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About Numbered Notation

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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Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish

Comfort in Trials By the Lord’s Mercy-Seat

English684
1
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
2
Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying—
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.
3
Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above;
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

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Wanda Tanner-Kimbrough

Houston, TX, United States

Oct 25, 2025

Absolutely LOVE ♥️💕❤️💗 what you have done here…sheet music and all!!!!

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Daniel Osho

Espoo, Finland

May 23, 2021

I am so delighted about the works of mercy and Love you have Dedicated yourself to do by providing opportunity to everyone to come to this website and listening to songs and feel comforted.

Old hymns are always cheering up the Soul and Spirit.

Blessed be to your ministry in Jesus name Amen.

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Steve Miller

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Dec 23, 2016

The original text for this comforting hymn was written by an Irish Roman Catholic, Thomas Moore. Although Moore is the author of 32 sacred songs, he is best known for his ballads and other secular poems. Following the publication of his 'Irish Melodies', 1807-9, he became known as the "Voice of Ireland" in much the same fashion as Robert Burns represented Scotland. It is said that Moore's literary skills, both in prose and poetry, contributed much to the political emancipation of his country, for his writings revealed, to the English public, the spirit of a people, whom they had previously found distasteful. Moore was one of the few writers of his day to have made a financial success of writing poetry. He received several large sums and royalties for his works. However, because of his poor business practices, he spent the last years of his life poor, unhappy, and mentally disturbed.

Moore's father was a prosperous merchant in Dublin, where Thomas was born. After attending Trinity College but not being allowed to graduate because of his Roman Catholic affiliation, Moore trained to become a lawyer but never could bring himself to begin a legal career. He also was given an Admiralty post in Bermuda, but the monotony of this life soon caused him to resign the job and devote his life exclusively to the writing of literature.

The 1st 2 stanzas of this hymn were published in 1824 in Moore's hymn, 'Relief in Prayer'. The hymn as sung today, however, has experienced considerable revision. For example, the 2nd line of the 1st stanza originally read "Come to the shrine of God, fervently kneel." The 2nd line of the 2nd stanza was changed from "hope when all others die". Moore's 3rd stanza was completely different from the one used today. It originally read:

Go ask the infidel what boon he brings us,
what charm for aching hearts he can reveal?
Sweet as that heavenly promise hope sings us,
earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Thomas Hastings, American hymnist, is the one who greatly altered Moore's text. He included the hymn in the collection 'Spiritual Songs for Social Worship' in 1831. It is generally agreed that Hastings rescued an interesting poem and made it usable for evangelical churches.

Hastings was born in Washington, Connecticut. Though his formal musical training was meager, and, as an albino, he was afflicted with eye problems throughout his life; yet he wrote no less than 50 volumes of church music, including 1000 hymn tunes and more than 600 original hymn texts., and edited more than 50 music collections. He has supplied the music for such beloved hymns as "Rock of Ages", "From Every Stormy Wind that Blows" and "Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned". It is said, however, that Hastings' most important contribution was the effort he expended in the improvement of singing, so badly needed at that time in American churches. He was regarded as the foremost choir trainer of his day, and was constantly in demand for that purpose. He was a man of strong convictions regarding sacred music. He once stated: "The homage that we owe Almighty God calls for the noblest and most reverential tribute that music can render." Along with Lowell Mason, Thomas Hastings is generally credited with being the person most influential in shaping the development of church music in the United States during the 19th century.

The composer, Samuel Webbe, born in London, England, was a respected organist in several large Roman Catholic churches in London. He published a number of collections of sacred music suited for Catholic services. His tune, "Consolator", which likely was adapted from an old German melody, first appeared in 1792. The tune reappeared with Hastings' revised text in 1831. This meaningful text with its well-suited music has had an important place in most evangelical hymnals until the present time. - '101 More Hymn Stories' by Kenneth Osbeck

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Miriyani Thomas

Kerala, India

Jul 8, 2016

When hymns offer companionship, comfort and hope to aching lonely hearts, more than the presence or words of mortals.........

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Hephzibah

Montw, IL, United States

Mar 5, 2016

I love this song, I learned it from my dad. He is a clergy / pastor, and sings it all the time especially in funerals, to comfort the bereaved and wounded hearts.

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Valerie Norberry Vanorden

Kalamazoo, Mi, United States

Dec 10, 2013

This song gives me great comfort. I was adopted and my mother was not able to take care of me because she was sick, my biological mother. My adopted family also went through trials and my adopted mom and dad divorced when I was 18. I believe God allowed sorrow in my life to bring the art out of my life. This song reminds me of a proverb which is hard to understand unless you've been there and done that: "The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger doth not intermeddleth with it's joy". In other words, when that bitter spot is finally healed, it is basically a private thing. It cannot be explained casually to a stranger.

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Steve Miller

Detroit, MI, United States

Aug 30, 2013

Irish poet Thomas Moore is best known for his ballads like "The Last Rose of Summer" and "Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms." One writer called Moore "one of the strangest of all men to write hymns." The son of a Dublin grocer, Moore was educated at Trinity College in Dublin, but he could not graduate because he was Roman Catholic. After a short career in government, he devoted himself to writing and became known as the "Voice of Ireland." Many were surprised when Moore published his "Sacred Song-Duets" in 1824.

"Come, Ye Disconsolate," which was originally titled "Relief in Prayer," has undergone some revision since Moore wrote it, but the original version contained the same message. - Great Songs of Faith by Brown and Norton

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Bob Baer

Brampton, ON, Canada

Sep 14, 2002

Because it touches a disconsolate person; one who is perhaps sorely tried and feel alone.

Oh yeah, the tune is also nice and goes along with the theme. The range of the notes from the bottom to the top of the scale mirrors the ups and downs of the person's experience or at least his/her emotional reaction to trials...It rocks. :)

I have to admit it is hard to negotiate the changes from the upper to lower range of notes. I was just trying it.

This is a song that would be good to sing sometimes where the comfort of the saints or some seeking visitors is a theme. But you need to practice it a few times. Also it needs some saints who have trained voices who can help to carry it.

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