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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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Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised

Scriptures for Singing

English1335
1
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
In the city of our God,
In the mountain of His holiness.
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
Is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.

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Liz Roberts

Lexington, MI, United States

Sep 1, 2013

Reading the comments from the saints in Nigeria blesses me.

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Banimoh Bello

Sokoto, Nigeria

Jun 25, 2013

This made my day, Amen.

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G

United States

Apr 29, 2013

Thank you for posting this song online, the Lord brought it to my heart to sing today and I was so happy to find it on your site with lyric and music to sing along. God Yahweh Bless you!

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Ologbosere Esther

Idimu, Lagos State, Nigeria

Dec 20, 2012

The Lord is worthy to be praised. You are worthy, O Lord.

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Alice Smith

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Dec 4, 2012

Thank you for the song lyrics. I have been looking everywhere and couldn't find it but now I did. I have been trying to find the lyrics because this morning I read Psalms 48 and I remembered this song. God Bless You all.

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Jc

Kigali City, Kigali, Rwanda

Nov 27, 2012

Hello Ms Doris, as I read your story, there is one thing I would like to share with you. You are somebody special in the eyes of the Lord, and He is more than able to perform great wonders in your life, at one condition: trust, believe and rely on Him 100%. Stop looking at your problem, instead look upon the Lord, and while you trust Him, have that picture of the thing that you want (a daughter who delights in her mother and who demonstrates the virtues of a Christian) and start praising the Lord for that. Have faith, and stop looking on circumstances. If God doesn't recognize something, don't recognize it either. Rejoice in the Lord, the One who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above, all we can dare ask or think of, according to the power that works within us. Make bold declaration, confess with your mouth that your daughter is in the right path, even if visibly she isn't, but remember the fig tree didn't dry up that day when Jesus spoke, and yet He had already spoken. Get the picture of what you want, speak that very thing, and you shall see it happen. You are abundantly and greatly blessed.

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Doris Cash

Ramona, California, United States

Oct 2, 2012

Hello Cheryl.. you have given me so much hope.. Praise God.. I forget that I have commented on the bad experience, I had, while visitng my daughter; and just now found it, looking for a hymn in my favorites. God surely led me to your letter. I "out of the blue" brought it up! but, Praise God, I do have my son and my younger daughter back in mine with her life again! They have had bad experinces with her also; and; they have accepted me back again after 3 years, after I stayed away from the older daughter. I don't like to be partial though; and I am a very forgiving person. They need to forgive also. Please pray for them...

And... God is continuing to heal the wounds..
I Praise God for your comforting comment!
Love in Christ...

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Cheryl

In The HEAVENS, The Kingdom Of Our God!

Sep 18, 2012

Ms Doris, Praise God, He is caring for you as you go through this trial! Continue to pray. The Lord is not through with you or your daughter. And we knot that ALL things work together for the good of those that love God, to those who are called according to HIS purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29a). This situation with your daughter is part of yours and her divine transformation process. Praise the Lord! We serve a God who is faithful and just. Be confident in this very thing, that He who has begun in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6) Be encouraged, sister.

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Joshua Dogara Amstrong

Abuja, FCT, Nigeria

Jul 25, 2012

When I think of His love to me I am speechless. Sometimes I wonder what have I done to deserve such great love. Despite the fact that I am a sinner but He love me anyway. Lord Jesus thank You so much. May Your name be glorified and exalted forever, Amen.

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Doris Cash

Ramona, California, United States

May 27, 2012

I play this beautiful hymn on my piano; and sing along with it.. I couldn't remember the words of the 3rd. line.. but; I got on the internet; and Praise God, here it is..

I have gone through so much hurt.. My daughter pushed me down and I fell to the floor; and beginning to kick me.. but, thank God, He was with me; and still is.. I made it back home (driving 450 miles) with my 13 year old cat.. to my home in San Diego County.. God was with me; and I got home safely!

Please pray for me.. she still is harrassing me; with her lies.. but, thank God, without Him, I couldn't make it.. That life she lives is not for me; and she wasn't raised this way.. something has changed in her.. I believe it could be her boyfriend.. she committed her life to the Lord 30 years ago; and he doesn't know the Lord.. so please remember them both in prayer.

I believe the Lord revealed to me, not to make the move up to where she lives.. I drove up there to look; and it is not for me.. I don't approve of the lifestyle.. I have lived here in my town for 58 years; and I just praise God that He has shown me what I needed to know..

I'm 80 years old; and with Him, I could not make it.. It is very hurting to know she did this, I would say for no reason.. But, I do feel strongly; and after much prayer, she wanted me up there to move in with me, with her live in boyfriend; and take over my finances.. Please pray for her (she is 59 yrs. old); and she has had to had "snapped".. I pray that she will get help..

Please pray that she will stop her lies; and continue to give me peace; and that my grandchildren will become to know the truth.. But, she is their mother; and God will someday reveal to them the truth.. but, I feel they already know..

Thank You so much!
In His Name..
Praise God!!
Doris

p.s. I failed to add that this beautiful hymn is bringing me peace; and now, I know the exact words, I can continue to play it on my piano and sing along with it.. I knew it was in the book of Psalms somewhere; but couldn't find it.. Thanks so much!

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