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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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I’ve turned my back upon the world

Consecration Separated unto the Lord

English438
1
I’ve turned my back upon the world
With all its idle pleasures,
And set my heart on better things,
On higher, holier treasures;
No more its glitter and its glare,
And vanity shall blind me;
I’ve crossed the separating line,
And left the world behind me.
 
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
I’ve crossed the separating line,
And left the world behind me.
2
I’ve left the old sad life of sin,
Its follies all forsaken;
My standing place is now in Christ,
His holy vows I’ve taken;
Beneath the standard of the cross
The world henceforth shall find me;
I’ve passed in Christ from death to life,
And left the world behind me.
 
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
I’ve passed in Christ from death to life,
And left the world behind me.
3
My soul shall ne’er return again
Back to its former station
For here alone is perfect peace,
And rest from condemnation;
I’ve made exchange of masters now,
The vows of glory bind me,
And once for all I’ve left the world,
Yes, left the world behind me.
 
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
And once for all I’ve left the world,
Yes, left the world behind me.
4
My choice is made forevermore,
I want no other Savior;
I ask no purer happiness
Than His sweet love and favor;
My heart is fixed on Jesus Christ,
No more the world shall blind me;
I’ve crossed the Red Sea of His death,
And left the world behind me.
 
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
I’ve crossed the Red Sea of His death,
And left the world behind me.

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Lui Lee Eliza

Hong Kong

Oct 18, 2020

An ancient path we find .... Abraham -Euphrates crosser , his ancestor Noah- flood crosser , his descendants - Red Sea crosser, Jordan crosser.... We are the Hebrews. Our forefather crossed over from the other side, and we let us follow his path .

‘’ Now I am on the sea of glass, and all the negative things are under my feet. The overcomers will be upon the sea of glass just as the children of Israel were upon the seashore having passed through the Red Sea. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, they looked back and saw that Pharaoh and all his forces had been drowned in the sea. We, like the Israelites that crossed the Red Sea and sang the song of Moses (Exo. 15:1), will sing the song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3). One day we will be upon the sea of glass and look down and see all the worldly things beneath the sea. Although I know that this will happen in the future, I still hope that it is happening now. We all are here on the sea of glass. We are the Hebrews, the water crossers. ״ - Message 1 of the Life Study of Hebrews.

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Will

Lawton, OK, United States

Sep 9, 2020

Saints of God!
This is your high and upward calling ...
Don’t cheat yourself or rob Him of His due honor and glory.

Become, more and more by His grace ..... that pilgrim that He says that you are. Hold everything that He gives you with an open hand.

Make your holy vow to Him, and never look back.

.

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Frank Pytel

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Jun 2, 2020

“I've turned my back upon the world. ” We do not set our affections on the world because our back is toward it. The world is far, far behind us – out of sight and reach. Now our face and our heart are turned toward God, who is always before us. No longer does the world attract and capture our heart as it did once before, but we are looking away to Jesus It is precious to walk with God out of this darkened world, like our forerunner – Enoch.

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Anonymous

Mar 5, 2020

Amen thank you Lord

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Sister Tang

北京

Aug 4, 2019

Yes! Left the world behind me!

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Nerida

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mar 23, 2018

The most effective way to liberate my soul is to embrace Jesus' Good Words and live them fully in endless gratitude. The world's inherent corruption doesn't touch me under Jesus' love, guidance and protection.

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Anonymous

Oct 16, 2017

Lord, You are lovely to me.

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Natalie

Berkeley, CA, United States

Apr 17, 2017

I love it...

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YR

Cheney, Washington, United States

Nov 23, 2016

Praise the Lord He has overcome all that has been corrupted!

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Eva

Fargo, ND, United States

Jun 17, 2015

Lord, You are my only Savior and My only God. I just want to love You more and more.

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