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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 stand amazed in the presence

Assurance and Joy of Salvation Loved by the Lord

English290
1
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner condemned, unclean.
 
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
2
For me it was in the garden,
He prayed: “Not my will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat-drops of blood for mine.
3
In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To strengthen Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.
4
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered, and died alone.
5
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.

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Matha Ouellette

Colchester, CT, United States

Oct 8, 2026

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me a sinner condemned, unclean. This verse always has me thinking what a God; who gave up his life for the entire universe. It has to be a Supernatural Being. One who is Holy, Infinite, and is from ancient past. There is non like Him, there was non before Him, and there will be non after Him. He is the Almighty and All Powerful God. , YHWH.

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Caleb Driedger

Russell, Manitoba, Canada

Sep 24, 2026

Singing this to my 3 boys as they fall asleep :)

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Sharon Patterson

Round Rock, Texas, United States

Sep 12, 2026

This song rose up in my heart and l sang the words l remembered from long ago. I looked up the verses that l could remember and was blessed to read all the other testimonies.

Worshipping the Lord through almost eight decades of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is wonderful, but when my soul is weary or broken by life’s painfully shadowed trials, it is the old hymns that rise up out of my spirit and lead me to His loving presence. How marvelous… oh, how wonderful!

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Cyril Hassanally

Etobicoke, ON, Canada

Aug 14, 2026

This song highlights the depth of the Savior’s love for me in interceding for me to secure our salvation and saving us from sin and shame.

Greater love had no man than this

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The Voice of Prophecy

Kisumu, Kenya

Jul 17, 2026

Glorious hymn. I was reading on the themes of Christ's ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary and this hymn came to mind when I read a line, "The Most Holy place was exposed when Jesus died. After the death of Jesus no curtain can come between a holy God and a sincere believer; Jesus, our High Priest, ushers us into the very presence of God. (Hebrews 10:19-22)" And thus verse 4

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered, and died alone

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Ifeanyichukwu Kennedy

Awka, Anambra, Nigeria

Jun 29, 2026

This hymn quietly ensued in my heart since 28th June and this Monday morning, 29th June, I decided to check it out to sing and meditate on it more deeply . since no song or hymn could displace it for this hours in my heart.....

Standing amazed just in His presence.... how marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviours love to me...

Until our eyes open to the depth and height of His love to us, pouring our lives as a drink offering for Him remains. an uphill task...

More love for you JESUS🙏😭🙏

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Paul Gibson

Kampala, Wakiso District, Uganda

Jun 29, 2026

Yesterday morning the preacher asked "What do you love most? ' From youth my commitment to the Lord has remained solid. I love growing in the Lord, studying His Word, serving people (especially my graduate students), growing in knowledge and understanding As a 70 yr old missionary and scientist. But I realized that loving Jesus Himself has not been my first love. This hymn inspired and challenged me in that direction.

,

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Donna Falco

Poteau, OK, United States

Jun 5, 2026

And here it is June 2026, and it’s been more than a decade, or even more than two, since I sang this song. And as I was contemplating the depth of God’s love, this song popped back into my memory and I had to come find it online. The songs of our faith are like a torrent, a river that floods our soul and brings comfort and joy and peace. The words are never far away.

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Donna McManus

Opelika, AL, United States

Apr 9, 2026

While reading Psalm 32 and the words, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered…”, my heart began to sing this beautiful old hymn, and I was blessed by the faith of a saint who walked this earth long ago. So very thankful that because of Christ Jesus, faith lives on and blesses others even when we have passed into His presence. Such is the wonderful, marvelous love of Christ!

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Stephanea Dianne Araujo

Arp, TX, United States

Oct 10, 2025

I have found resplendant joy in reading many of the comments on top of the heartfelt joy of reading (and singing) the lyrics to myself and my God on this quiet morning as I sit by the window, listening to God’s world and thanking him for small signs of positive change he has shown me throughout the night-signs of the beginnings of hope and restoration after a year and a half of living in the shadow of the valley of death. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow. Thank you, Mr Gabriel, for giving up your time to learn and write for so so many future generations of seekers and searchers and needy souls like me. And thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross and surrendering all for my salvation from sin and from myself.

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