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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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Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, I care not how

Prayer For the Whole World

English794
1
Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, I care not how,
But stir my heart in passion for the world,
Stir me to give, to go, but most to pray;
Stir till the blood-red banner be unfurled
O’er lands that still in heathen darkness lie,
O’er deserts where no cross is lifted high.
2
Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, till all my heart
Is filled with strong compassion for these-souls;
Till Thy compelling word drives me to pray;
Till Thy constraining love reach to the poles
Far north and south, in burning deep desire,
Till east and west are caught in love’s great fire.
3
Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, till prayer is pain,
Till prayer is joy, till prayer turns into praise;
Stir me, till heart and will and mind, yea, all
Is wholly Thine to use through all the days.
Stir, till I learn to pray exceedingly;
Stir, till I learn to wait expectantly.
4
Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, Thy heart was stirred
By love’s intensest fire, till Thou didst give
Thine only Son, Thy best beloved One,
E’en to the dreadful cross, that I might live.
Stir me to give myself so back to Thee,
That Thou canst give Thyself again through me.
5
Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, for I can see
Thy glorious triumph-day begin to break;
The dawn already gilds the eastern sky;
Oh, Church of Christ, arise, awake, awake.
Oh! stir us, Lord, as heralds of that day.
For night is past, our King is on His way.

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Sam Diala

Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

Sep 6, 2026

I am singing this song for the first time today (using the tune of the communion hymn 'And now, O Father mindful of the love. ') A beautiful song, full of prayers, praise and supplication.

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Dr. Ekele Nwankwo

United States

Nov 13, 2025

This is one of my favorite hymns. I pray each day for God to lead me to some souls. This day as it came to mind again, I have sent it to nine persons to learn, sing and pray about. An inspiring hymn.

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Ifeoma Akuchukwu Obiekwe

Abuja, FCT, Nigeria

Sep 20, 2023

Lord stir my heart just as yours was stirred to give your only beloved One to the dreadful cross that I might live. Stir me till my whole heart is filled with strong compassion for soul that will cause me to learn pray exceedingly and learn to wait expectantly in Jesus name Amen

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Pam C.

San Diego, CA, United States

May 28, 2023

At the beginning of 2023, after months of feeling increasingly grieved in heart and spirit about the serious condition of the world and the darkness gripping so many lives, the realization grew that grieving is a springboard for prayer. A sister and I started meeting by phone to pray twice a month for 15-20 mins each time, praying for the unsaved, alternating selecting scripture to facilitate our prayer. This is no doubt a result of the stirring work of the Spirit that this hymn prays deeply for. As we've joined our wills with our Savior God who desires all men to be saved, we've been comforted that He is answering. This deeply moving hymn that is so rich in thought and expression to the Lord emphasizes the pressing need for the church to arise. The brother's sharing below in 2015 is also very encouraging to press on, for sometimes I too have stopped - "... we need to be provoked in our spirit as is this hymn's prayer when we see so many young lives being misled. I had been praying for people until it became painful, and then I would stop. As stanza 3 says, I need to continue praying until prayer is turned to joy and praise."

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Janice McKenzie

United States

May 3, 2021

Amen! This is our prayer today!
Oh! Stir us Lord as heralds of that day!
For night is past, our King is on His way!

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Steve Miller

Detroit, MI, United States

Dec 21, 2015

I called this hymn at church today because we were covering Acts 17, where Paul was stirred in his spirit when he saw that Athens was wholly given over to idolatry. Instead of complaining, we need to be provoked in our spirit as is this hymn's prayer when we see so many young lives being misled.

I had been praying for people until it became painful, and then I would stop. As stanza 3 says, I need to continue praying until prayer is turned to joy and praise. A sister shared P.U.S.H. - Pray Until Something Happens.

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This wonderful hymn is so needed by the church today, but it is hardly known among Christians. I cannot tell for sure whether the author "Mrs. Albert Head" is Albert Head's 1st wife, Caroline (1852-1904), or his 2nd wife, Bessie Porter Head (1850-1936), whom he married in 1907. I think it was his first wife, since she was known as "Mrs. Albert Head", while his 2nd wife was known as "Bessie Porter Head"

This is from an article about the 1st Mrs. Head's untimely passing away in "Railway Signal: Or, Lights Along the Line" vols 22-23, 1904.

"Christian workers in every part of the world, and belonging to every section of Christ's Church, knew they had a place in Mrs. Head's sympathy and prayers. ... Her big heart found room for every genuine effort for the salvation of souls, both in this and other lands. .... While still a school-girl she was known to declare herself the happiest person in the world, and this indeed was true to the end. There was ever a restfulness about her which spoke of deep heart trust in God, and the service of Him whom she so truly loved. …

She came of that notable Quaker stock which has furnished England with some of the brightest examples of Christian living in the past. [Her parents left the Quakers about 1863, when Caroline was 13. Her grandparents were both Quaker ministers. Mrs. Head used to say, 'What do we not owe ... to our beloved parents and grandparents' upbringing among the Friends?'] Her grandmother attained the great age of 109 years. …

The delicacy of her elder son rendered it necessary to spend 2 winters abroad, and finally to make their temporary residence in St. Leonards, where they were called upon to pass through severe trial in the loss of this dear boy at the age of 15, ... leaving the bereaved parents with but one son. ...

With large-hearted, generous love for every one who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, Mrs. Head threw open her house to receive all comers, those from 'the ends of the earth' being specially welcome, whether independent workers or missionaries in connection with any of the known societies.

Probably she was most widely known in connection with the Keswick Convention where for many years without intermission she has promoted the facilities for missionaries at home on furlough to attend this gathering so abundantly owned by God. She felt that here was truth set forth in such a way as to lead her brothers and sisters into fuller blessing, thus enabling them to carry the Gospel in the power of the Spirit to the heathen in a way which perhaps they had never done before. ... Though much labor was entailed year by year, in seeking lodgings and planning for increasing numbers (on the last occasion more than 20 houses were thus organized), the service was taken with such gladness that one could but look on in wonder. ... There seemed to be no lack, for she was ever 'drawing water out of the wells of salvation.' ... Truly she was a hostess whose warm sympathy and catholicity [including everyone] put everyone at their ease. ...

Correspondence with many quarters of the globe was maintained by means of a circular letter, written at short intervals. She thus endeavored to strengthen the hands of scattered workers by helping them to realize the sympathy felt for them in the homeland. It was a loving, personal touch, which will be greatly missed by very many.”

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