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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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If you are tired of the load of your sin

Gospel Persuasion

English1038
1
If you are tired of the load of your sin,
Let Jesus come into your heart;
If you desire a new life to begin,
Let Jesus come into your heart.
 
Just now, your doubtings give o’er;
Just now, reject Him no more;
Just now, throw open the door;
Let Jesus come into your heart.
2
If ’tis for purity now that you sigh,
Let Jesus come into your heart;
Fountains for cleansing are flowing near by,
Let Jesus come into your heart.
3
If there’s a tempest your voice cannot still,
Let Jesus come into your heart;
If there’s a void this world never can fill,
Let Jesus come into your heart.

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Brian Harkess

Musselburgh, East Lothian, United Kingdom

Nov 25, 2025

Tremendous lyrics. Jesus, name above all names. Hallelujah what a Saviour

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W. Aardsma

Plymouth, MI, United States

Sep 22, 2016

I like to point out that Lelia Morris was raised Methodist PROTESTANT Church, and married into the Methodist Episocpal Church. She is also listed as "Mrs. C.H. Morris" on some hymns. there's some information on her in "Understanding Our New United Methodist Hymnal" which may still be in print. At one place they say that she wrote over 900 hymns, in another that she wrote several thousand hymns. one hymn that she wrote suggests that she was Premillenial in her views when most Methodists of the time would be optimistic Postmillenialist.

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Elizabeth Staeheli

Spokane, Washington, United States

Sep 11, 2016

Thank you, Steve, for that history!

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Steve Miller

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Jun 27, 2016

Lelia Naylor Morris wrote nearly 1500 hymns. She was the 5th child of John T. and Olivia Naylor. She was born in Pennsville, Ohio. Later the family moved to Malta, not far from Pennsville. There Lelia lived until she was married. She was only 10 or 11 years old when her father died. Lelia had to work to help supplement the family income. Lelia later wrote of these years: "I cannot remember any carefree days. Always there was work to be done, and every penny stretched to the limit." Lelia was about 10 when she felt her need of forgiveness in Christ. They attended a Methodist Protestant Church in McConnelsville, near Malta. Lelia wrote: "I knew that I needed a Savior. Three times I went forward, but could not find forgiveness. A man came and laid his hand on my head, and said: 'Why, little girl, God is here to hear you, and He is ready to forgive your sins.'" She did believe and accepted Christ as her Savior.

A neighbor of Lelia's noticed that she had musical talent. She allowed her to practice on their piano because the Naylor family did not own a musical instrument. Lelia did well on the piano and had some music lessons from friends.

Lelia assisted her mother in a small clothing shop. She learned to sew, knit, and crochet clothing that would be sold in their shop. At the age of 12 she was helping in church work: singing and playing. At the age of 19 she fell in love with Charles H. Morris of McConnelsville. They were married soon after, and Lelia joined the Methodist Episcopal Church with her husband.

Lelia had not done any writing of hymns or tunes until she was 30 years old. However, she attended a Camp Meeting at Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, some time after her 30th birthday. At these services she received an experience that was to greatly influence her life from that time. Many people who love Mrs. Morris' hymns will bless that day when she "opened her heart, and let the Holy Spirit come in." That was the way she described her experience later. She said that she rededicated her life to God. She wrote: "I know that if we honor God, our lives will radiate joy and gladness. I have tried to honor the Holy Spirit. I just opened my heart to let His Holy Spirit come in. He filled me with joy and gladness."

Mrs. Morris began to lose her sight by the time she was 40 years old. By her 51st year her sight had failed completely, or nearly so. Her son made her a blackboard over 20 feet long on which were painted the lines of the staff. She continued writing hymns until her death at age 67.

She wrote "Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart", an invitational hymn which came almost spontaneously as she with Dr. Gilmour and an evangelist, Rev. L. H. Baker, were helping a penitent soul at the altar. Mrs. Morris said: "Just now, your doubtings give o'er." Dr. Gilmour leaned over and said: "Just now, reject Him no more." Rev. Baker, standing at the altar, leaned over and added: "Just now throw open the door." To which Mrs. Morris added: "Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart." A hymn was born. - Hymn Stories by Wilbur Konkel

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There is a 4th stanza:
If you would join the glad songs of the blest,
Let Jesus come into your heart;
If you would enter the mansions of rest,
Let Jesus come into your heart.

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Graham

Ipswich, Qld, Australia

Mar 20, 2013

These old songs are pregnant with meaning and were written from personal experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ. The writer must have had a very deep desire and longing for those who are missing out on the abundant life, to come on board.

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Trish

Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Mar 30, 2007

My grandmother who is 95 and close to passing sang this as a child.

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