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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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How firm a foundation (Alternate Tune)

Assurance and Joy of Salvation A Firm Foundation

English339b
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!”

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Benjamin Chemarum

Kenya

Feb 7, 2025

How sweet the assurance that Jesus will never, no, never, forsake the soul that has on Him leaned for repose! 238 years after it first appeared in a hymn book, this song still touches thousands of pilgrims who need its soothing words. The Holy Spirit inspired its lyrics. Thank You, O God, for strengthening us with Thy might.

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James Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Apr 12, 2024

Math 7:24-27 says those that hear His words and do them build a firm foundation of faith. We need to be grounded in the word to get this firm firm foundation. With this we are able to pass through the fiery trials. It is through these trials the Lord is refining the gold in us and making us pure, suitable for His building. We can than have great confidence that He will never leave us.

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James Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Jan 13, 2024

This hymn was written by someone with some rich experiences of Christ, some maturity. To see the Lord blesses our troubles is to see His working in us. This is not a shallow hymn. It recognizes that our whole life both good and bad is used for to deepen our knowing of Him. We have confidence that He keeps us in His love. That is His heart. The author has had a real walk with the Lord. His/hers was not a common life.

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Sid

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Nov 3, 2023

this hymn is so succinct and gives a ray of joy and hope to the worst of sinners like me. amen. hallelujah.

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Anonymous

Oct 23, 2022

This classic hymn of the Faith is always a blessing to me whenever I hear it. Praise the Lord!

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Mariegel Dalaguete

Leduc, Alberta, Canada

Mar 14, 2021

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! ”

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Fred Northrup

Crescent City, CA, United States

Nov 3, 2020

AT this point, I am tremendously comforted by stanza 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 born."

Psalm 92:13  Planted in the house of Jehovah, / They will flourish in the courts of our God.

92:14  They will still bring forth fruit in old age; / They will be full of sap and green;

Praise the Lord!!!!!!!

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Lane Morgan

Austin, Texas, United States

Aug 29, 2020

Fear not, I am with thee!

Lord, thank You that You are with us all the time! Lord, You are with us in our spirit! O we just turn to You! We give our soul to You for refuge, rest, and repose! We just want to be those who prove Your sovereign, eternal, and unchangeable love!

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Ana Lara

United States

Jan 28, 2020

“How Firm a Foundation” has been a favorite hymn and testimonial of many of God’s children throughout the years. The author of this text is still a mystery. It first appeared in 1787 in a hymnal called, “Selection of Hymns” published by Dr. John Rippon, pastor of the Carter’s Lane Baptist Church, London England for sixty- three years. The hymn appeared anonymously in his collection with the author indicated as “K. ” Later reprints had “Kn” and “Keen”. The author was believed to be

R. Keen, the music director of the church

Dr. Rippon pastored.

Rippon’s hymnal was immediately popular: eleven editions were printed in England before his death in 1836, and an American edition was also printed by the Baptist Churches in Philadelphia in 1820. This hymn has often been called the “unofficial hymn for the Baptist Churches. ” It became well-known throughout the Southern and Northern States during the Civil War.

The composer of this music is also unknown. It has been established that it is a folk tune from the South. It first appeared in 1837 in William Caldwell’s publication, “Union Harmony. ”

In the first stanza the sure foundation of the Christian faith is established as being the Word of God. Then a question is posed: what more can God do than provide His Word as a revelation of Himself to man? The following verses personalize the precious promises from His Word and are the content of stanzas 2-5:

Verse Two-Isaiah 41:10-“Fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am Thy God... ”

Verse Three-Isaiah 43:2-“When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with Thee.... ”

Verse Four- 2 Corinthians 12:9-“My grace is sufficient for thee; For my strength is made perfect in weakness... ”

Verse Five-Hebrews 13:6-“I will never leave thee or forsake thee.. ”

This hymn has also been a favorite of American presidents and leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson who asked it that it be sung at his bedside, as well as Robert E. Lee, who also requested it for his funeral hymn “as an expression of his full trust in the ways of his Heavenly Father. ”

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Kenneth A. Jenkins

Fort Mill, SC, United States

Jul 16, 2019

Gary, that's the very phrase that had me thrilling inside. To know He will never, never, no never forsake us. It's so comforting to know.

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