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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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We’re feeding on the living bread

Experience of Christ As Food and Drink

English1150
1
We’re feeding on the living bread,
We’re drinking at the fountainhead;
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again.
What, never thirst again? No, never thirst again!
What, never thirst again? No, never thirst again!
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again!
2
We are feeding on the living bread,
Eating of the feast our Lord has spread,
And whoso eateth, Jesus said,
Shall hunger nevermore.
What, hunger nevermore? Yes, hunger nevermore!
What, hunger nevermore? Yes, hunger nevermore!
And whoso eateth, Jesus said,
Shall hunger nevermore.
3
We are breathing in the living air,
Breathing in the One whose life we share,
And whoso breatheth—now, fore’er—
Shall have the life of God.
What, have the life of God? Yes, have the life of God!
What, have the life of God? Yes, have the life of God!
And whoso breatheth—now, fore’er—
Shall have the life of God.
4
We are tasting of the living wine,
In spirit tasting life divine,
And whoso tasteth, every time
Shall have the joy of God.
What, have the joy of God? Yes, have the joy of God!
What, have the joy of God? Yes, have the joy of God!
And whoso tasteth, every time
Shall have the joy of God.
5
Christ is the resurrected King,
Who died and rose, our life to bring,
If you receive Him you will sing,
And live forevermore.
What, live forevermore? Yes, live forevermore!
What, live forevermore? Yes, live forevermore!
If you receive Him you will sing,
And live forevermore.

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D’Andre Adams

District Of Columbia, United States

Jul 18, 2026

Praise The El Shaddai!

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Rebecca Suzanne Wilging

Riverside, CA, United States

May 17, 2026

We’re feeding on the living bread, And whoso eateth, Jesus said, "Shall hunger nevermore."

We are tasting of the living wine, And whoso drinketh, Jesus said, "Shall never, never thirst again."

We are breathing in the living air, And whoso breatheth—now, fore’er—

"Shall have the life of God!"

And whoso tasteth, every time

Shall have the joy of God! And if you receive Him, you will sing, And live forevermore!

Read more
Un Hermano

Dec 28, 2025

GOD COMING TO
BE LIFE TO MAN
-----------------------

We have seen that the central goal of God in the universe is life. Now we need to see how God came to be man’s life and to be mingled with man. God’s focus is on life, which is simply God Himself. Therefore, for God to take life as the center of the universe means that He takes Himself as the center of the universe. For Him to put His life into man means that He desires to put Himself into man. For Him to desire man to receive life means that He desires man to receive Himself. When life enters into man, God enters man. We would never say that God is God, that life is life, and that God and life are separate from each other. Actually, God is life, and life is God; the two cannot be separated. When life is separated from God, it is no longer life. Life is not only in God, but life is God. Hence, Psalm 36 says that life is in God and that the source of life is with God.

In the Old Testament we can see life, but we cannot easily see what life is. It is not until the New Testament that we see that life is God Himself. The incarnated Christ is God on one hand and life on the other hand. Christ is God, and Christ is life; therefore, God is life. Furthermore, we know assuredly that God became flesh in order that we may receive Him as life. In His incarnation He said, “I have come that they may have life” (John 10:10). The life in us is God Himself. God became flesh so that man might receive Him as life. He said that He was the living bread which came down out of heaven (6:51); this means that God became man and came among men because He desires to be the living bread so that men can receive Him as their life.

Further Talks on the
Knowledge of Life
Chapter 2 CWWL,
1955, vol. 4 (LSM)

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Maria C

California, United States

Nov 1, 2024

Live forevermore!

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Tom Chelimsky

Henrico, VA, United States

Oct 13, 2024

This was one of the first songs I learned right after brothers in Cleveland at the hazel house helped me get saved in 1990. How my spirit burned with joy every time we sang it!!! I considered the words carefully today. The song contains so many wonderful little gems. The word “what“ in each stanza makes it so clear that what we sometimes take for granted is actually utterly incredible and amazing. I also very much enjoyed today the words “Jesus said“ because it means this is true regardless of my experience. If I am thirsting, it’s not so much about what I’m doing or not doing but more about what I’m believing or not believing. I was strongly convinced this morning to believe his word that indeed I will never thirst again. This part obviously comes from the scene with the Samaritan woman in John. Does anyone know where Jesus says that whoever eats the bread of life will never hunger again. I do accept it as a spiritual truth, but I’m not sure exactly where the verse is? Finally, the last part that really touched me was about tasting the living wine and having the joy of God. I used to think that God‘s joy was immovable, eternal, and just there because he is a joyous person. But with a little bit more maturity today, I understand that his joy comes From an intimate relationship with each of his sons and daughters. When I drink wine with my wife, it’s because I am celebrating a relationship with her. Although the wine I drink with the Lord is far more mystical in terms of imparting life and communing with him, there is still a similar concept, his joy is not static but dynamic and revels in togetherness.

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Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Jul 25, 2024

Praise the Lord!

When we eat Christ as the bread of life, we are satisfied. When we eat other things, we remain empty and dissatisfied. Nothing and no one can satisfy our deepest hunger but Christ Himself as the bread of life and a fountain of living water.

He is our Daily Food Supply!! Hallelujah 😀

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Kemi Adolphus

Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria

Nov 23, 2023

We're drinking at the Fountain Head and feeding on the Living Bread.. Revelation 7:17.... LORD feed us evermore. Hallelujah... Amen

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Lisa Isaac

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Oct 13, 2023

Remember singing the first verse in Sunday School and in two groups, where one asked the question and the other answered.... and the ones who answered shouted out..... :)

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Rebeca Vasquez

Pasadena, Los Angeles, United States

Oct 8, 2023

I love this hymn 😄

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Rute Tesfay

College Station, TX, United States

Apr 16, 2023

We’re feeding on the living bread,
We’re drinking at the fountainhead;
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again.
What, never thirst again? No, never thirst again!
What, never thirst again? No, never thirst again!
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again!

Read more