1
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.
1=C
1do2re3mi4fa5sol6la7ti
1=C
1do2re3mi4fa5sol4fa3mi2re1do–
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.
2
“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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
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.
6
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.
7
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.
8
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.
1=C
1Twin1kle5twin5kle6lit6tle5star–
9
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.
10
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.
6=A
446la1do2re3mi2re1do7ti6la6la–––
11
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
440––1Praise1God,7from6whom5all1bless2ings3flow–
12
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.
All four answered. You can read numbered notation now. Next, try it on a real hymn.
13
Try it on a hymn
You opened this from a hymn that has a Numbered view, so you can try it right now.
- Look at the top left of the sheet: the key, such as 1=D, and the time signature, such as 3/4.
- 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.
- Letters above the numbers (C, G7) are chords for a guitarist or pianist. Ignore them while you learn the tune.
- 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