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About Numbered Notation

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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Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear

Longings For Fellowship with Christ

English374
1
Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
Oh, may no earthborn cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.
2
When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought how sweet to rest
Forever on my Savior’s breast.
3
Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.
4
Come near, and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take;
Till in the ocean of Thy love
We lose ourselves in Thee above.

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Jonathan

Dallas, Texas, United States

Jun 1, 2026

Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
Oh, may no earthborn cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.

"The God of Israel spoke, / The Rock of Israel spoke to me, / Who rules among men righteously, / Who rules with the fear of God,

And is like the light of the morning when the sun rises, / A morning without clouds, / As when the tender grass sprouts up from the earth / At the sun’s shining after a rain. (2 Sam. 23:3-4)"

Lord Jesus we love you! You are the sun of our souls!

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Hna. Gabriela Menez López

Mexico

Jun 8, 2025

La iglesia es el anhelo
De Cristo y Su placer,
Su acción y Su palabra
Concentra en ella fiel.
Su amor allí establece,
Nada lo detendrá,
Antes que hubiera tierra
Ella era Su pensar

Efesios 5:32 Grande es este misterio; más yo digo esto respecto de Cristo y de la iglesia!!!!

1aJn 3:23-24 Y este es Su mandamiento: Que creamos en el nombre de Su Hijo Jesucristo, y nos amemos unos a otros como nos lo ha mandado.

Y el que guarda Sus mandamientos permanece en Dios, y Dios en él. Y en esto sabemos que El permanece en nosotros; por el Espíritu que nos ha dado.

Así que se propuso
Su complemento ver;
Está intención bendita
Eternamente es,

El edificio de Dios es el asunto central en toda la Biblia; la novia de Cristo es el edificio del Dios Triuno : De la costilla que Jehová Dios había tomado del hombre , edificó una mujer y la trajo al hombre.

Gn 2:22-23 Dijo entonces el hombre:

Esta vez sí que es hueso de mis huesos, y carne de mi carne; ésta será llamada Varona, porque del varón fue tomada.

Oh que misericordia!!
Su amor y vastedad
Con gracia la buscaba,
Y sabia dignidad
Por ella dio Su vida
Fragancia eternal

2a Co 3:3 siendo manifiesto que sois carta de Cristo, redactada con el Espíritu del Dios vivo!!

Heb 9:14 ¿Cuánto más la sangre de Cristo, el cual mediante el Espíritu eterno se ofreció a Sí mismo sin mancha a Dios…. ?

A ella más se acerca
Hoy en resurrección
Al contemplar el Novio
Le inunda el corazón
De Gloria hasta que sea
La Novia que el sonó Gn Gn 2:21

Juan 14:21 El Dios Triuno hace morada con los creyentes y se manifiesta!! Amén Aleluya!! App 22:17 Y el Espíritu y la novia dicen: Ven. Y el que oye, diga: Ven. Y el qué tiene sed, venga; y el que quiera, tome del agua de la vida gratuitamente. !!!! ¡¡¡Aleluya!!! Te Amo Señor Jesucristo!!! Dios Triuno Alabado seas por los siglos de los siglos!

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C. Taylor

Forth Worth, Texas, United States

Sep 2, 2022

Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die!

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Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Jul 4, 2022

In the book the Christian Year we read about John Keble’s life and character. His hymns are filled with spiritual insight with carefully chosen language for those who want to come forward to the Holy of Holies.

The Reverend John Keble was born in Caln, Saint Aldwyn, April 25, 1792. He became an ordained minister and lived in Fairford, where he began the parochial work which ended once he passed away. He died at Bournmouth, March 29, 1866. He settled in Fairford where he was given charge of three small parishes. This gave him enough income for a modest living while he preached, wrote hymns, did translations as well as perform his pastoral work, and was happy. He never was ambitious to receive a larger salary or move away to a bigger parish.

The music to this hymn is poetic and spiritual. It was arranged from a German Choral of Peter Rider (1760-1846) by William Henry Monk, who had a Doctorate of Music. Mr. Monk was a lecturer, composer, editor, and professor of vocal music at King’s College. This tune appears sometimes under the name “Hursley”and supersedes an early one “Halle” by Thomas Hastings. The tune “Canonbury” by Robert Schumann, set to Keble’s hymn, “New every morning is the love, ” is a favorite for flowing long meters but it could never replace “Hursley” with “Son of my soul. ”

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Nelson K

Norwich, United Kingdom

Jul 24, 2021

"Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,

It is not night if Thou be near."

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Sister Vali

Tirane, Albania

Mar 4, 2021

Till in the ocean of Thy love

We lose ourselves in Thee above.

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Year of Jubilee

Nov 1, 2020

Lord until we lose ourselves in Thee!!

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Colin Baldy

Maldon, Essex, United Kingdom

Jul 14, 2020

Steve Miller: Gloucestershire is in England, not Scotland. At least, it was the last time I looked. And Fairford is not a "tiny village" and never was. It's always been a large village, verging on small market town. In Keble's time it was the major centre of population for many miles around. Nowadays is enormous, having been host to an airforce base for many years. And Keble College was founded in 1870, not 1869. This year has been its 150th anniversary. Sadly, the celebrations have been curtailed somewhat by Covid-19.

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Ana Lara

United States

Jun 8, 2020

John Keble, the son of an Anglican country preacher, was born at Fairford, Gloucester, England on April 25, 1792. He was a poetry professor at Oxford University for ten years where he also had been educated. From 1835 until his death in 1866, he served the humble parish church in the village of Hursley, England, with a population of 1, 500 people.

In 1827 Keble published a volume of poems entitled “The Christian Year, ” with all of the poems following the church calendar year. One of the poems from the collection was “Sun of My Soul. ” It was never meant to be used as a hymn. Keble’s intention was that his book of poetry be used as a devotional supplement to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Keble was so modest, he had his book of poems published anonymously. The book became so successful that it went through 109 editions before 1866, the year he died. He used the proceeds from the book to maintain the ministry of his small church at Hursley.

In 1833 Keble preached at Oxford his famous sermon on “ National Apostasy” which is credited with the beginning of the Oxford Movement in the nineteenth century. Its leaders wanted to bring about a spiritual awakening in the Church of England without the use of the more aggressive practices common in the evangelical leaders of his time, the Wesleys and Whitfield followers . The Oxford leaders believed in increasing the ritualistic and liturgical practices of the church in order to deepen a spiritual awakening. Some leaders like John Henry Newman and Edward Caswall eventually left the Anglican Church and became leaders of the Catholic Church. Keble however remained a humble yet high church Anglican minister until his death.

In 1869 Keble College was founded in Oxford University as a tribute to him. He wrote a total of 765 hymns as well as a companion book of tunes which he composed or collected to be used with his texts. He became a respected preacher and Bible scholar.

The original tune for this hymn called “Hursley, ” is adapted from a melody which first appeared in the hymnal “Katholisches Gesangbuch, ” Vienna, Austria, about 1774. This tune was Keble’s personal choice for his text when it appeared in the “Metrical Psalter” in 1855. The tune was named in honor of the little church which Keble had faithfully served for so many years.

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Jacqueline

Dallas, TX, United States

Feb 4, 2020

Lord, You are the Sun of my soul!

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