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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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Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live

Longings For Living in the Lord’s Presence

English389
1
Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
Each moment, each day, throughout suff’ring and pain,
When nought in the world can give comfort or cheer,
When sighing and weeping encompasses me,
Lord, still all my sighing and wipe every tear.
2
Each time when I dream of the goodness of life,
I pray Thee, dear Lord, that Thou in it may be;
O do not allow me to choose by myself,
Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee.
Each night when alone in the stillness I lie,
I pray Thee, Lord Jesus, that Thou wilt be near;
Each morning ere dawn comes, while still in my sleep,
Then whispering call me and open my ear.
3
Each time, Lord, when reading in Thy holy Word,
I pray that Thy glory may shine on each line,
That clearly I’ll see what a Savior I have
And how great salvation that Thou hast made mine.
When helpless I come, Lord, to kneel at Thy throne,
I pray Thee to hear me and grant me Thy grace;
If thru my shortcomings Thou hear not my prayer,
Withdraw not Thy presence, O hide not Thy face.
4
Each time when of heavenly blessings I think,
O let my heart long to be raptured to Thee;
My only hope here is Thy coming again,
My only joy there, Lord, Thy presence will be.
Lord, teach me each day in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

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Nelson K

Norwich, United Kingdom

Aug 13, 2021

"O do not allow me to choose by myself,

Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee."

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Yvonne

Nottingham, United Kingdom

Feb 17, 2021

Dear Brother Park. What has caused the confusion is the word order. Normally in English we would not use this word order, but changing things round like this is common in poetry and hymns. The phrase "in your presence" would normally be at the end of the sentence: I long to live in your presence. Imagine this phrase has commas round it: I long, in your presence, to live. Bless you in the name of our Lord Yeshua the King.

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Paullah L.

Other State/Province..., Philippines

Sep 25, 2020

"O let not my heart be contented or rest

When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part."

May not all these worldly pleasures fool my heart. Remind me of the sweetness of Your presence and how vanity can never match its peerlessness, O Lord.

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Maria Mistica

Lucena, Quezon, Philippines

Sep 5, 2020

O let not my heart be contented or rest

When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.

Psalm 35:22 says "You have seen, O Jehovah; do not be silent. O Lord do not be far from me."

Psalm 30:7b "You hid Your face, I was troubled"

Just like the psalmist, may we also be troubled when He hide His face from us.

What a sweet God we have. Amen

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Hubert

Philippines

Sep 5, 2020

O let not my heart be contented or rest
Oh Lord,
I dont want to remain the same
I just want to love You more,
I just want to give my all,
I just want to be found in You,
I just want only You.
But Lord I dont know how.
I dont know how to love You more,
I dont know how to give my all,
I dont know how to be found in You,
I dont know how to have only You
“Lord, teach me each day in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part"
“Ako'y turuan Mong mamuhay sa Iyo,
Ikaw ang daigdig sa araw't gabi,
Sana'y di-mapalagay ang puso ko
Kung inaasam ang hindi Mo mithi. ”

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Maeriehl Joy

Philippines

Sep 2, 2020

Stanza 1 says, "Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part."

I remembered a footnote in Exodus 33:14 which goes like this: "God’s presence is His way, the “map” that shows His people the way they should take (cf. John 14:6 and note 1; Heb. 11:8 and note)."

This is precious. As God’s people, we have a different map for how we go on in our lives.

Exo. 33:14 - And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

Exo. 33:15 - And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

If His presence does not go with us, how restless we'll be! May we dare not go towards some place which costs us to lose His presence.

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Eva Wong

Strathfield, Australia

Aug 18, 2020

Thanks very much for posting.

This is the first song I sang to my daughter on her first day on earth.

His presence is so precious. May we be there always - morning till evening, and whilst we are asleep, - nothing can be sweeter..

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Chun Wang

Jan 31, 2020

Brother Park, sorry I didn’t make myself clear. In the words “long in”, “long” is the verb and “in” is the preposition. So the author is saying he/she “longs” to live “in” the Lord’s presence. Hope that helps!

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Park

Jan 2, 2020

Thank you.
Of course I know the verb 'long'.
So conclusion is 'long in' is the short form of 'longing'.

I was confused because I am not familiar with short form even though my first guess was exactly what I heard NOW.

And I wanted to confirm it.
Praise the God.
Your help will help me enjoy this song deeply. Amen.

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Chun Wang

Richardson, Texas, United States

Jan 1, 2020

Brother Park, the word “long” can be used as a verb with the meaning “to desire” (in addition to its meaning used to describe length). So the word “longing” is just the noun form of “long” as a verb. The phrase “I long in Thy presence to live” means “I desire to live in Thy presence”. Praise the Lord, who is the desire of our heart!

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