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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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Lord, teach us how to pray

Longings For Growth in Life

English1132
1
Lord, teach us how to pray,
Not as the nations do in vain,
But turn us from our way,
And cause us, Lord, to call on You each day—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
2
Lord, You’re the seed of life;
You’ve sown Yourself into our heart,
And now You have a start;
So day by day more life to us impart—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
3
Lord Jesus, soften us;
You know the source from which we came.
By calling on Your name,
Lord, let no earth unturned nor rocks remain—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
4
Lord, how Your light makes clear
That we could not but e’er fail You;
Yet there’s a message true,
The seed of life within us will break through—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
5
Make us in spirit poor;
Lord, take whate’er we think we know.
We’ll open to life’s flow,
And thus take in the life that makes us grow—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
6
Lord, make us pure in heart;
For we’ll be not content until
You all our being fill,
O Lord, renew our mind, emotion, will—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
7
Yes, Lord, impress our heart
That we must take You in each day;
The seed will have its way;
Your growing brings the kingdom here to stay—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
8
Amen!—The growth in life!
There’s nothing that Your life can’t do;
Our every part renew.
We’ll make it, we’ll make it just by You.
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
 
Lord Jesus, grow in us.

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Un Hermano

Mar 10, 2026

Luke 11:1 says, “And it came about that when He was praying in a certain place, as He ceased, a certain one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. ” We do not know what the Lord was praying for. When the disciples saw Him praying, they wanted Him to teach them to pray. Then the Lord went on to say, “When you pray, say, Father, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come. Give us each day our bread for the day; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us into trial” (vv. 2-4). I have spent much time considering this brief word. My conclusion is that if we would pray this way again and again, the result will be that we shall pray ourselves into God. In other words, the issue of this prayer is that we find ourselves in God.

If we pray according to the Lord’s teaching in these verses, we shall be persons in God. I encourage you to pray, “Father, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come. ” If you pray this a number of times, you will find that you are in God. This is both my understanding and my experience. From experience I can testify that to pray according to the Lord’s instruction is to pray ourselves into God.

Once we have prayed ourselves into God, what shall we do now that we are in God? We shall simply receive Him with His riches into us. As fallen human beings, we were altogether outside of God and had nothing to do with His riches. Hence, we could not enjoy the riches of God. We need to pray ourselves into God and then, as those in Him, receive Him and His riches.

Life-study of Luke

Message 27 The Ministry of the Man-savior in His Human Virtues with His Divine Attributes from Galilee to Jerusalem

(LSM)

Read more
Un Hermano

Mar 10, 2026

PRAYING OURSELVES INTO GOD

--------------

In 11:1-13 we have the Man-Savior’s teaching on prayer. If we read this section carefully again and again, we shall see that prayer means that we pray ourselves into God. When some hear this, they may say, “We cannot find such a point in the pattern of prayer set up by the Lord Jesus in His teaching. How can you say that to pray is to pray ourselves into God? ” Apparently, this matter is not found in 11:1-13 . Actually, in these verses we see that to pray is to pray ourselves into God.

Luke 11:1 says, “And it came about that when He was praying in a certain place, as He ceased, a certain one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. ” We do not know what the Lord was praying for. When the disciples saw Him praying, they wanted Him to teach them to pray. Then the Lord went on to say, “When you pray, say, Father, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come. Give us each day our bread for the day; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us into trial” (vv. 2-4). I have spent much time considering this brief word. My conclusion is that if we would pray this way again and again, the result will be that we shall pray ourselves into God. In other words, the issue of this prayer is that we find ourselves in God.

Life-study of Luke

Message 27 The Ministry of the Man-savior in His Human Virtues with His Divine Attributes from Galilee to Jerusalem

(LSM)

Read more
Un Hermano

Mar 10, 2026

1. “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

------------------

We must ask the Lord to teach us to pray because none of us can pray. When we come to the Lord, we should not pray according to our own determination or idea or according to our own heart or tendency. We should place ourselves before the Lord and quietly wait for the Lord through His Spirit to teach us how to pray. While we wait, the Spirit will lead us and give us an inward sense about how we should pray and the content of our prayer. We should then pray according to this inward sense. When our inward sense is according to the Spirit’s leading, our prayer will be according to the Lord’s teaching and leading.

Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures,
Chapter 32 Prayer
CWWL, 1932–1949, (LSM)

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Esther Wilson

Cypress, California, United States

Feb 27, 2026

Yes Lord!
There’s nothing that Your life can’t do.
You can renew every part of our being.
We’ll make it, we will make it just by You.
Lord Jesus, grow in us.
Amen Lord!

Read more
Vinay Thummala

Jabel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Feb 21, 2026

Yes, Lord, impress our heart
That we must take You in each day;
The seed will have its way;
Your growing brings the kingdom here to stay—
Lord Jesus, grow in us. Amen Lord!

Read more
Emmanuelle

California, United States

Feb 8, 2026

Lord, make us pure in heart;
For we’ll be not content until
You all our being fill,
O Lord, renew our mind, emotion, will—
Lord Jesus, grow in us.

Read more
Aw

TX, United States

Feb 7, 2026

Poor in spirit
Pure in heart
Lord Jesus, grow in us.

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John Twekhaw

Hakha, Chin, Myanmar

Dec 20, 2025

Oh Lord, teach me how to pray each day!!!!

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Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Jan 20, 2025

May the kingdom of God grow in us until there’s a full manifestation of the kingdom of God in us and through us! Amen, Lord, may Your kingdom come! Lord Jesus grow we love you ❤️

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Chris Condon

London, England, United Kingdom

Feb 11, 2023

What a timely word. We can be pure, holy, perfect, and God's expression and enlargement only by His life. There's nothing that His life can't do. But He must have a way. He has a start but we must turn, call, pray, and let His light shine on us. We amen the growth of life in us. We'll make it just by Him. Lord Jesus, grow in us!

Read more