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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 love Thee, Jesus

Experience of Christ Loving Him

English1154
1
I love Thee, Jesus,
And Thy love to me
Draws me, ever to seek Thee
And run after Thee,
Draws me, ever to seek Thee
And run after Thee.
Thou art beloved,
Yea! Altogether lovely,
The One in whom my heart delighteth.
Thou art beloved,
Yea! Altogether lovely,
The One in whom my heart delighteth.
2
Thy love, Lord Jesus,
Is sweeter than wine,
And Thy fragrance of ointments
My heart doth entwine,
And Thy fragrance of ointments
My heart doth entwine.
A fount in gardens,
A well of living waters,
Which streams and flows from Lebanon’s mountains.
3
O come Beloved,
On my garden blow,
That the odor of spices
May break forth and flow,
That the odor of spices
May break forth and flow.
My spouse, My sister,
I’m come into My garden
To feast upon wine, milk and honey.
4
Set me, Lord Jesus,
As seal on Thine heart;
Jealousy’s cruel as Sheol,
And love’s strong as death,
Jealousy’s cruel as Sheol,
And love’s strong as death.
Much water cannot
Quench love, nor do floods drown it.
All man could give for love is contemned.

(Repeat the last three lines of each stanza)

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Un Hermano

Feb 16, 2026

OUR NEED TO BE THE
CRAZY LOVERS OF JESUS
---------------

I want to say again that you need to forget about outward correction, outward improvement, and outward activity. Always pay your full attention to the inner part of your being where Jesus is. Do not try to serve the Lord, work for Him, or do anything for Him. You have to look unto Him so that He would show you all His beauty, His sweetness, and His fairness. This will attract you to love Him. We should say, “Lord Jesus, to me You are so sweet. To me You are so loving and so lovely. Whenever I call on You, I have a sweet sense deep within my being. ” We should have a love toward Jesus that is sweet to our inner sense. We should tell the Lord all the time, “O Lord Jesus, I love You. ”

The Living and Practical
Way to Enjoy Christ
Chapter 3 (LSM)

Read more
Un Hermano

Feb 16, 2026

B. Loved by the
Beloved Disciples
---------------

Although the religionists hated the Lord Jesus, His disciples loved Him (26:6-13). Two of those who loved Him were Simon the leper and Mary, the woman who poured the oil upon His head. A leper signifies a sinner (8:2). Simon, a leper, must have been healed by the Lord. Being grateful to the Lord and loving Him, he spread a feast (26:7) in his house for the Lord and His disciples in order to enjoy His presence. A saved sinner would always do this. Simon must have known that the Lord was about to be killed. He probably realized that this was the last opportunity for him to express his love to the Lord. Therefore, he grasped the opportunity for a further intimate, loving contact with the Lord. He opened his home, spread a feast, and invited the Lord and all of those who loved Him.

Verses 7 and 8 say, “A woman came to Him, having an alabaster flask of ointment of great value, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table. But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? ” The disciples considered Mary’s love offering to the Lord a waste. Throughout the past twenty centuries thousands of precious lives, heart treasures, high positions, and golden futures have been wasted upon the Lord Jesus. To those who love Him in such a way, He is altogether lovely and worthy of their offering. What they have poured upon Him is not a waste but a fragrant testimony of His sweetness.

Verse 13 says, “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. ” In the foregoing verse, the Lord spoke of His burial, implying His death and resurrection for our redemption. Hence, in this verse He called the gospel “this gospel, ” referring to the gospel of His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-4). The story of the gospel is that the Lord loved us, and the story of Mary is that she loved the Lord. We must preach both, the Lord loving us and us loving the Lord. One is for our salvation, and the other is for our consecration. The gospel tells us how the Lord loved us, but the loving story of Mary stirs us up to love the Lord. Thus, there needs to be a mutual love. This must accompany the preaching of the gospel.

Life-study of Matthew

Message 68 (LSM)

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Miguel Soltero Jr.

Farmington, MI, United States

Jan 18, 2026

I love Thee, Jesus!! Your love draws me ever to seek Thee and run after thee!

Read more
Sherzod Tashkenbaev

Lafayette, Indiana, United States

Aug 16, 2025

Lord, You are the one in whom our heart delighteth! Lord, You are so lovely! Praise You Lord Jesus, we love You. Attract more people to Yourself!

Read more
Nicole Ho

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Mar 23, 2025

Lord, Your love brings us to ourselves!

Read more
Benjamin Lee

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Mar 23, 2025

O come Beloved,
On my garden blow,
That the odor of spices
May break forth and flow,
That the odor of spices
May break forth and flow.
My spouse, My sister,
I’m come into My garden
To feast upon wine, milk and honey.

Read more
Joy Jeremiah

United States

Jan 21, 2025

Set me, Lord Jesus,
As seal on Thine heart;
Jealousy’s cruel as Sheol,
And love’s strong as death,
Jealousy’s cruel as Sheol,
And love’s strong as death.
Much water cannot
Quench love, nor do floods drown it.
All man could give for love is contemned.

Read more
James Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United Kingdom

Dec 30, 2024

What a beautiful and deep love song from Songs of Solomon 4:16 (Amplified Version)

“Awake O north wind, and come south wind [blow softly upon my garden]. Make my garden breath out fragrance [for the one in whom my soul delights]. Let its spices flow forth. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat of its choicest fruits”. What an experience to breathe out a fragrance that pleases God and know His love. 2 Cor 2:16 says we are a savor of life unto life. Lord I want to have that sweet savor.

Read more
Shirui Jin

United States

Aug 3, 2024

I love thee Jesus!!!!!

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Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Jul 15, 2024

Lord Jesus, we are drawn by You for You are the most lovely One. Your sweetness is so precious, and Your love is better than wine. We just love to come to tell You day by day that we love You ❤️. Praise the Lord!

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