🎵 Key Takeaway
Found a great ocarina tab on Pinterest, but it's just numbers like "1 2 3" with dots and lines? This is Jianpu (Numbered Musical Notation). It is widely used in Asia. 1 means Do, 2 means Re. A dot above means play it high. A line below means play it fast.
The ocarina is massively popular in Japan, Taiwan, and China.
Because of this, 80% of the best free ocarina sheet music on the internet comes from Asia. The problem? They don't use Western standard sheet music. They use numbers.
If you don't know how to read these numbers, you are locked out of thousands of amazing songs. Here is your 3-minute crash course to decode Jianpu.
The Numbers (Pitch)
Numbered notation is based on "Relative Pitch" (Solfege). If you are holding an Alto C ocarina, here is your translation key:
- 1 = Do (C)
- 2 = Re (D)
- 3 = Mi (E)
- 4 = Fa (F)
- 5 = Sol (G)
- 6 = La (A)
- 7 = Ti (B)
If you see the number 0, it means a "Rest" (Silence). Do not play anything.
The Dots (Octaves)
How do you know if you should play a Low C or a High C?
Look for the tiny dots.
- No Dot (e.g., 1): Play in the middle octave.
- Dot ABOVE the number: Play it one octave HIGHER. (A "1" with a dot on top means High C).
- Dot BELOW the number: Play it one octave LOWER. (A "6" with a dot on the bottom means Low A).
The Lines (Rhythm)
Numbers tell you what note to play. The lines tell you how fast to play it.
- Just a Number (1): A Quarter Note (1 full beat).
- A Dash after a Number (1 -): A Half Note. Hold it for 2 beats. (1 - - - means hold for 4 beats).
- One Underline (1): An Eighth Note. Play it twice as fast (half a beat).
- Two Underlines: A Sixteenth Note. Play it very fast.
Let's Practice!
Let's look at the first line of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" written in Jianpu:
1 1 | 5 5 | 6 6 | 5 - |
Translation:
- Play C (one beat)
- Play C (one beat)
- Play G (one beat)
- Play G (one beat)
- Play A (one beat)
- Play A (one beat)
- Play G and HOLD it for two beats (because of the dash).
Summary
That is it. You now know how to read Jianpu. Go search the internet for "Anime Ocarina Jianpu" and enjoy your infinite library of free sheet music.
