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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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O Morning Star, how fair and bright

Praise of the Lord His Beauty

English174
1
O Morning Star, how fair and bright,
Thou beamest forth in truth and light!
O Sov’reign meek and lowly,
Thou Root of Jesse, David’s Son,
My Lord and Master, Thou hast won
My heart to serve Thee solely!
Thou art holy,
Fair and glorious, all-victorious,
Rich in blessing,
Rule and might o’er all possessing.
2
Thou heav’nly Brightness, Light divine,
O deep within my heart now shine,
And make Thee there an altar.
Fill me with joy and strength to be
Thy member, ever joined to Thee
In love that cannot falter;
Toward Thee longing
Doth possess me; turn and bless me;
Here in sadness
Eye and heart long for Thy gladness.

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Maria L

Fremont, CA, United States

Mar 11, 2026

Lord, may our shining be for God’s building! Make us Your overcoming saints today, those who follow Christ faithfully to be the shining stars in the local churches today! 🙏

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Maria Levi

Los Angeles, CA, United States

Jul 27, 2023

Revelation 22:16 I Jesus... , I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.

Revelation 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.

When we are illuminated and enlightened by giving heed to the shining word of prophecy in the Scripture, the morning star rises in our hearts. Day by day, we need to seek earnestly the Lord's presence and be watchful so we will not miss the Lord's secret coming (parousia), when He will come as a thief. As the bright morning star, our dear Lord will privately appear to the overcomers who are watching, preparing and waiting for Him.

O Lord Jesus, we love You and Your appearing! Keep us watchful and waiting for You moment by moment. We joyfully desire that You secretly give Yourself as the morning star to us, so we may taste the freshness of Your precious presence at Your coming back after a long absence!

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Aidan

London, United Kingdom

Nov 26, 2020

The original is also great:

I. How bright appears the Morning-Star,
With Grace and Truth beyond Compare,
The Royal root of JESSE;
O David's Son, of Jacob's Line!
My Soul's Delight, and Spouse Divine,
Thy Love can only bless me.
Precious, Gracious,
Fair and Glorious, e'er victorious,
Thou my Treasure,
Far beyond all earthly Pleasure.
II. My choicest Pearl, and precious Crown,
God and the Virgin Mary's Son,
Thou King of endless Glory!
Thou art compar'd to Sharon's flow'r;
Thy Gospel and its saving Pow'r
Excells what's Transitory.
Lovely Lilly,
O Hosanna, Heav'nly Manna,
Thy sweet Favour
Be mine everlasting Savour.
III. Thy Love, so pow'rful and divine,
Dart deep into this Heart of mine,
Thou brilliant Stone and Jewel!
Confirm me more and more to be
A Branch of Thee, the living Tree,
That Self may lose its Fewel.
Sighing, Dying
Is thy Creature; for in Nature
Is no Pleasure
Without Thee, my King and Treasure.
IV. From God descends a Glance of Joy.
When thou, with thy most gracious Eye,
Beholdst thy loving Creature:
Immanuel! my sov'reign Good,
Thy Word, thy Spirit, Flesh and Blood
Renew my very Nature;
Grant me sweetly
Thine Embraces, that the Graces
Of Salvation
May root out all Depravation.
V. Thou Father, from Eternity,
In Mercy was inclin'd to me,
Through CHRIST, thy well-beloved;
Thy son has chose me for his Bride;
In this my Spouse I can confide;
My Love shall ne'er be moved.
O! this Bliss is
Of his giving, who's the Living
Bread and Manna;
Ever will I sing HOSANNA.
VI. Tune all your Strings of Lute and Harp,
Resolve the Notes of Flat and Sharp
Into Celestial Concords,
That Nothing may disturb my Frame,
Which is wrapt up in JESUS' Name,
The sweetest of all Comforts.
Ringing, Singing,
In your Praises, let the Phrases
Of your Duty
Please the Lord of Bliss and Beauty.
VII. My Joy to all the World be known,
That my Beloved keeps his Throne,
On Hills of Light and Glory.
He'll kindly bring me to that Place,
Where all the Wonders of his Grace
Shall lie disclos'd before me.
Amen! Amen!
Lord my Sov'reign! come and govern
All the Nations;
Come! I wait with great Impatience.

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Lydia Liu

Auckland, New Zealand

Jun 22, 2019

This hymn has such rich utterances. When I first learned this song I didn’t appreciate it much, perhaps because the tune sounded so old-fashioned, but when I declared it with some others I realised the words are so rich.

Lord, fill me with joy, fill me with strength to be Your member! Make me one who is ever joined to You in love, even a love that cannot falter!

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Lilo Xu

Auckland, New Zealand

Jun 17, 2019

Oh, my Lord and my Master, You have won my heart. but I desire, that, Lord, You will continue to win my heart day by day, more and more, with Your beauty and glory, so that I will only serve You with all my heart, my entire being.

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Steve Miller

Detroit, MI, United States

Nov 12, 2013

When Philipp Nicolai was a pastor in Unna, Germany, an awful plague hit the town. His window overlooked the cemetery. There were sometimes as many as 30 burials in a single day. It seemed that every home in the town was mourning for a stricken family member. It was a difficult time to be a pastor. How did he get through it?

"There seemed to me nothing more sweet, delightful, and agreeable," Nicolai wrote, "than the contemplation of the noble sublime doctrine of Eternal Life obtained through the Blood of Christ. This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night." - Great Songs of Faith by Brown and Norton

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