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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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How sweet is the story of Christ’s boundless love

Praise of the Lord His Redemption

English112
1
How sweet is the story of Christ’s boundless love,
That brought Him to suffer from glory above!
He died in our stead upon Calvary’s tree,
Obtaining redemption that we might be free.
 
Sound His praise! Sound His praise!
All the work has been done;
Praise His name! Praise His name!
Jesus, God’s blessed Son.
We give Him the glory, our Savior and Friend;
Our song is of Jesus and never will end.
2
How wondrous the story! the law’s holy claims
Were met by the blood which redemption proclaims.
The judgment of sin has been borne by the Son,
Who glorified God in the work He has done.
3
How brilliant the glory where Christ is enthroned
How rightly His name above others is owned!
Yes, Jesus, the Savior, the glory-crowned Lord,
Is worthy by all to be ever adored.

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Ethan Kao

Bronxville, NY, United States

Sep 20, 2026

Sound His praise! Sound His praise!
All the work has been done;
Praise His name! Praise His name!
Jesus, God's blessed Son!

We need to constantly be sounding his praise! We're here not because anything we've done or accomplished but because of everything he has done! Praise the Lord! We worship you! We exalt you!

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Cc

United Kingdom

Feb 8, 2026

It's finished, the debt repaid, cancelled,
we are restored
Amen amen

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Un Hermano

Jul 5, 2025

Having Understanding in the Mystery of Christ by a Revelation in Our Mingled Spirit

Ephesians 3:3-4 says, “By revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have written previously in brief, by which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ. ” In Colossians 2:2 the mystery of God is Christ, who is the “story” of God, the explanation and expression of God. In Ephesians the mystery of Christ is the church, because the church is the “story” of Christ, His explanation and expression. Ephesians 3:5 continues, “Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit. ” The spirit here is the human spirit of the apostles and prophets, a spirit regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. It can be considered the mingled spirit, the human spirit mingled with God’s Spirit. To see the mystery of Christ, which is the Body of Christ, requires a revelation in our spirit by the Holy Spirit.

The Divine Spirit with the Human Spirit in the Epistles:Chapter 7 (LSM)

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Moses Gao

Riga, Latvia

May 18, 2025

Our song is of Jesus and never will end！

Blending with saints in Riga. How glorious

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Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Oct 13, 2024

The lyrics for hymn 112 is an adapted version of one of Fanny Crosby and William Howard Doane's songs written almost 150 years ago. It is under the category of "Praise Songs to the Lord" in hymnal.net.

Crosby and Doane wrote many hymns together until he passed away.

Most of the lyrics Fanny wrote tended to focus on our personal experience and relationship with God. This one however, fixes our eyes firmly on the things God has done ((redemption) and by which we should give Him the Glory. It was originally published in a hymnal along with her classic and more popular songs. This one however, was overlooked and forgotten.

Then in 1954 Billy Graham was planning a Crusade in London's Harryingay Arena. Cliff Barrows, Graham's music director, was compiling a hymn-book for the crusade. He was approached by Frank Calhoun, a British preacher at the Norwich Cathedral. Calhoun gave Barrows a copy of Fanny's hymn.

The chorus says:"Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord let the earth hear his voice"....

This inspired Barrows and he decided to use the hymn in the crusade. Many political figures were against Billy Graham being in London. When the crusade was almost canceled, he prayed on his knees and asked the Lord to allow the Crusade go on. The Lord answered his prayer; the arena was packed for three months and it sparked a revival across all of Great Britain! Crosby's forgotten hymn became the befitting theme of the crusade. The hymn was sung almost every night in the arena until it became popular worldwide, the original song was titled "Praise for Redemption," then Barrows renamed it "To God be the Glory." It remains popular to this day.

(Worship 101-Hymns Stories with Lyrics).

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Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Jul 21, 2024

Praise the Lord!

The Lord’s work in His human living to build up the fashion of a man and to take the form of a slave was the foundation and background of His ministry (Luke 4:14-19).

Christ humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the Father even unto death, and that the death of the cross ( Phil. 2:7-8).

Hallelujah! All the work has been done. We give Him the glory, our Savior and Friend; Our song is of Jesus and never will end.

Oh Lord Jesus we love you ❤️

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斐婷

Taiwan

May 19, 2024

耶穌基督無限的愛的故事是多麼甜美， 祂從榮耀之上降臨，為我們受苦！ 祂為我們死在加略山的十字架上， 為了得到救贖，讓我們得以自由。

我們將榮耀歸給祂，我們的救主和朋友，永不結束。

多麼奇妙！律法的聖潔要求 已經被救贖所宣告的寶血滿足。 罪的審判已經由神的兒子承擔， 祂在所作的工作中榮耀了神。阿門!

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Oukaqaqagguua The Baptised

Niger

Mar 10, 2024

How woundrous his story truly is! I was enlightened by these soothing words of Christ and forgot about my circumcision ritual

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Sarah

Butuan, Philippines

Jul 30, 2023

Amen

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Ligma Bwoels

Seattle, WA, United States

Apr 30, 2023

So wonderful!!! Outstanding!!!! Impeccable!!!!! 😍😍🤭

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