Skip to content
hymnal.net
hymnal.net
My Songs

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.

Open this guide as its own page

Download limit reached

The love of God is greater far

Worship of the Father His Love

English28
1
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.
 
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
2
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
3
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Words & Music © 1923, Ren. 1951 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188.

Delete Comment

Delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Christine Lawrence

Rosedale, NY, United States

Nov 18, 2025

Woke up this morning because of the love of God. Was about to have my worship when this song come to my mind, I looked it up in my Church Hymnal, did not find it, so I checked online and there it was, praise God. Had to sing it twice. God's love is unfathomable, amazingly marvelous, wonderful and sweet. I don't have words to describe His love, especially to me. I love you my Lord, my God, sweet Jesus I love you for your love to me.

Read more
Loraine Lerumo

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Nov 2, 2025

The love of God goes far beyond expression. Indeed tongue or pen falls short in expressing it. Thank you Jesus for loving me.

Read more
Un Hermano

Aug 1, 2025

God Being Love

The first aspect of God’s love is that God is love. What is the meaning of these words? Christians are very familiar with 1 John 4:16 , which says that God is love. This means that love is God’s nature. Hence, God is love. For example, I have a little brother who loves to ask questions. He likes to ask questions about wild flowers, chalk, puppies, kittens, etc. Every time I see him, I am apprehensive. I may answer two or three or even ten of his questions, but I cannot answer his countless other questions. When I see him, I address him as Mr. Question and give him some money to go away. Asking questions is part of his nature. This is why I call him Mr. Question. In other words, he embodies the essence of a question. Likewise, love is God’s nature. Therefore, God is love. Thank God that He is love. Love is His nature. We must realize that the greatest revelation in the Bible is that God is love.

God Loving the World

Second, God loves the world, that is, God loves man. Today many do not believe that God loves them and will save them freely. They think that they must go through many sufferings before they can be saved. Martin Luther was like this before he was enlightened. He knelt on the stairs of the cathedral, fasted, prayed, and afflicted his own body. He thought that this might cause God to forgive him of his sins. This is the concept and practice of many Catholics. They think that they must beg and implore before God will change His heart and mind to forgive them. This is man’s biggest misunderstanding. The Bible says that there is no need for us to beg God to change His mind. His love is not affected by what we have done; He loves the world to the uttermost. God’s nature is love; love is even God Himself. God’s feeling toward man is just love. The biggest misunderstanding man has toward God is to think that God hates man or that He wants to punish man.

One time I came across 1 John 4:16 and John 3:16 and became almost ecstatic with joy. I put down the Bible in the house and ran out to the streets of Shanghai. I said to the first person I saw, “Do you know that God loves you? ” Then I said the same thing to the second person I saw.

Conferences, Messages,
and Fellowship (3):
Messages in Canton, April 1937
Message 67 (LSM)

Read more
Frankstein Ben

Pasay City, Metro Manila, Pasay City, Philippines

Jul 21, 2025

Whenever Singing this song really bless my heart.

God bless you, song writer

Read more
Ray Bowman

Newmanstown, Pennsylvania, United States

Jul 13, 2025

Thank you, God for sending your son Jesus who is willing to go to the cross for our sins and that through Jesus alone, we can have salvation and eternal life, knowing that our sins are covered by the blood

What a comfort to experience the love of God

Read more
Michelle Angelini

Los Angeles, CA, United States

Jul 6, 2025

I always loved this hymn, Along with another hymn - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Not that I’m ready to die yet, but I want to have two hymns to be sung at my Celebration of Life. Although there are many other songs and hymns that I love and express my faith in an awesome Abba, Father, Creator, Savior, I want to continue to deepen my faith in my Savior, Christ Jesus, throughout the rest of my life’s journey.

Read more
Un Hermano

May 30, 2025

The Love of God the Father
Being Expressed in
the Grace of Christ the Son

The love of God the Father is expressed in the grace of Christ the Son. The source of this grace is the love of God. Love is the hidden source; when love is expressed, it becomes grace. Grace and love are not two separate things but two ends of one thing. On God’s end, it is love; on Christ’s end, it is manifested as grace. In other words, when the grace of Christ is traced back to its origin, which is God, it is love, and when the love of God is expressed through Christ, it is grace. Grace is the expression of love, and love is the source of grace. The grace of Christ comes out altogether from the love of God.

What the Father does in His dispensing and in His operating in us is in love and based on love. Love is the source of the Father’s dispensing. Hence, when we experience and enjoy the Triune God, we experience and enjoy Him as the Father in the love of God. When the divine love appears to us, it becomes grace.

The Conclusion of the
New Testament:
Message 322 (LSM

Read more
Un Hermano

May 30, 2025

The Center of the Triune God

in the Divine Dispensing

In 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. ” The love, grace, and fellowship in this verse correspond to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in Matthew 28:19. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ means that Christ is grace and that grace is Christ. Likewise, the love of God means that God is love and that love is God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit means that the Holy Spirit is the fellowship and that the fellowship is the Holy Spirit. Hence, grace is Christ, love is God, and fellowship is the Holy Spirit. God as love is the source; Christ, the embodiment of God, as grace is the course; and the Spirit as fellowship is the flow in the course that reaches us for our application.

Second Corinthians 13:14 reveals Christ as the center of the Triune God in the divine dispensing. Christ is the center of the Triune God. He is the Son with the Father as the Spirit. Within Him is the Father, and He is the Spirit. If we have Christ, we have the Father, and we also have the Spirit. Therefore, if we desire to know Him, we must know the Spirit, because the Father is in the Son, and the Son is the Spirit. Also, if we desire to know the Son with the Father, we must know the Spirit. It is in Christ that the processed Triune God is dispensing Himself into the tripartite believers to be their element for their experience and enjoyment.

The Conclusion of the
New Testament:
Massege 322 (LSM)

Read more
Lyle Austin

Charlotte, NC, United States

May 19, 2025

The final verse says it all. Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

The Love of God is more vast than the His creation for God is Love. We as human will never comprehend the vastness of God's love for us this side of heaven.

Read more
Wanda Chapman

Glendale, AZ, United States

Apr 27, 2025

No greater love than the love of God.

Read more