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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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Trust and obey

Experience of Christ Obeying Him

English582
1
When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
 
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2
Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear,
Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3
Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
4
But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do;
Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.

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Araa

N'djamena, Chad

Mar 24, 2013

Oh what a precious song! Whenever I feel sad or feel like losing hope, I like to sing this precious song or listen to it. In fact, it is my favourite music in this world, I do sing it every blessed day.

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Anna Soh

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Mar 7, 2013

Trust and Obey is not talking about obeying the law but the direction of the Holy Spirit. If you truly trust in Jesus you would have handed all your past hurts, hang ups and habits to His tender loving care.

In it's place the Holy Spirit will come to live in you and in so doing you have to listen to the whisper of His ever so gentle voice and you will obey what you are being told as it will be personal and in your best interest to obey, otherwise saying you trust (have faith) is meaningless. Once you trust (believe) Jesus you will obey your Lord and Saviour.

I am sure the song is not referring to the rituals but like Abraham by faith he lived and in so doing was able to hear the voice and personal instructions from God and obeyed. There is no commandment that asks you to kill your own child. In fact, killing Isaac would have caused Abraham to break the law "Thou shall not kill" which also wasn't around during Abraham's time.

God also knew David killed and still called him a "Man after My Own Heart".

What Jesus wants us to do is to let go everything into His loving care and the Holy Spirit will come to live in you. I know as I live by trusting (believing) in Jesus and in so doing He even helps me to keep my faith and helps me to obey God's word by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is why when I do the right thing I cannot boast as I have not achieved this ability to do the right thing on my own strength and sinful nature. However, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I am helped in all things and He protects me and will bring me home to God.

I will be able to stand before the throne of God not because of what I have done but purely by the righteousness of Jesus and because I have trusted and obeyed the instructions of the Holy Spirit to live my life according to God's Will.

As you can see I do not refer to any particular verse in the Bible but if you know the Bible you will know that I am referring to all that is taught in the Bible just like the young man who stood up at that meeting all those years ago without any scriptural learning. He definitely had the Holy Spirit guiding him to say those words that although I don't understand I will trust and obey and he is definitely speaking of the whispers he is hearing ever since he handed his life over to Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.

Do you seriously believe the Holy Spirit did not have a hand in guiding all concerned for this hymn to be written?

To try and do the works on your own strength is to set yourself up for a fall and if you do it by your own strength than you are boasting that you are able to obey God on your own strength. If it is by the power of the Holy Spirit then you have nothing to boast about just like me and that young man who spoke up at that meeting so long ago!

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Helen Chimbelu

Lusaka, Zambia

Jan 31, 2013

My late Mom's favourite song. We sang it during her funeral last year on 8th March 2012. She taught us that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. Will greatly Miss Her for her Maternal Love and guidance.

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Ayegba Joseph

Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

Jan 25, 2013

Trust and Obey is the hallmark of our salvation. Trust as pointed out is Faith in our God to be able to take care of all our worries. To Obey therefore, is the part that we play to keep that relationship going and all its benefits.

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Gary

Jan 21, 2013

To David and Elaine,

Paul was addressing the Jews who were trying to get the Gentiles to be circumcised in order to be saved. The Jews were trying to gain righteousness and justify themselves through their own circumcision rather than faith through Jesus Christ (Rom 2:24-2:29). This is the context with which Romans 3:19-20 is stated, declaring that whether Jew or Gentile, we cannot gain righteousness through our own "circumcision" and works (Romans 3:29-30). However, the law is not nullified because of faith, but we through faith establish the Law. (Romans 3:31) Therefore 1 Samuel 15:22 ("...to obey is better than sacrifice...") is not nullified because of faith through Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17).

Obedience is essential to develop a healthy relationship with God. Faith establishes the relationship, but obedience (not religious rituals) maintains it. Jesus Himself spoke about the importance of obedience:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 7:21

Many who do things in Jesus' name are cast away; He does not even know them! Why? Because they were not doing the will of the Father (Matthew 7:22-23). It is important to note that the difference between the wise and foolish builder is not the one who hears the Word of God, but rather the one who does according to the Word of God (Matthew 7:24-27). Why would Jesus command us if we are not expected to obey? (John 13:34-35) Did not Jesus Himself obey the Father, even to death on the cross? (Luke 22:42; Philippians 2:8) We are not above Jesus, but rather we should be like Him (Luke 6:40).

Obedience is the fruit of faith (Luke 6:43-49). Faith comes from hearing the Word; obedience perfects that faith. James 2 states that even the demons believe in God (James 2:19), but our faith is useless without the works to show that faith (James 2:20). Abraham, who trusted in God, obeyed His command to sacrifice his son Issac (Genesis 22:1-22; note v22). Romans 4:3 states that Abraham was justified by faith, but James 2:21 states that Abraham was justified by works in his obedience to God (when he offered up Issac per God's command). How can this be? Abraham's faith allowed him to trust and therefore obey God (Hebrews 11:17-19), and it was through obedience that Abraham's faith was perfected (James 2:22-23). We cannot be justified by faith alone, for faith that does not bear the fruit of obedience is dead (James 2:24,26).

Sorry for the very lengthy explanation, but Scripture does show that obedience allows us to be "happy in Jesus" (in our continued relationship with God the Father) per the writer's lyrics. David, I hope this clarifies Scripture for you (I mean no offense), and Elaine, I hope that this can encourage you and your acquaintance to sing this hymn in faith and in truth.

Hope this helps.

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David Buckwitz

Hazel Park, Michigan, United States

Jan 6, 2013

I am directing my comment to: "Elaine" of Miami Florida and this is my response to her questions dated 9/18/12. Your Pastor, aquaintance is absolutely correct! The only obedience the Father accepts from us is "perfect" obedience. The hymn "Trust and Obey" does not line up with God's Word. Trust is another word for "Faith" and of itself is "Wonderous" but when mixed with "obey", then the hymn is not singing about Grace but speaks of law, flesh and death. When you placed your faith in Christ to save you from sin, God the Father replaced your inability to "obey" God's laws with His Son's ability. By faith and nothing else you became the "Righteousness of God in him." There is no longer room for the efforts of man to please God by obedience. The Law was fulfilled by Jesus, not by man and his "religious effort to obey" (2 Cor. 5:21) "For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (Romans 3:19-20) "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law (or man's attempts to obey it) there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." A better verse for the hymn should read: Trust and BELIEVE! Elaine, The Lord Bless you and you loved ones in this new year.

Your brother In Christ.

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Jenyo

Canada

Nov 27, 2012

I especially love the last verse "Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet... Where He sends, we will go"

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John Emilimor

Lagos, Nigeria

Oct 27, 2012

What a blessed soul stirring hymn, from as far back as my elementary school days when we did this hymn during the morning assembly, it has always blessed my soul and inclined me to a life of more consecration and strong desire to walk in obedience to the Master. Trust (faith) and obedience remain the surest key to a happy life in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. I do hope that more congregations will restore the art of hymn singing in thier worship services and help the on-coming generation to tap into the depths of spirituality that hymns like this deliver to the church environment. God bless you all.

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Elaine

Miami, Fla, United States

Sep 18, 2012

This song speaks to ME. However, I have an aquaintance who would refuse to have his congregation sing this wonderful hymn. He is stuck on the refrain "Trust and Obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus...". Are there other ways to be happy in Jesus...I mean to be truly happy in Jesus. Isn't Obedience better than sacrifice, and did He not tell us to Go!!

Help?!?!

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Naomi Genotiva Petronio

Myerstown, PA, United States

Aug 19, 2012

It gives me peace, joy and love. I always remember my parents who nurtured me in believing Jesus Christ and walk with faith in Him. Happy and inspired whenever I heard this song. I love to share what I've experienced living with Christ. I want to be a blessing to others.

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