspective in eternity, Christ was born in eternity past. This is the reason that, according to God’s viewpoint, Christ has always been the first of all creatures. God foresaw the day that Christ would be born in a manger in Bethlehem. Because Christ is the first among the creatures, we can say that as the all-inclusive One He is both the Creator and part of creation.

The Conclusion of the
New Testament:
Message 353 (LSM)

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Un Hermano

Jun 28, 2025

IN THE STAGE OF HIS INCARNATION

The first stage of Christ, the stage of incarnation, was not a part of His redemption. Christ is our Savior, and He did redeem us, but His incarnation by itself was not His redemption. Isaiah 53:2 says, “For He grew up like a tender plant before Him, / And like a root out of dry ground. ” Christ’s being like a tender plant and a root out of dry ground was not part of His redemption. Likewise, His not being esteemed (v. 3) was not part of His redemption.

Isaiah 53:1b-3 refers to Christ’s incarnation. Verse 1 says, “Who has believed our report? / And to whom has the arm of Jehovah been revealed? ” The arm of Jehovah is a figure of speech signifying Jehovah Himself in His power. Thus, the arm of Jehovah is God Himself in His saving power. This arm of Jehovah has been revealed. Two thousand years ago, when the Lord Jesus came out of Nazareth to preach the gospel, that was the unveiling of the arm of Jehovah. Christ as the arm of Jehovah was revealed to many, but they did not realize that He was the arm of Jehovah. They did not see that He was Jehovah Himself coming in power to save them.

Based on this revelation of the arm of Jehovah, the apostles reported (1 John 1:3). But who has believed their report? When the Lord Jesus comes back, the remnant of Israel will all repent and wail. At that time they will recount Isaiah 53:1: “Who has believed our report? / And to whom has the arm of Jehovah been revealed? ” Then they will go on to recount, “For... ” The word for at the beginning of verse 2 is a great word. Why did no one believe the report and receive the revelation concerning Christ? Because He grew up not like a king but like a tender plant before Jehovah. Because of this they did not believe the apostles’ report. A number of times in the four Gospels the Jews despised the Lord Jesus, speaking words such as, “Can anything good be from Nazareth? ” (John 1:46) and “Is not this the carpenter’s son? ” (Matt. 13:55). If Jesus had come out of Bethlehem, out of the city of the royal family, perhaps many Jews would believe in Him. But they have not believed, because He grew up like a tender plant before Jehovah, and like a root out of dry ground.

Isaiah 53:3 begins, “He was despised and forsaken of men, / A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. ” In verse 1 Christ is referred to as the arm of Jehovah, and in verse 3 He is called a man of sorrows. The arm of Jehovah is Jehovah in His power, and the man of sorrows is Jesus. When these two are put together, they equal incarnation. One day Jehovah, the very Elohim, became a man by the name of Jesus. In Isaiah 53 Jehovah is signified by the arm of Jehovah, and Jesus is called a man of sorrows. This is incarnation.

Life-study of Isaiah

Mensaje 50 (LSM)

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Grace Wu

Anaheim, CA, United States

Jun 22, 2025

O Lord, how I love You! How I adore You! My breath, my sunshine, my all in all!

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