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

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord

Assurance and Joy of Salvation A Firm Foundation

English339
1
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2
“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
3
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
4
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”
5
“E’en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.”
6
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

Delete Comment

Delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Barbara Rush

Clanton, Alabama, United States

Nov 10, 2023

This song has been a great comfort to me in many times of severe trials especially when my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The truth of its lyrics witnesses to my soul!

Read more
Grace

Moneta, VA, United States

Jul 16, 2023

This song has been a fortress to me thru deep waters and sorrows ----I have proven the truth of these words over and over again!

He is My Firm Foundation and I love Him!!

Read more
Anne Biehl

Georgetown, 7 Mile Beach, Cayman Islands

Apr 8, 2023

I am my Lord’s testimony to this hymn. My life has indeed been a series of fiery trials through which most all my dross has been consumed. I have been given a second chance at a life of greater scope. I now have love, laughter and the purpose I used to dream of.

Thanks be to God,

An eternally grateful AMEN

Read more
Anonymous

Feb 13, 2023

Wonderful!

Read more
David Schutz

Dunkirk, Ohio, United States

Jan 8, 2023

I do not know of a more powerful verse in all the hymns that I love & hold dear than the last verse of this great hymn.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake!"

Read more
Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Aug 18, 2022

This classic tune called, “Portuguese Hymn, ” also known as the old church song “Adeste Fideles” has been identified with this hymn titled, “How Firm a Foundation. ”

One thought of when the tune originated is about 1780. At one time it was credited to John Reading (1677-1764) but it is no longer thought to be correct. In several hymnals, it has been ascribed to Marco Portogallo (Mark the Portuguese), a musician born in Lisbon, 1763, who became a composer of operas in Italy, but was made Chapel-Master to the Portuguese King. In 1807, when Napoleon invaded the Italian peninsula and dethroned the royal house of Braganza, Old King John VI fled to Brazil and took Marco with him where he lived until 1815, but returned and died in Italy, in 1830. The story is said to be true other than the fact that his name was Simao, instead of Marco.

On the whole, “Adeste Fideles, ” the “Portuguese Hymn’s” origin is uncertain. It was probably heard for the first time in the Portuguese Chapel, London, and given the name which is still used today. If proofs of its Portuguese origin exist, they may yet be found. “How firm a Foundation“ was the favorite of Deborah Jackson, President Andrew Jackson’s wife, and on his deathbed he asked for it to be sung. It was the favorite of General Robert E. Lee, and was played at his funeral. The American love for this hymn was never more poignantly illustrated that when on Christmas Eve, 1898, a whole corps of the United States Army, Northern and Southern, encamped on the Quemados Hill , near Havana, Cuba, sang the tune and words:

“Fear not, I am with Thee, O be not dismayed. ”

Lieut. Col. Curtis Guild, later Governor Guild of Massachusetts told the story in the Sunday School Times for December 7, 1901.

(Brown and Butterworth)

Read more
Cherry Hamilton

Felixstowe, Suffolk, United Kingdom

May 9, 2022

Amazing grace that our God brings us through the storms of life. He will “never, no never, no never forsake. ” This hymn blesses my soul.

Read more
Tim Savisky

Pittsburgh, PA, United States

May 8, 2022

The greyer our hair gets, the greater our God becomes, in His unchangeable faithfulness and power. His being is eternal encouragement to all those who have given their hearts to Him:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Read more
Deborah Lee

New York, United States

Dec 8, 2021

@ John Purdie— the 5th stanza is related to Isaiah 46:4— “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. To whom will you compare me or count me equal? ”

Read more
Susan Eddlemon

Kingsport, TN, United States

Oct 9, 2021

I wanted to know why for the hymn "How firm a foundation the saints of the Lord" the piano plays a different tune? It plays, "O come All ye faithful"

Read more