The numbered musical notation, better known as jianpu (PY: jiǎnpǔ, TC: 簡譜, SC: 简谱), meaning "simplified notation" in Chinese, is a musical notation system widely used among the Chinese people. Some people call it the numeric notation or numerical notation, but it is not to be confused with the integer notation. It is also known as Ziffersystem, meaning "number system" or "cipher system" in German. It should be noticed that some other unrelated musical notation systems are also called cipher notations. Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ...

The same system or very similar systems are used to some extent in some European countries, and are popular in some Asian countries. This article first describes the Chinese jianpu in some detail, then describes its possible variations. World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ...

Numbered notation described

Musical note

Numbers 1 to 7 represents the musical notes. They always correspond to the diatonic major scale. For example, in the key of C major, their relationship with the notes and the solfege is shown below: This article is about music. ... In Music theory, the diatonic major scale (also known as the Guido scale), from the Greek diatonikos or to stretch out, is a fundamental building block of the European-influenced musical tradition. ... In music theory, the major scale is one of the diatonic scales. ... In Music theory, the key is the tonal center of a piece. ... In music and sight singing solfege is a way of assigning syllables to degrees or steps of the diatonic scale. ...

 Note: C D E F G A B Solfege: do re mi fa sol la ti Notation: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

Octave change

Dots above or below a musical note raise or lower it to other octaves. The number of dots equals the number of octaves. For example, "6" with a dot below is at an octave lower than "6". Musical scales can thus be written like this: For the numerical computation software, see GNU Octave. ...

 . major scale: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 natural minor scale: 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 · · 

Note length

The plain number represents a quarter note. Underlines shorten it. One underline represents an eighth note, two underlines represent a sixteenth note, and so on. Notice how the underline imitates the number of flags in the standard notation. The underlines may even be joined together like beaming in the standard notation. Dashes after a note lengthen it, each dash by the length of a quarter note. In music, a quarter note (American) or crotchet is a note played for one-quarter the duration of a whole note, hence the name. ... Figure 1. ... Figure 1. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ...

A dot after the plain or underlined note works increases its length by half, and two dots increases by three-quarter, similar to the standard notation. The rule is different for notes longer than the quarter note. An additional dot after the dashes actually means half the length of a quarter note. In music, a dotted note is a note that is 1 1/2 times the main note of the same kind. ... In music, a double-dotted note is a note that is 1 3/4 times the main note of the same kind. ...

 whole: 1 - - - dotted whole: 1 - - - · double dotted: 1 - - - · · half: 1 - dotted half: 1 - · double dotted: 1 - · · quarter: 1 dotted quarter: 1· double dotted: 1·· eighth: 1 dotted eighth: 1· double dotted: 1·· 16th: 1 = 

Musical rest

The number "0" represents the musical rest. The rules for length is similar to that of the note, except that it is customary to repeat "0" instead of adding dashes for rests longer than a quarter rest. Unlike the standard notation, there is no single symbol for the bar rest. The bar rest of 3/4 time is "| 0 0 0 |" and the bar rest of 4/4 time is "| 0 0 0 0 |". A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign indicating the length of the pause. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ...

Undetermined pitch

The rhythm of percussion instruments of undetermined pitch is usually represented by "X" or "x" using rules similar to that of the musical note. For example, a common clap pattern used in cheers can be written like this: Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds over time. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. ... Cheerleading is recreational activity and sometimes competitive sport involving organised routines including elements of dance and gymnastics to encourage crowds to cheer on sports teams. ...

 4/4 > > Clap: | X X X X X | X X X X 0 X X || 

Bar line

The end of a measure is marked with a vertical line. Two vertical lines represents the double bar line, and usually also the end bar line, though the thin and thick line variation resembling the standard notation is also used. Repeat signs also resemble the standard notation.

Time signature

The time signature is written as a fraction: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, etc. It is usually placed after the key signature. Change of time signature within the piece of music may be marked in-line or above the line of music. The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational device used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each bar and which note value (minim, crotchet, eighth note and so on) constitutes one beat. ...

Accidentals and key signature

The notation uses a movable Do(1) system. The key signature defines the pitch of "1". So "1=C" means "C major". Minor keys are based on the natural minor or the Aeolian mode, and the key signature defines the pitch of "6". So "6=C" means "C minor". Naturally, the Dorian mode of D should be marked as "2=D". Some people prefer to write "Key: C" or "Key: Cm" instead. In music and sight singing solfege is a way of assigning syllables to degrees or steps of the diatonic scale. ... In musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp symbols or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be played sharp or flat unless otherwise noted with an accidental. ... In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. ... A minor scale in musical theory can be viewed as the sixth mode of the major scale. ... The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... In music, the Dorian mode is a diatonic scale or musical mode using all notes in the major scale beginning on the note just a whole tone below it, ie a major scale starting from its second degree. ...

The same accidentals in the standard notation are used, and as in common practice, an accidental is placed before the notes "1 2 3 4 5 6 7" to raise or lower the pitch and placed after the note names "C D E F G A B", which are used for key signature and chord markings in the numbered system. An accidental is a musical notation symbol used to raise or lower the pitch of a note. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ... In music and music theory a chord (from the middle English cord, short for accord) is three or more notes sounding simultaneously, or near simultaneously over a period of time. ...

There is one caution about the use of the accidentals. In the standard notation, the C minor has flats on B, E, and A in the key signature. So when we write the harmonic minor scale, we put a natural before the B♭ for the leading note. In the numbered notation, however, the leading note is always "♯5", because the system itself does not flat the "5" note.

Tie, slur, and other marks

Ties and slurs are curves resembling that in the standard notation, although they are always written above the music line in numbered notation. Expression marks are written similarly. Special attention has to be paid on the staccato dot since it looks like the octave changer. It is either represented by a bolder dot further away from the music line or by the staccatissimo sign instead, which is a inverted triangle. In musical notation, staccato indicates that notes are sounded in a detached and distinctly separate manner with their lengths shortened; that is, a short silence should be between the notes, without affecting the rhythm. ...

Variations

In some versions of the numbered musical notation, underlines indicating note length are written above the note instead. Ties and slurs may be written below the music line.

In some versions, octave change is represented in a different way. Instead of dots above or below the numbers, a horizontal line is drawn and the number is written on, above, or below the line.

History and Usage

The invention of the system is usually attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his work presented to the French Academy of Sciences in 1742. However, due to its straightforward correspondence to the standard notation, it is possible that many other claims of independent invention are also true. Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 - July 2, 1778) was a Swiss-French philosopher, writer, political theorist, and self-taught composer of The Age of Enlightenment Biography of Rousseau The tomb of Rousseau in the crypt of the Panth on, Paris Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland... The French Academy of Sciences (Académie des sciences) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. ... Events January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ...

Although the system is used to some extent in Germany, France, and Holland, and more by the Mennonites in Russia, it has never become popular in the Western world. See the external links for more information. This article is about the region in the Netherlands. ... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ...

The system is very popular among some Asian people. Some Chinese people can sight read jianpu but not the standard notation. Some Chinese hymnals and Cantopop song books are published exclusively in jianpu. Many modern Chinese-English bilingual hymnals adds jianpu of the melody above the standard notation, and make use of it in the index for the songs. World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6,700 km, was erected beginning in the 3rd century BC to guard the north from raids by men on horses. ... See also hymn - a program to decrypt iTunes music files. ... Cantopop is a colloquial abbreviation for Cantonese pop music, a form of popular music that is a subgenre of Cpop. ... Look up Melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In music, a melody is a series of linear events or a succession, not a simultaneity as in a chord. ...

An index using the numbered notation allows us to find a song if we remember the tune but not the name. To appreciate that, we can look at an example. A children's song book may have an index like this:

 |1· 1· |1 23· | Row, row, row your boat |1 1 5 5 |6 6 5 - | Twinkle, twinkle little star |1 2 3 1 |1 2 3 1 | Frere Jacques 

Compared to the standard notation, the numbered notation is very compact for just the melody line. It is even possible to transcribe music in between the lines of text. Transcribing harmony can be done by vertically stacking the notes, but the advantage of compactness decreases as the harmony becomes more complex. Look up Melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In music, a melody is a series of linear events or a succession, not a simultaneity as in a chord. ... This article is about musical harmony. ...

Examples

The two images below illustrate how the same piece of music is written using the standard notation and the numbered notation.

The hymn "Amazing Grace" written in standard notation.

The hymn "Amazing Grace" written in numbered musical notation.

External Links

• A page in The Life and Work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (http://www.unige.ch/cite-uni/rousseau/anglais/p60a.html) shows his published work.
• Ziffersystem (Numerical Musical Notation) (http://www.mhsc.ca/encyclopedia/contents/Z544ME.html) by the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada.
• Canaan Hymnal (Simplified Chinese) (http://cannan.lingliang.org/) is an example of a Chinese hymn book written in jianpu.
• Can You Shake It? The Angklung of Southeast Asia (http://www.niu.edu/cseas/outreach/angklung.html) has examples of cipher notation used in South Asian music.
• Magith (http://www.2bhonest.com/) is a shareware to create music using numbered musical notation.
• S-Music Alpha versiion (http://www.a1soft.com/smusic.htm) is a freeware editor for simplified music notation.