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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 Tempo menu slows it down without changing the pitch.

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Oh, What a Wonderful Place

Union with Christ One with Him

English479
1
Oh, what a wonderful place
Jesus has given to me!
Saved by His glorious grace,
I may be even as He.
When with my Lord I appear,
Like Him I know I shall be;
But while I walk with Him here,
I may be even as He.
 
Even as He, even as He,
Wonderful words that even we,
Saved by His marvelous grace may be
One with the Savior, even as He.
2
One in His death on the tree,
One as He rose from the dead;
I from the curse am as free
E’en as my glorious head.
One on the throne by His side,
One in His sonship divine;
One as the Bridegroom and bride,
One as the branch and the vine.
3
One in His merits I stand,
One as I pray in His name;
All that His worth can command,
I can with confidence claim.
One in His faith and His love,
One in His life I may be.
Sealed by the heavenly Dove,
I may be holy as He.

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Daniel Dalmino

Deland, Florida, United States

Aug 19, 2026

Praise the Lord that we must be like He!

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Un Hermano

May 16, 2026

THE THREE STEPS OF BEING CONFORMED TO CHRIST

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

There are three steps that Christ takes in order to conform us to Himself. According to John 3:3-7 , the first step is that Christ regenerates us in our spirit at the time we receive Him as our Savior. According to 2 Corinthians 3:18 , the second step is that from the time He regenerates us, Christ transforms us in our soul, which includes our mind, will, and emotion. Today the Lord, who is the Spirit, is constantly working to transform us, and we are being transformed into the image of Christ from glory to glory. Verse 17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ” By the Spirit and with the freedom, the Lord continually works to transform us, that is, to transform our soul. This is confirmed by Romans 12:2 , which says that we must be transformed by the renewing of the mind, the mind being the main part of the soul. We have been regenerated in our spirit, and we are now under the process of being transformed in our soul. Transformation is the growth of a Christian. The more we are transformed, changed, and renewed in our mind, will, and emotion, the more we grow in the divine life. The growth of a Christian is a transformation, a change in life, a change in the soul, that is, in the mind, will, and emotion. The consummation of our transformation is our being conformed to the image of Christ as God’s firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29).

The third step for Christ to conform us to Himself will occur when the Lord Jesus comes back. At that time our body will be changed, or transfigured. Philippians 3:20-21 says, “Our commonwealth exists in the heavens, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself. ” The Lord Jesus will exercise His power and authority to transfigure the body of our humiliation into a glorious body. Then we will be wholly, absolutely, and thoroughly the same as He is. This is confirmed by 1 John 3:2 , which says, “We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is. ” Today we may look the same as the worldly people, but at that time we will be thoroughly the same as He is.

The Relationship of God with Man in God's New Creation
Chapter 4 The Purpose of the Mingling of God with Man
CWWL, 1963, (LSM)

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Un Hermano

May 16, 2026

IN THE CONFORMATION OF THE TRANSFORMED BELIEVERS

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

The accomplishment of God’s full redemption and salvation in Christ is in the conformation of the transformed believers. The New Testament directly mentions conformation only once, in Romans 8:29 , which says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers. ” However, in other verses the thought of conformation is implied. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. ” This verse says that as we behold and reflect Christ like a mirror, we are being transformed into His image. Although the word conformed is not used directly here, the preposition into is used, indicating that our being transformed into the image of Christ implies conformation.

First John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is. ” To be made like the Lord in His glory also implies conformation.

The Central Line of the Divine Revelation

Chapter 26 In the Accomplishment of God’s Full Redemption and Salvation ... CWWL, (LSM)

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Brian

Baton Rouge, United States

Jul 2, 2020

One in His death, one as He rose, one on the throne by His side, one in His sonship divine, one as the bridegroom & bride, one as the branch and the vine, one in His merits, one as I pray in His name, one in His faith & His love, one in His life, I may be holy as He.

Read more
Jordan

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Jul 3, 2018

We can be even as He! This should not just be a theme but we should marvel in the fact that this could be our experience even now. Praise the Lord!

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Joanna Smathers

Baton Rouge, LA, United States

Apr 6, 2015

A young brother called this song at our table meeting Lord's day. It was the first time I had heard it. Beautiful. OH! What a wonderful place.

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J Lee

Anaheim, CA, U.S.A.

Oct 12, 2007

Embedded in this wonderful hymn is the high peak of the divine revelation that we sinners can be made sons of God, even as He is, who knew no sin, so are we in life and nature and expression. Do you know how many times in the New Testament is this notion mentioned, that we may be even as He?

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