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

Matthew, the Gospel

Praise of the Lord His Kingdom

1
Matthew, the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, who
Came as the King to establish His kingdom.
Recommended and anointed, tested,
Tried, and still rejected,
Jesus, kingly Savior!
His ministry, parables,
Healing, authority,
Crucifixion, then rising in vict’ry:
Sowed He forth the kingdom seed,
He’s coming back some day to reap it!
Jesus, King of Kings!

© 2006 The Bible Tells Me So Corp. Used by permission.

Delete Comment

Delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Praise Him YR

Sep 18, 2021

LIFE-STUDY OF MARK
MESSAGE THREE
THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL
AND THE INITIATION OF THE SLAVE-SAVIOR

(1)

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:1-13

In the Gospel of Mark Christ is presented as the Slave-Savior. In this Gospel the Slave-Savior bears the characteristics of His humanity mingled with His deity. The Lord’s humanity is lovely in its virtue and perfection, and His deity is magnificent in its glory and honor. As we go through the Gospel of Mark, we can see these aspects of Christ. The Lord’s humanity is revealed in its virtue and perfection, and His deity is revealed in its glory and honor. We need to be impressed with these aspects of the Lord. Then as we study the book of Mark we shall see what a wonderful Slave-Savior the Lord is. He is God Himself becoming a Slave to serve us by giving His life a ransom for us.

In this message we shall consider the beginning of the gospel and the initiation of the Slave-Savior (1:1-13). Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ” The word “gospel” means glad tidings, good news (Rom. 10:15). The gospel is the service, the ministry, of the Slave-Savior as a Slave of God to serve His people. Matthew begins with the kingly generations of the King, Christ (Matt. 1:1-17), Luke with a human genealogy of the Man, Jesus (Luke 3:23-38), and John with the eternal origin of the Son of God (John 1:1-2). Mark begins with the beginning of the gospel, the service of Jesus as a lowly Slave of God (Phil. 2:7; Matt. 20:27-28), not with the origin of His Person. As a rule, the service, not the person, of a slave is notable.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

According to 1:1, the gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This Gospel is a biography of the Slave-Savior, who was God incarnated as a Slave to save sinners. The compound title “Jesus Christ, the Son of God” denotes the Lord’s humanity as Jesus Christ and His deity as the Son of God. Both the Lord’s humanity and His deity were adequately expressed by His human virtues and divine attributes in His ministry and His move for His gospel service, as recorded in the Gospel of Mark.

Although we realize that the word gospel means glad tidings, we need to consider more fully what the gospel actually is. Some of us who have been Christians for years may not yet realize what the gospel is. The gospel is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament. Therefore, in order to know what the gospel is, we need to read the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and be enlightened concerning the revelation that is given there.

THE DISPENSATIONS IN THE SCRIPTURES

Bible teachers have pointed out that in the Scriptures there are seven dispensations. (Some teachers reduce this number to four. ) These seven dispensations cover the Scriptures from Genesis 1 through Revelation 20. The first of these dispensations is the dispensation of innocence. This dispensation, in which there was no sin, covers only the first two chapters of Genesis.

Following the dispensation of innocence, we have the dispensation of conscience. This covers the time of man’s fall in Genesis 3 until the time of the flood.

After the fall, man was required to live according to his conscience. However, because man failed to do this, the third dispensation—human government—came as the replacement of the second dispensation. After the flood, God required that man would come under the control of human government because he failed to live according to his conscience. During this dispensation, different nations were raised up and governments were formed. This dispensation also ended in failure.

The fourth dispensation began with God’s calling of Abraham out of the fallen, corrupted, and rebellious human race. In His calling of Abraham, God gave him a promise. Hence, the fourth dispensation is known as the dispensation of promise.

We have seen that the first four dispensations were innocence, conscience, human government, and promise. It was not God’s intention immediately to fulfill the promise He made to Abraham. Because of the intervening period of time, God decreed the law through Moses with the intention that the law would be used as a fold to keep His people in custody so that they would be preserved. The law may be compared to a fold in which sheep are kept during the night. The law given through Moses was such a fold for the keeping of God’s chosen people. Therefore, the fifth dispensation is the dispensation of the law.

Following this dispensation, Christ came. Concerning the coming of Christ, John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ. ” Because grace came through Jesus Christ, the sixth dispensation is called the dispensation of grace.

The dispensation of grace will last until the Lord’s second coming, at which time He will set up the kingdom on earth. The kingdom will last a thousand years, and this period of time is called the millennium. The seventh dispensation, therefore, is the dispensation of the kingdom.

Through these seven dispensations God will fully accomplish His purpose. After the end of the millennium, everything will be renewed. Then there will be a new universe with a new heaven and a new earth and with the New Jerusalem as its center for eternity. In the New Jerusalem God and His redeemed people will enjoy eternal life.

As we have indicated, some Bible teachers prefer to say that in the Scriptures there are four major dispensations. Romans 5 says that from Adam to Moses there was no law. This long period of time, which includes the dispensations of innocence, conscience, human government, and promise, may be regarded as a single dispensation, the prelaw dispensation, or the dispensation before the law. Then according to this understanding the second dispensation, covering the time from Moses to Christ, is the dispensation of the law. The third dispensation is the dispensation of grace, lasting from Christ’s first coming until His second coming. Finally, there is the fourth dispensation, the dispensation of the kingdom, lasting from the time of the Lord’s second coming until the end of the thousand years. This understanding of the dispensations is easy to remember. In this view there are four dispensations: the dispensation before the law, the dispensation of the law, the dispensation of grace, and the dispensation of the kingdom.

Read more
Ayodeji Adesina

Ilupeju, Lagos, Nigeria

Jan 11, 2017

This is quite inspirational! Thank you for bringing this online for us.

Read more
Peter

Beijing, China

Dec 11, 2016

Thank God!

Read more
Andy Welikala

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Jul 27, 2016

Dear Abner: I am a teacher of English. I like to help you and your family members with the English language. If you are interested please email me to the given address.

With God's Blessings

Andy

Read more
Abner da Costa Santos

Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil

Apr 8, 2016

I hope that I'll impruve more my english language and communication bether with ours friends in God in the world, because Jesus Christ is so good for us and living in us corporaty wich divine live in the chirth. That is my pray oll of days!! Amém!!

Read more