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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 Music 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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What a Friend we have in Jesus

Prayer Telling the Lord

English789
1
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
2
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

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Odufa

Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Sep 18, 2017

I've been through a lot but every time I listen to this song, it just reminds me that I can only find a friend in Jesus not in man. Life with friends has been so funny. But there's joy and peace I have when I know there is a friend who never fails, He never speaks negatively about me, He never gossip about me etc. He always guides me through the right path even when I wrong or sin against Him, He still forgives me. He's an everlasting friend!

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Layla Pai

Centreville, Virginia, United States

Sep 6, 2017

Jesus is our greatest friend and knows our every need, care, and want. Never hesitate to come before Him. Lay the burden on Him. He's our strength and refuge.

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Esther

Vanguard, SK, Canada

Sep 5, 2017

To Nikki,

Having a child of my own but never even experiencing even a miscarriage I can only begin to imagine but cannot truely fathom the terrible ache that the loss of a child must cause no matter how brief a moment one had with that little one. There are no good words to comfort but these... What we can look to is the absolute confidence that we have in Christ that we will see them again in eternity. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18King James Version (KJV)

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

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Kaycee Abraham

Lagos, Nigeria

Sep 5, 2017

Indeed God is great! I woke up in tears this morning; singing this hymn from the dream world into reality! Indeed the hymn is potent! God be praised forever and may His grace, mercy, favour and wisdom never diminish in our lives in Jesus mighty name and above all.....Heaven At Last!!!

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Nikki

Essex, United Kingdom

Sep 1, 2017

I have recently lost my little girl to a stillbirth. The feeling of darkness is upon me but I saw this him today so I'm bringing my pain and sorrows to God in prayer. I'm praying for strength and comfort that God may bring me in my hour of need.

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Victorious J.

Yosemite, CA, United States

Sep 1, 2017

Does anyone MEMORIZE hymns any more? I don't even own a cell phone. I memorized these three verses in my youth.

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Sheri

Toronto, Canada

Aug 25, 2017

I'm writing this on a Friday evening, almost sunset and the Sabbath is about to start. Everything has been crashing around me at work and I feel like I've been in a dark tunnel for the past 2 weeks. I've been so depressed and The Holy Spirit reminded me of this song. Listening to the melody, reading the lyrics and everybody's comments and have lifted my spirit. I welcome the rest of the Sabbath and I'm going to follow what the lyrics say and take all my burdens to the Lord in prayer. I love this song..

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Anonymous

Singapore

Jul 17, 2017

Yamie, I have prayed that the Lord will give you strength. That no matter what the outcome will be, you may always find strength in Him to get up and face each new day, that His praise will always be on your lips. That in Him you will find your all in all. That you will have the faith to know that 'that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ'. I don't know you, but I know that you are a Christian, and I sorrow with you, and share the same hope that our God is bigger than everything. May God bless you richly and deeply.

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Yamie

Lilongwe, Central, Malawi

Jul 16, 2017

This was our closing on today’s service. I didn't have the hymn book but managed to use my phone to google to sing along. The Lord has been faithful indeed and I felt enlightened. I and my wife were diagnosed with HIV together with our newly born baby. We are praying day and night for the Lord to heal us and we have so much faith in Him. Please dedicate your time to pray with us so that God forgives and heal us and give us a last chance that’s all we are asking. Amen brethrens.

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Simon Kamau

Nairobi, Kenya

Jul 8, 2017

I am really down and struggling with life but through the song iam reminded to take everything to God in prayer. I know God You are faithful and You are going to hear me, in Jesus name.

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