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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 know that my Redeemer lives

Experience of Christ General

English597
1
I know that my Redeemer lives
And ever prays for me;
A token of His love He gives,
A pledge of liberty.
2
I know that my Redeemer lives,
A quick’ning Spirit He;
I know eternal life He gives—
Amazing grace—to me.
3
I find Him lifting up my head;
He brings salvation near;
His presence makes me free indeed,
And He will soon appear.
4
He wills that I should holy be:
What can withstand His will?
The counsel of His grace in me
He surely shall fulfill.
5
Jesus, I hang upon Thy word:
I steadfastly believe
Thou wilt return and claim me, Lord,
And to Thyself receive.

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Christine Thompson

Bateau Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Feb 7, 2018

Thank you so much for this inspirational story.

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Steve Miller

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Apr 28, 2016

The tune is from Handel's Messiah. Here is how Handel came to compose it:

The Spanish wars were raging. Handel's friend, Queen Caroline, had died, and his pension had been cut off. People in London were hungry for bread. Winter came on, and at times Handel had to pace the streets to keep warm and to evade his creditors. Inspiration had left him. He sat down on a bench in Fleet Street, despondent. He seemed to be losing his strength, his mind, his belief in God, his desire to live.

"Oh, God, why has all this come?" he cried in despair. Then he summoned all his strength and managed to reach his home in Brook Street. It was late, but he dragged himself to his study before retiring. There on his table was a large white envelope. With trembling hands, the musician tore it open. On the title page were the words, "The Messiah". Seeing that it was another oratorio, he tore the manuscript in half and threw it on the floor. His last oratorios had not met with approval. There was no sleep for the heavy-hearted composer that night as he turned and tossed, unable to get the torn manuscript off his mind. Should he get up and have a look at it? Just read it over? After what seemed hours, the candles were lighted again in the study.

The 1st few words were "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people." The words seemed to soothe him like wine and oil. As he read on, he felt a strange fire surge through his huge frame. Surely it was a message from the Lord directly to him! "Their iniquity is forgiven, their sin is pardoned." "The Lord Jehovah is my strength." O joy! The great musician was himself again. God had spoken to his soul! He heard and felt music again as never before! Surely the obscure parson, Pooley was inspired by God when he arranged these lines from the Bible. The words, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah," seemed to move every fiber of his body. How they thrilled him! "That word," said Handel, "must soar up and up until it makes the very courts of heaven ring with His praises."

Anyone who has heard the Hallelujah Chorus will know how well Handel had succeeded. Then came the words, "Come unto Him, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest."

"Rest, rest! I have been heavy laden," he cried. "No one can know the meaning of rest until he has suffered, in body, mind, and soul, as I have."

Even the final words, "Amen, amen, amen," seemed to thrill him, and he exclaimed, "I cannot slight one word. Every word must play its part."

In only 3 weeks time the world's greatest oratorio was finished. It was first presented in Ireland. On opening night some businessmen had called on Handel to ask if he would consider giving the proceeds of the 1st night to charity. The composer was interested and asked what the charities were.

"It is to help the sick in certain hospitals, and people in certain prisons. We are asking for the profits of only the 1st night."

Then Handel said, as if to himself, "No, I can't take one penny from this oratorio. I don't want to make money out of it. It was written by Another, not me. Yes, it must always be given to aid the sick and those in prisons. I was a prisoner, and the Lord has set me free. I was a captive and sick, but He bound up my wounds and healed me."

Then standing to his feet, he said, "Gentlemen, all the proceeds will be given to charity, to aid the sick and those in prison." The men hardly understood what it meant but they went away happy.

"The Messiah" met with overwhelming success wherever it was presented. People wept for joy as they heard its moving music. It seemed to breathe of a heavenly land. On one occasion the whole audience, including King George, stood to their feet as the "Hallelujah Chorus" was sung. It was as if they were standing reverently in the presence of the Divine.

Years later, on a Good Friday, George Frederick Handel attended a presentation of his "The Messiah" and joined in singing the Hallelujah Chorus. With the closing notes he sank to the floor and was carried out. He lingered only a short time before he went to join the heavenly choir to sing the Hallelujah Chorus around the throne of God. - Hymn Stories by Wilbur Konkel

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heatherpadgett

Saluda, South Carolina, United States

Apr 23, 2009

The reason I like this song is because I had to do sign language.

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