Numbered notation, the way it's actually written.

A practical guide to jianpu — the system that powers Chinese, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Japanese, and Burmese music. Built for instruments where numbered notation is the first language, not a translation.

What is jianpu?

Jianpu (简谱, "simplified notation") is a way of writing music using the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 instead of staff notation. Like tonic solfa, it is a movable system: 1 always means the tonic of whatever key you're in, not a fixed pitch.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau invented the system in 1742, Pierre Galin and Aimé Paris extended it in the 19th century, and it was introduced to China through missionary schools where it spread rapidly. Today it is the dominant notation across China, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Myanmar, and parts of the Chinese diaspora. Most repertoires for the erhu, dizi, guzheng, and gamelan live in jianpu.

The seven numbers

Degree	Number	Solfa equivalent	Said as (Mandarin)
1st (tonic)	1	do	"dō"
2nd	2	re	"ré"
3rd	3	mi	"mǐ"
4th	4	fa	"fā"
5th	5	sol	"sōl"
6th	6	la	"lā"
7th	7	si / ti	"xī"

A rest is written as 0.

Key signature — "1 = X"

The key is declared at the top-left of the score in the form 1 = C, meaning "1 is C", i.e. C major. Other examples: 1 = G, 1 = B♭, 1 = D. For minor keys, the la-based convention is 6 = A (A minor).

Octave dots

Notation	Meaning
`1`	Middle octave
`1̇` (one dot above)	One octave higher
`1̈` (two dots above)	Two octaves higher
`1̣` (one dot below)	One octave lower
`1̤` (two dots below)	Two octaves lower

Duration — the most important rules

Note length is communicated in three ways: dashes (longer), underlines (shorter), and an augmentation dot (multiplies by 1.5). Combinations work the way you'd expect.

Duration	Notation
Quarter note	`5` — plain number, no underline
Eighth note	`5` with one underline below
Sixteenth note	`5` with two underlines below
32nd note	`5` with three underlines below
Half note	`5 -`
Dotted half	`5 - -`
Whole note	`5 - - -`
Dotted quarter	`5.`
Dotted eighth	`5.` with one underline

Beaming

When eighth or sixteenth notes are consecutive, the underlines connect into a single beam — exactly the way staff notation beams flagged notes. A beat group of four sixteenths followed by two eighths looks like:

 5̲ 6̲ 7̲ 1̲̇    5̲ 6̲
═══════    ════
 (double beam)  (single beam)

Rests

Duration	Notation
Quarter rest	`0`
Eighth rest	`0` with one underline
Half rest	`0 -`
Whole rest	`0 - - -` or `0 0 0 0`

Accidentals

Sharps, flats, and naturals are written before the number, just like in staff notation. They apply only to the note they immediately precede, within the same measure.

Symbol	Meaning	Example
`#`	Sharp (raise)	`#4`
`♭` or `b`	Flat (lower)	`b7`
`♮`	Natural	`♮3`

Bar lines, ties, and other markings

| — bar line
|| — final double bar line
‖: ... :‖ — repeat signs
Slur arc — legato / tied notes
> above a note — accent
. above a note — staccato
𝄐 — fermata (hold)

An example: Amazing Grace in jianpu

1 = C  3/4  ♩=92

| 5  | 1̇ - 3̇ 1̇ | 3̇ -    | 6 -     | 5 -    |
| 5  | 1̇ - 3̇ 1̇ | 3̇ - 2̇  | 3̇ -    | 5̇ - - |

Why jianpu, not staff?

For instruments tuned to a fixed scale per piece — erhu, dizi, guzheng, gamelan — jianpu is faster to read because the number directly maps to a finger position or string. For singers, it gives the same movable-do clarity that solfa offers, just with digits instead of syllables.

Outside of conservatories that still teach Western staff notation, jianpu is what most amateur and folk musicians in East and Southeast Asia actually use day-to-day.

Try it in DomiSol

DomiSol is a notation editor where jianpu is the editing model, not an export format. Type 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 directly and see numbered notation on the canvas, with octave dots and beam underlines rendered the way you actually write them. One-click toggle to solfa if you also work with letter notation.

Open the editor — free during beta →

Sources

Wikipedia — Numbered musical notation · TablEdit jianpu documentation · contemporary practice across Chinese, Taiwanese, and Indonesian music education.