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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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Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Longings For Vision of Christ

New Songs345
1
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
2
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
3
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart;
O King of glory, my treasure Thou art.
4
O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

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Hope and Rebecca

Allentown

May 27, 2018

Mama and I sang this song this morning. It gives you a good boost in the morning.

Amen.

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Stephen Bellingham

Irvine, CA, United States

Apr 18, 2018

This ancient hymn remains relevant throughout time. I was in inwardly nourished and refreshed singing and musing on the words this morning. Thank you Lord Jesus!

“Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And beside You there is nothing I desire on earth. ”
Psalm 73:25

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Leigh Powell

Apr 16, 2018

This hymn assumes the singer is a born again Christian, who alone can 'successfully' pray the prayer this hymn expresses (1 Corinthians 2 verse 21 - the natural man receives not the things of God for they are spiritually discerned). But how des a person become a born again Christian?

A person is born again when he/she repents and believes the gospel. a person repents when one is shown their sinfulness by God the Holy Spirit and asks God for forgiveness and power to overcome their sin by the Holy Spurit who will live inside them once they believe the gospel and are born again (1 Corinthians 3).

A person can only believe the gospel by the opening of their spiritually blind eyes by the Hooy Spirit from God the Fatherr (Matthew 18 verse 16 - revelation of spiritual truth from God, starting with salvation through believing that the Lord Jesus is the sin bearing lamb of God (Messiah).

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Jide Omotosho

Aug 24, 2017

O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Continue to reign in me Lord Jesus. Amen

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Joshua

Singapore

Oct 20, 2016

@bamminer, considering that such hymns have been translated into other languages (as has our bible) , I think nothing is holding you back from sort-of-translating this to a language form that is more comfortable and familiar to you. The focus is on how the words of such hymns help us to focus and express our prayerful praise and worship to God, and God's delight is in our hearts turned to Him.

But I think it is unwise to criticise the language of these hymns, and if anyone you know had such an impression, you should counsel them accordingly. This hymn, as you know, was translated a century ago, and so the words and style used would naturally match the style of hymns of that time and church tradition.

Such hymns (and our Psalms) and their sources usually were composed by our brothers and sisters of the faith who had gone before us and who, with beautiful hearts molded by God's fires, created these inspired songs for their brethren and their future faith heirs, in service to God.

So let's give thanks to God together for these songs that were usually birthed through hardship, translate these hymns to best minister to one another if we are led to, and lovingly honour the memories these authors whom we will someday meet in heaven, in the kingdom of our God and our Lord.

I am a Chinese, btw, and I love this song. Hymns and psalms truly come alive for people who are experiencing the pain that leads us to turn our eyes back to God.

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David Paradis

Isabela, Puerto Rico

Oct 5, 2016

Bryan Jeffers and Allison, if the Wikipedia article is correct, the version without the "battle" verse is a Methodist Hymnal version. Very interesting article; check it out.

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Allison

NC, United States

Sep 5, 2016

Be Thou My Vision is a Hymn originally written in the 8th century in Gaelic and translated into English in the early 1900s when Irish Christians were highly persecuted an forced to speak English instead. Changing it again now to suit word preferences of modern colloquial speech would further desecrate the richness and beauty this song still manages to evoke. Granted it would be even more incredible if heard sung in its original language no doubt! But yes, it is missing the third verse be thou my battle shield.

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Blossom M

Putnam Valley, New York, United States

Aug 13, 2016

I am so glad that when my Lord and Savior died on Calvary, He never discriminated, His precious Blood was shed for all, irrespective of race, color or creed. I just wish that God's people could see each other through the eyes of our Master and Lord, as being all equal in His sight. What a glorious day that would be!

....still be my vision oh Ruler of all!

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Linda Brown

Long Beach, California, United States

May 25, 2016

Bamminer, I understand where you are coming from & can appreciate your perspective. I am Mexican-American & love/embrace my heritage as well. This song IS special because of its ethnic tone & authentic old Irish culture embedded into it....to change it in any way would be a death to the Irish essence that this song is based on. The Irish were persecuted beyond belief in history & have now risen to so much, but their language was stolen from them & they were forced to speak an English version of it....these people have suffered! To change such a historic & cultural song would be a tragedy & a shame....just like we would never want to change black cultural songs & "whiten" them up just for white people to "accept" them. We miss the point of cultural acceptance & cultural appreciation if we start altering things just to suit our own tastes.....doesnt that defeat the purpose (God's purpose) of us all being different? I think our duty is to learn, appreciate, & respect cultural differences & thereby we can honor one another :)

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Bamminer

Louisville, MS, United States

May 6, 2016

The song could be even more popular than it already is by taking the Irish-old English out for black Americans. Amazingly, it still works, even still rhymes. Even if you did that, I feel white Americans would still love it, because it means the same thing and it sounds the same, too! Europeans could keep the old version, if they liked; still, it would be so exact that it probably wouldn't even matter to them, either. If you changed the naught to nothing, the thou/thy to you/your where appropriate (sometimes the thou would omitted, as thou/thy can be awfully redundant), and art to are. It just comes off as being corny to most black Americans. That simple change puts this incredibly beautiful song in the running for greatest gospel song ever (probably top twenty all time when you consider how relevant the song is to living a Christian lifestyle and how beautiful it is). I know it's a prayer, but it's basically (in song terms) a love song to God with God [and Jesus] being married to a personal relationship with Him! When I first heard/saw it, I thought (even as a black man) that the song had potential to be one the greatest gospel songs of all time; it prompted me to do some research. I found the lyrics and I felt as if the song was incredibly beautiful, but seemed initially as if thrown to together for the sake of rhyming like bad poetry. I read the lyrics and said the song could be better for American audiences with some simple meaningless tweaks. Some black Americans can't get past the corniness and those words "say" that blacks are not included (far more white European people language than black American) and that the words are not American so they must have been thrown together like bad poetry with lack of real relevance and TRUE feeling (it forms opinions that don't seem to be true about this song anyway). Why have such an incredibly beautiful, relevant song tarnished because many--if not most--black Americans are going to look at it as if were rocks or dirt? Everybody should listen to this and understand, but sadly many won't get past those initial psychological barriers. All I'm proposing is that--since it could be done very easily without changing much or any effect--why not make it American for American audiences and Irish for European audiences?

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