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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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As we’re sharing of the cup

Praise of the Lord Remembrance of Him

English224
1
As we’re sharing of the cup,
How can we restrain our praise;
For the blood Thou shedd’st for us,
Worth of which none can appraise.
O how precious is Thy blood!
All our problems it resolves;
In Thine efficacious blood
All our care and fear dissolves.
2
It is by this blood of worth
The new testament was made;
For this better covenant,
’Tis a sure foundation laid.
We have been redeemed by God,
Not with silver or with gold,
But, Lord, with Thy precious blood,
Which Thy love doth e’er unfold.
3
For remission of our sins
Thou hast shed Thy cleansing blood.
Which for us has fully met
All the righteous claims of God.
Thou hast washed us from our sins
In Thy pow’rful purging blood;
And our conscience purged by it,
Thus to serve the living God.
4
By Thy separating blood,
We have all been sanctified;
’Tis by Thy preserving blood
Holiness is testified.
By Thy propitiating blood,
We have all been justified;
’Tis by Thy redeeming blood
God is fully satisfied.
5
Thru Thy blood shed on the cross,
We are reconciled to God,
That the way to contact Him
May in peace by us be trod.
By partaking of Thy blood,
We have Thine eternal life;
In Thy blood and life received,
We have rest, free from all strife.
6
Now, in heav’n Thy sprinkled blood
Speaks for us of better things;
Under its defending pow’r
We are kept from Satan’s stings.
By Thine overcoming blood,
We defeat the enemy;
Over our accuser thus,
We will have the victory.
7
Of Thy blood, for fellowship,
We commune with all Thy saints;
Under its full covering,
Our freed spirit never faints.
How can we exhaust, in words,
The account of Thy dear blood;
We will need eternity
To declare its boundless good.

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

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Daniel John Dalmino

Pierson, Florida, United States

Jun 14, 2026

We must remember that we have the Lord's most precious, redeeming, and prevailing blood! For through this blood we are saved, cleansed, and through this blood we will be victorious!

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Francis Y Chow

Church In New York City, United States

Dec 28, 2025

So marvelous and wonderful brothers and sisters that we can be saved and recevie be separated from the World. Thru Thy blood shed on the cross,

Read more
Un Hermano

Aug 19, 2025

The Cup

1. “He took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins”; “This cup is the new covenant established in My blood”( Matt. 26:27-28 ; 1 Cor. 11:25 ).

When the Lord established the breaking of bread, He not only broke bread, gave it to the disciples, and told them to take and eat, He also took a cup, gave it to them, and told them to take and drink. He said that the cup was the new covenant established in His blood, which was being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. Whenever we break bread, there is not only a loaf on the table that is ready to be broken and eaten by all but also a cup ready to be taken and drunk by all. According to the Lord’s word, both the bread and the cup are symbols. The bread refers to His body broken for us, and the cup refers to His blood poured out for us. His body was given for us on the cross, and His blood was shed for us on the cross. On the cross He not only gave His body for us, but He also poured out His blood for us. His giving of His body was to impart life to us so that we could partake of Him; His shedding of His blood was for our redemption so that our sins could be forgiven.

Although the main goal of the Lord’s death on the cross was to release, to dispense, His divine life to us, He not only released His life, but He also redeemed us from all our sins. God’s eternal purpose is to dispense His life to us, but because of the fall we also are sinners before God. In order for the Lord to give us the divine life, He had to resolve the problem of our sin. Thus, on the one hand, the Lord gave up His body so that we could receive the divine life within Him, and on the other hand, He shed His blood so that our sins could be forgiven. Although the main emphasis of the breaking of bread is to symbolize the life dispensed to us through the giving of His body, the cup also symbolizes our redemption, which was accomplished through the shedding of His blood.

Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures:

Volume 2 Chapter 20 (LSM)

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Shelly H.

Palatine, IL, United States

Feb 2, 2025

I am hemophobic. But every time I sing this hymn I am reminded that of the precious blood that I do not fear. The blood that was shed for us. The blood that afforded us so much to enjoy. It is the blood of worth. Praise the Lord for His efficacious blood!

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Shekinah Elorza

Pagadian City, Zamboanga Del Sur, Philippines

Jan 26, 2025

"Thank You, dear Lord Jesus Christ for Your precious redeeming blood causing us to gain You and obtained Your eternal life!" 😇❤

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Gordon Brinkley

Denvet, CO, United States

Jan 20, 2025

How I so appreciate verse 3 of this hymn:

“Thou hast shed Thy cleansing blood.
Which for us has fully met
All the righteous claims of God.
Thou hast washed us from our sins
In Thy pow’rful purging blood;
And our conscience purged by it,
Thus to serve the living God. ”

Regarding this verse, I wrote this comment in my hymn book perhaps 20 years ago:

“His precious blood cleanses us from the inside out, qualifying us to serve the living God!! ” I feel the more so even now in these days!

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Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Jul 26, 2023

The music for this hymn was written by Herbert Henry Howard Booth. He was a Salvation Army officer, the third son of five children of William Booth and Catherine Booth- Mumford, (the founders of the Salvation Army), who later went on to serve as an independent evangelist. Herbert-Henry oversaw the Limelight Department which produced about 300 films of evangelistic content for the use of the Salvation Army. He was also the writer and director of Soldiers of the Cross, a multimedia production premiering in 1900 and touring internationally until 1920. The production consisted of film segments, (photographic glass filters), presented along with an evangelistic lecture and accompanied by a live orchestra. It included episodes from the life of Christ and stories of early Christian martyrs aimed at stirring up audiences into consecrating their lives to Jesus Christ.

Herbert, who was born in Penzance Cornwall, received little formal education, but became a student at Allesly Park College, and the Congregational Institute at Nottingham.

At the age of 20, Herbert began helping his sister Kate Booth build-up the Salvation Army in France. Two years later, he was given charge of England’s Cadet Officer Training. He wrote many songs for the Salvation Army, and became a band master and a songster leader.

In 1886, Herbert Booth took ill and went to Australia to rest and heal. While staying at a mining town there, he found a gold nugget. He eventually forged it into a ring for his future wife, Cornelia Schack, who was from the Netherlands.

Australian Dictionary of Biography vol. 7

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Larry

Lagos, Nigeria

May 27, 2022

Lord Jesus we love you! You are the Reality of our being and meeting in Resurrection! Your blood qualifies us to partake of your Table! We thank and praise You Lord!!

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Francis Y Chow

Anaheim, California, United States

Nov 3, 2019

We need eternity to declare the boundless love of Christ for us through His blood

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Sue

Calgary, Canada

Sep 2, 2018

感谢主的宝血！何等宝贵！

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