It’s one of those things that weren’t invented in China but took off in China: 简谱 is a way of writing down music using numbers and dots and dashes. It was invented because the standard notation can be difficult to read, especially to beginners:
But this is (arguably) more accessible:
Wikipedia (en, zh) says this notation was invented in France in the 1700s and came to China by way of Germany and Japan in the early 1900s. I haven’t seen it used anywhere outside of China, though — which is a shame, because it’s such a handy tool.
The Notes
简谱 uses the numbers 1 through 7 to denote the seven notes on a major scale — that is, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si (ti) — and uses a 0 to denote a pause. Very often, this translates to 1 = C, 2 = D, …, 6 = A, 7 = B.
Notes that go beyond an octave are written with a dot above or below. Sharp and flat notes use the standard sharp and flat signs:
Some people prefer a moveable-do notation, which means “1” could become any of the 12 notes in an octave, and a major scale is built on top of it. This is noted at the beginning of the staff:
Some people use (e.g.) “6 = A” to denote the tune is intended to be in (e.g.) A minor.
The Rhythms
A bar extends the previous note by an extra beat:
An underscore halves a note’s length, and a dot extends it by a half:
Other notations can be borrowed from the standard musical staff (grace notes, time signatures, etc.)
Pros and Cons
Look, you’re not going to be able to write symphonies with this numbered notation. It’s more useful for jotting down a melody; even harmonies start to look complicated in this notation, let alone a full score of multiple instruments.
On the other hand, when was the last time a normal person needed to write down anything more than a melody? Without having to draw circles on five parallel lines, 简谱 makes it easy to quickly write down that tune in your head that won’t go away.
Speaking of which… can you identify this tune for me? I haven’t had much luck with Shazam and SoundHound:
D. R. Whispers 