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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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Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters

Assurance and Joy of Salvation Freed by the Lord

English310
1
Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters,
Chained like a slave I struggled in vain;
But I received a glorious freedom,
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.
 
Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom,
No more in chains of sin I repine!
Jesus the glorious Emancipator,
Now and forever He shall be mine.
2
Freedom from all the carnal affections,
Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions.
Freedom from all that saddened my life.
3
Freedom from pride and all sinful follies,
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil temper and anger,
Glorious freedom, rapture untold.
4
Freedom from fear with all of its torments,
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ my blessed Redeemer,
He who has rent my fetters in twain.

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Fabrice Robin

Valley Stream, New York, United States

Sep 27, 2015

Chained like a slave I struggled in vain, wow praise the Lord for Freeing us from our chains.

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Erasmo Cantu

Austin, Texas, United States

Sep 27, 2015

Cool hymn.

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Acho Godfrey

Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria

Jul 18, 2015

The first time I heard this song, it really broke me down, especially when I remembered how I struggled in vain (on my own) to be free from some terrible evil habits. The song reminded me of how Jesus broke the power of sin out of my life and Emancipated me. Praise to His dear name. Amen.

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Rishie

Glen Innes, NSW, Australia

Apr 13, 2015

Freedom from fear, what a wonderful blessing! The Lord has been working with me on this one for a while and I'm doing better with it.

Another thing I thought of when I read these lyrics this morning is that God frees us, but we have to choose to stay free and keep away from habits and things that will lead us back into bondage.

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Amanda Sheh

Hong Kong

Jan 14, 2015

I cried when I first heard this hymn when I was in the summer training in Anaheim in the year of 2014. Praise the Lord, You are my Savior, thank You for everything You have done and will do to me. Such a beautiful song, I am free :D

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Nelson Liu

Irvine, CA, United States

Nov 25, 2014

Glorious freedom!! Wonderful freedom!!

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Steve Miller

Detroit, MI, United States

Nov 21, 2014

Haldor Lillenas was "one of the most important twentieth-century gospel hymn writers and publishers" and is regarded as "the most influential Wesleyan / Holiness songwriter and publisher in the 20th century". Additionally, Lillenas was an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, author, song evangelist, poet, music publisher and prolific hymnwriter, who is estimated to have composed over 4,000 hymns, the most famous being Wonderful Grace of Jesus. In 1931 Lillenas was the producer of Glorious Gospel Songs, the first hymnal for the Church of the Nazarene. In 1982 Lillenas was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Like many Scandinavians at that time, Lillenas was raised in a Lutheran family. The Lillenas family were devout in their religious life, and attended community services when held in their area. At the age of fifteen Lillenas became a confirmed member of the Lutheran Church in Hawick. However, Lillenas indicated in his autobiography that at that time, he had not experienced "the miracle of the new birth". As a young boy, Lillenas had been befriended by an elderly woman who taught him English, and told him about Jesus. As a consequence, in 1906 Lillenas began to attend meetings at the Peniel Mission, a holiness rescue mission, in Astoria, Oregon where this woman was an active worker. According to Lillenas in a 1948 interview, it was shortly after the death of his mother, soon after moving to Astoria, one summer evening "he paused to listen to a street corner service. There he heard for the first time the strains of 'Tell Mother I’ll Be There'. He made his decision then to devote his life to Christian service." According to McGraw, the "singing and testimonies brought conviction to his heart. Later that year he was saved, and three weeks later his heart was cleansed. Soon he was "helping in the mission, singing to his heart's content, witnessing with joy to 'the wonderful grace of Jesus,' and writing songs with increasing skill and volume."

In 1907 Lillenas moved to Portland, Oregon, where he worked with the Peniel Mission. All Peniel Mission workers were unsalaried, but the local mission paid for most of their expenses. Soon after, Lillenas testified that he believed he was called to be a minister of the gospel, at which time he was appointed leader of the Portland mission. During his year of leadership, "he saw so many souls won to Christ that he felt more certain than ever that he should devote his life to the Lord's work." In 1908 Lillenas became a member of the Portland First Church of the Nazarene. Soon after Lillenas enrolled in the ministerial course of studies, which he began by correspondence. Soon afterwards, Lillenas joined a vocal group associated with the Salvation Army called the "Charioteers’ Brigade", which held street meetings and revival services throughout a large portion of California.

As a result of some generous donations, and the efforts of Rev. A.O. Hendricks, pastor of the Portland Church of the Nazarene, in 1909 Lillenas was able to continue his ministerial studies at the Deets Pacific Bible College, an antecedent of Point Loma Nazarene University. Additionally, Lillenas was able to secure part-time work to finance his studies, but by the end of the year accepted the ministry as the music director of a local church, and active in songwriting and preaching. During this time Lillenas studied voice at the Lyric School of Music in Los Angeles.

While at Deets College Lillenas was in a college group that held evangelistic services most weekends. On this team was another student, Bertha Mae Wilson, the oldest daughter of Rev. William C. Wilson then pastor of Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene., but later a general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene. Lillenas and Bertha Mae both preached, sang, and wrote songs, and often practised in the home of her father. In his autobiography Lilenas recalled: "We soon learned that our voices blended well and so we arranged it that our lives should also be blended." On 4 October 1910 Lillenas married Bertha Mae. Bertha Mae was later an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene and composer. They had two children.

After a visit to Israel in 1955, Lillenas sponsored a Palestinian Greek Orthodox family he had met as immigrants to the USA, that included twelve-year old Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, the convicted assassin of Robert F. Kennedy. After their arrival in Pasadena, California in January 1957, the Sirhan family stayed with Lillenas for three months in his home, before moving into a home Lillenas rented and furnished for them. When Mary Sirhan's husband abandoned her and her two sons, and returned to Jordan, Lillenas ensured that they were able to remain in the USA. - Wikipedia

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Oladimeji

Oistins, Christ Church, Barbados

Jun 15, 2014

Woke up with this song in my spirit this Fathers' Day. I just has to find the song online. We will be singing it in our church service this morning. Wonderful freedom, glorious freedom, no more in chains of sin I repine! Free and free indeed! Hallelujah amen !

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Roger Hsu

Arcadia, CA

Mar 11, 2014

Praise The Lord for freeing us from the bondage of the world!

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Elizabeth David Musa

Abuja, FCT, Nigeria

Mar 10, 2014

This song gives me peace and hope in God.

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