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

Fill all my vision, Savior, I pray

Longings For Vision of Christ

English381
1
Fill all my vision, Savior, I pray,
Let me see only Jesus today;
Though through the valley Thou leadest me,
Thy fadeless glory encompasseth me.
 
Fill all my vision, Savior divine,
Till with Thy glory my spirit shall shine.
Fill all my vision, that all may see
Thy Holy Image reflected in me.
2
Fill all my vision, every desire
Keep for Thy glory; my soul inspire
With Thy perfection, Thy holy love,
Flooding my pathway with light from above.
3
Fill all my vision, let naught of sin
Shadow the brightness shining within.
Let me see only Thy blessed face,
Feasting my soul on Thy infinite grace.

Delete Comment

Delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Un Hermano

Mar 9, 2026

“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

----------------

We must ask the Lord to teach us to pray because none of us can pray. When we come to the Lord, we should not pray according to our own determination or idea or according to our own heart or tendency. We should place ourselves before the Lord and quietly wait for the Lord through His Spirit to teach us how to pray. While we wait, the Spirit will lead us and give us an inward sense about how we should pray and the content of our prayer. We should then pray according to this inward sense. When our inward sense is according to the Spirit’s leading, our prayer will be according to the Lord’s teaching and leading.

Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 3
Chapter 32 Prayer
CWWL, 1932–1949, (LSM)

Read more
Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Dec 10, 2025

Fill all my vision, Savior, I pray, / Let me see only Jesus today.

Lord Jesus, grant us to see a vision of Christ in glory. We turn our eyes upon You. May we come to the Lord again and again to have a vision of His glory and realize that He is on the throne, and may we have this glorious, righteous, and holy One infused into our being so that we may live Christ and bring others also into a state of living Christ. Lord Jesus we love you ❤️

Read more
Rd

Bowie, MD, United States

May 18, 2025

All I want is MORE of Jesus. I want Him to fill my thoughts, my desires, my words, my ways, my dreams my plans... EVERYTHING! I love You Lord!

I want people to experience Jesus when they interact with me.

Read more
Debbie Brown

Plano, TX, United States

Mar 25, 2023

I woke up early this morning with the first line of this hymn playing in the background of my mind while painful memories and thoughts tried to haunt me with sadness. So I looked and found the words here and singing this to the Lord my joy was renewed.

Though through the valley Thou leadeth me
Thy fadeless glory encompasseth me.
Fill all my vision Savior divine,
Til with thy glory my spirit shall shine…

Read more
Lucia Loftus

Long Beach, CA, United States

Mar 10, 2020

Every day, from the moment we wake up, we are filled with seeing so many other things, other than Christ. This song is a wonderful reminder and prayer to the Lord that we want to start our day setting our eyes on the “author and perfecter of our faith”. The bible says that “without a vision, people cast off restraint” By praying this song to the Lord we are saying that we want to be a person who is regulated by our seeing of Christ. “Let me see only Thy blessed face. Feasting my soul on Thy infinite grace. ” May we all start our day, feasting on our dear Lord Jesus as our source and supply of our living.

Read more
Chad Mathiason

Fargo, ND, United States

Mar 1, 2020

Lord, fill all my vision with my Savior divine until Your wonderful Person breaks through and shines! I love You Lord Jesus!

Read more
church in Detroit

Detroit, MI, United States

Dec 17, 2016

Encouraged by her grandmother, a Godly woman who loved the music of the soul as expressed in verse, Avis wrote her first poem at age ten. Then one Sunday morning in Moody Church, as she listened to a new song by Harry Loes, the Lord re­mind­ed her that the talent entrusted to her belonged to Him. Her immediate longing to express His love and blessing resulted in two hymns. One of them, “That Is Far Enough for Me,” was quickly set to music by Daniel Town­er, then director of music for the Moody Bible Institute.

After High School, Avis attended a secretarial school and later the Moody Bible Institute evening school. In 1917, Avis Burgesson married Ernest Christensen, who was affiliated with the Moody Bible Institute for nearly 40 years and later became vice president in charge of investments. Together they raised 2 daughters. Mrs. Christiansen was a faithful member of the Moody Memorial Church of Chicago since 1915, serving in many varied capacities in the ministry there. In spite of fulfilling the many duties of a busy homemaker, she continued to write with unfailing zeal. In addition to her hymns, she published two books of poetry.

Mrs. Christiansen states that all her works have come out of her own Christian experience and express her heart's spiritual desires and convictions. She cannot recall any unusual experiences associated with the writing of these texts, but rather just her daily walk and intimate fellowship with the Lord. She has collaborated with such well-known gospel musicians as: Harry Dixon Loes, Homer Hammontree, Lance Latham, George Schuler, Wendelll Loveless, Harry Clarke and Haldor Lillenas.

In the foreword to her first book of poetry, the legendary pastor and author H. A. Iron­side wrote:

"Avis B. Christ­iansen is the gifted author of many of our sweetest gospel songs. By means of these her name is known around the world, for many of these delightful lyrics have been translated into various languages. She is a modest, re­tir­ing person whom few get to know beyond the circle of her immediate family and friends. With a very keen apprehension of spir­i­tu­al realities, and a clear understanding of the great truths revealed in the Word of God, her hymns and poems are eminently Scriptural and soul-uplifting." - cyberhymnal & "101 More Hymn Stories" by Kenneth W. Osbeck

Read more
John Hartley

Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Dec 31, 2015

Came across this hymn whilst searching the internet for hymns on the theme of "vision" - I had never come across it before. Two thoughts: (i) it could do with a tune that plumbs the heights and depths of emotions a bit more; and (ii) compared to the other two verses, line 3 of verse 1 is a bit of a dampener - I think an honest acknowledgement that we all go through dark times is good in a hymn, but somehow this mood interrupts the rise of verse 1, and I would have preferred it to come somewhere else in the hymn.

Read more
Steve Miller

Detroit, MI

May 16, 2014

Mrs. Christiansen was born in Chicago to Christian parents. She was saved in her early childhood and eventually attended Moody Bible Institute. She married E. O. Christiansen, who was affiliated with Moody Bible Institute for over 40 years. Mrs. Christiansen wrote many gospel hymns as well as several volumes of poems. She did not have any unusual experiences from which she wrote her hymns but wrote out of her daily experiences and the spiritual desires of her heart. - Songs of the Spirit by Martin

Read more
Zachary Kopp

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Mar 17, 2012

This is my theme song!!! This is my passion!!! I want this a reality in my life. Make this your passion!! All Born again Believers should show Christ in this age. Let's pray for this to happen.

Read more