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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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Immortal, invisible, God only wise

Worship of the Father His Immortality

English14
1
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
2
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
3
To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
4
Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
5
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

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Karen A Cookson

Sep 1, 2026

💖❤️🙏🏻

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Ray Uche Iwuafor

FCT, Abuja, Nigeria

Aug 23, 2026

This song welled up in me, I searched and found it here. I worshipped the Almighty God with this tune. It's amazing

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Anonymous

Jul 11, 2026

Inspiring message always

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David Yisa

Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria

Jul 5, 2026

An amazing hymn any day.

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Adeleye Olusegun

Abeokuta, Ogun, Nigeria

Jun 28, 2026

Highly inspirational, Almighty God indeed. worthy of our adoration always!

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S .A Abam

Port Harcourt, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria

May 2, 2026

A beautiful hymn of love and adoration to our great God and Saviour.

I woke up this morning with melody and lyrics. I searched and found it here.

Thanks for the chords. It helped me to sing and play with my guitar.

Shalom 😇

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Okoye Obiora Samuel

Jos, Plateau, Nigeria

May 1, 2026

Highly inspirational, highly spiritual and inspiring. I woke from sleep singing this song. Our God is mighty.

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Adeniyi Amos Adeyemo

Nigeria

Mar 16, 2026

Thank you for making the lyrics of this hymn accessible so that our attention can be more drawn to our God who dwells in light yet hid from our face. God is awesome!

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Jobie

Indiana, United States

Jan 27, 2026

For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:36

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Un Hermano

Nov 20, 2025

ONLY THE LIFE OF GOD BEING LIFE

When explaining what life is, we must first be clear about one thing—the kind of life in the universe that can be counted as life. First John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. ” John 3:36 also says, “He who believes into the Son has eternal life; but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life. ” These two verses tell us that unless man has the life of God, he does not have life. This shows that in the eyes of God, only His life is life; besides that, no other life can be counted as life. Thus, when the life of God is mentioned in the Bible, it is treated as if it is the unique life ( 1:4 ; 10:10 ; 11:25 ; 14:6 ; etc. ).

Only the life of God is life, and other lives are not counted as life, because only the life of God is divine and eternal.

Only the life that is both divine and eternal can be counted as life because life denotes something that is living, and all that is considered life must be something that is immortal. That which is immortal is unchangeable; it remains the same and continues living even after passing through any kind of blow or destruction. A life that is subject to death and change and is unable to suffer any blow or destruction is neither eternal, immortal, nor unchangeable, and therefore cannot be considered life. That which is life must be something that lives forever and never changes. Only that which is eternal can be such. Then, what is it that is eternal? Only that which is divine! That which is divine is of God, and this is God Himself. God Himself is without beginning or ending, self-existing and ever-existing; therefore, He is eternal. Because only that which is divine is eternal and only that which is eternal can live eternally without change, only that which is both divine and eternal can be counted as life.

All kinds of life in the universe, whether of angel, man, animal or plant, are mortal and changeable; hence, they are not eternal. They do not have the nature of God, nor are they divine. Only the life of God has the nature of God; therefore, it is divine and eternal, immortal and unchangeable, impossible to be held by death, and indestructible ( Acts 2:24 ; Heb. 7:16 ). No matter what kind of blow or destruction it undergoes, it remains unchanged and stays forever the same. In the universe, beside the life of God, no other life can be such. Therefore, from the standpoint of eternity, only the life of God is life. It not only has the name of life but also the reality of life, and thus, it completely fulfills the meaning of life. Other lives are only life in name, not in reality; thus, they are unable to meet the criteria of immortality and unchangeability of life and cannot be considered as life. Hence, according to the divine and eternal nature of the life of God, God’s life is the unique life in the universe. Because the life of God is the unique life, whenever the New Testament in the original Greek speaks of this life, it always uses the word zoe, which refers to the highest life ( John 1:4 ; 1 John 1:2 ; 5:12 ; etc. ). Beside this, the original text of the New Testament also uses (1) bios to speak of the life of the flesh ( Luke 8:43 ; 21:4 ; etc. ), and (2) psuche to speak of the soul-life or the natural life of man ( Matt. 16:25-26 ; Luke 9:24 ; etc. )

The Knowledge of Life

Chapter 1 CWWL, 1953, vol. 3 (LSM)

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