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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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I hear Thy welcome voice

Gospel Coming to the Lord

English1051
1
I hear Thy welcome voice,
That calls me, Lord, to Thee,
For cleansing in Thy precious blood
That flowed on Calvary.
 
I am coming, Lord,
Coming now to Thee:
Wash me, cleanse me in the blood
That flowed on Calvary.
2
Though coming weak and vile,
Thou dost my strength assure;
Thou dost my vileness fully cleanse,
Till spotless all, and pure.
3
’Tis Jesus who confirms
The blessed work within,
By adding grace to welcomed grace,
Where reigned the power of sin.
4
And He the witness gives
To loyal hearts and free,
That every promise is fulfilled,
If faith but brings the plea.
5
All hail, redeeming blood!
All hail, life-giving grace!
All hail, the gift of Christ our Lord,
Our strength and righteousness.

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Amos Kimani

Nairobi, Nyandarua, Kenya

Mar 26, 2017

I heard the welcome voice. That's why I am enjoying the church life.

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Steven Miller

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Jan 14, 2017

The words and music of this beautiful hymn were first published in a monthly, entitled, Guide to Holiness, a copy of which was sent to me in England. I immediately adopted it, and had it published in Sacred Songs and Solos. It proved to be one of the most helpful of the revival hymns, and was often used as an invitation hymn in England and America. - Ira Sankey in 'My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns'

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An evangelist was holding meetings in Eastbourne, England. A very wicked man by the name of David was converted and he prevailed upon one of his companions, who was just as bad as he, to attend the meetings. The companion's name was Stephen. The minister gave out the words of this hymn. Before the first verse was finished, the minister noticed that a man near the platform seemed greatly under conviction. When the hymn was concluded, he felt impressed to dispense with the sermon and give the altar call. One of the first to go up was Stephen who wept his way to the cross and was soon praising God for sins forgiven. Later he brought his wife to the services and she too responded to the "Welcome Voice".

A very touching story was written by a man in Glasgow, Scotland who attended the revival meetings Dwight Whittle and James McGranahan conducted in that city in 1881. "I observed in Bethany Hall, one Sabbath evening, an old fellow workman of mine. Knowing that he had been a very irreligious man, I decided to speak to him and soon learned that something was working in his mind altogether different from the former things.

"Look here", he said, "I didna think that there was much truth in religion, but I am staggered about it now. Ye see, I have a daughter, and a wee while ago she heard about meetings in Bethany Hall. So somehow, she and her companion, both fond of singing, went to the meeting. When she came home, she just put her things aside and sat down by the fire, not speaking a word. My wife noticed her eyes filled with ears. "What's the matter, Aggy" she said. There was no answer. "Why not go to bed like a good lass; ye'll have to be up early in the morning." The tears came faster. "Oh, Mother, I cannot go to bed. I've been hearing a hymn tonight that I'll never forget. Oh, I'm hastening to Eternity, and Oh, how dark it is just now! Go to bed! I'll go to my knees."

"Well, the following night she went again, an' when she and her companion came home they both seemed so glad, so happy together, and talked about, 'I am the Door. By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.' They declared they had entered in. Anyhow, they were happy. Next evening the wife went with them, and the whole house is now like a kirk (church). I've been going, and Aggy and some of her companions are coming next Sabbath evening."

Needless to say that yielding to the "Welcome Voice" of Jesus made that rough workman's home in Glasgow like a kirk. - 'More Living Hymn Stories' by Wilbur Konkel

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There is an additional stanza following stanza 2 above:
2b ’Tis Jesus calls me on
To perfect faith and love,
To perfect hope and peace and trust,
For earth and heav’n above.
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The last stanza originally says:
All hail! atoning blood!
All hail! redeeming grace!
All hail! the gift of Christ our Lord,
Our strength and righteousness.

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Pastor Jerry

Dimapur, India

Sep 17, 2016

I love this hymn so much

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Emmanuel

Tema, Greater Accra, Ghana

Jun 1, 2016

I love this song so much. It reminds me of how God welcomed me back into the kingdom even though I lost the first love, He brought me in and cleansed me in the most precious blood and gave me a new birth full of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah............

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Par Dono

Malang, Indonesia

Apr 26, 2016

It reminds me to praise Him everyday...amen

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Yeremia Alfa Susetyo

Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia

Jan 29, 2016

Why the sinful man like me should become holy?

Because the bible says:

Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be HOLY and without blemish before Him in love, (Eph. 1:4)

How can?

1 Pet. 1:18 Knowing that it was not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, that you were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers,

1 Pet. 1:19 But with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ;

Hallelujah, just come to Thee.

The precious blood of Christ is for cleansing us!

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Esterabera Rarivo

Antananarivo, Madagascar

Jan 27, 2016

The first time I listened to the song I felt Our Dear Father and Lord so close to me then I was looking for the lyrics because I wanna know more about it. English is not my native language but the song means so much to me especially when we know We are all children of God and saved by the grace and merci through His Son Jesus called to come home and fill his House. My prayer is that all my family and relatives share with us the same faith about Our Lord Jesus. May Jesus Christ keep us all in His wonderful Light and undying Love until He returns. Amen.

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Salem Macnee

New Zealand

Jul 15, 2015

I am coming, Lord!

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ShannonBay

Wellington, New Zealand

Jul 7, 2015

We all may come to the Lord to enjoy His life-giving grace. His blood has power to deal with every vile thing between man and God.

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Stephen Mose

Nairobi, Kenya

Dec 10, 2014

His blood indeed clenses us.

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