Proofread Musical Notation š¼ with _PÄ«nyÄ«n_ Lyrics Available for the Concluding Song for Mandarin 2026 Conventions (proofread, mobile-friendly, "flashcards" with English meanings, Simp. & Trad. characters, etc., zip file for offline use…) troubadourworks.com/tiandi/sj...
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) May 25, 2026 at 4:36 PM
[image or embed]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
How can we talk about and show empathy in the Mandarin field?
This week’s MEotW in the unofficial PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus resource “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (PÄ«nyÄ«n+Music, PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus, Web)
A screenshot from an official video, of Sis. Margarita Kƶniger and others using official Pīnyīn Sing to Jehovah songbooks with musical notation
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
Proofread _PÄ«nyÄ«n_ Plus Lyrics Available for the Concluding Song for Mandarin 2026 Conventions (proofread, mobile-friendly, adjustable text size, zip file for offline use…) troubadourworks.com/tiandi/sj...
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) April 18, 2026 at 8:05 PM
[image or embed]
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Thankfully, an official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file (2020 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation š¼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 161, which are available in the Mandarin 2025 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing of the current songbook.
While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.
Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation š¼) can in certain situations force the PÄ«nyÄ«n text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people. (This relegation of PÄ«nyÄ«n to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that PÄ«nyÄ«n can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)
Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.
The official PÄ«nyÄ«n “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation š¼ together with PÄ«nyÄ«n, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the PÄ«nyÄ«n.
Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2025 conventions, in the forms of proofread musical notation š¼ with PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics and proofread PÄ«nyÄ«n web material (more correct than computer-generated PÄ«nyÄ«n like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better, have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:
Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad š±. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.
Scheduling notes:
The PÄ«nyÄ«n songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones š± running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:
The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use PÄ«nyÄ«n as a writing system on its own.
In the material with musical notation š¼ in the above resource, expressions in the PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics do not trigger a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation š¼. As time allows, links will be added to PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics in the material with musical notation š¼. Each of these links will cause a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.
Previously, musical notation š¼ in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that š), though, that the musical notation š¼ for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation š¼ produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones š±.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Thankfully, an official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file (2020 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation š¼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 161, which are available in the Mandarin 2025 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing of the current songbook.
While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.
Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation š¼) can in certain situations force the PÄ«nyÄ«n text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people. (This relegation of PÄ«nyÄ«n to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that PÄ«nyÄ«n can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)
Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.
The official PÄ«nyÄ«n “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation š¼ together with PÄ«nyÄ«n, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the PÄ«nyÄ«n.
The following resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges is available, and it now matches the current 2025-03 Printing of the Mandarin version of the “Sing Out Joyfully” book:
Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad š±. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.
Scheduling notes:
The PÄ«nyÄ«n songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones š± running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:
The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use PÄ«nyÄ«n as a writing system on its own.
In the material with musical notation š¼ in the above resource, expressions in the PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics do not trigger a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation š¼. As time allows, links will be added to PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics in the material with musical notation š¼. Each of these links will cause a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.
Previously, musical notation š¼ in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that š), though, that the musical notation š¼ for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation š¼ produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones š±.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Thankfully, an official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file (2020 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation š¼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 161, which are available in the Mandarin 2025 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing of the current songbook.
While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.
Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation š¼) can in certain situations force the PÄ«nyÄ«n text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people. (This relegation of PÄ«nyÄ«n to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that PÄ«nyÄ«n can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)
Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.
The official PÄ«nyÄ«n “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation š¼ together with PÄ«nyÄ«n, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the PÄ«nyÄ«n.
Unofficial language-learning material for all the songs for Mandarin 2025 conventions, in the forms of proofread PÄ«nyÄ«n web material (more correct than computer-generated PÄ«nyÄ«n like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better (including much proofread musical notation š¼ with PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics), have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:
Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad š±. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.
Scheduling notes:
The PÄ«nyÄ«n songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones š± running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:
The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use PÄ«nyÄ«n as a writing system on its own.
In the material with musical notation š¼ in the above resource, expressions in the PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics do not trigger a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation š¼. As time allows, links will be added to PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics in the material with musical notation š¼. Each of these links will cause a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.
Previously, musical notation š¼ in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that š), though, that the musical notation š¼ for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation š¼ produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones š±.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
Proofread Musical Notation š¼ with _PÄ«nyÄ«n_ Lyrics Available for the Concluding Song for Mandarin 2025 Conventions (proofread, mobile-friendly, adjustable text size, zip file for offline use…) https://troubadourworks.com/tiandi/sjj/Pinyin_Plus/
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) Apr 19, 2025 at 6:36 a.m.
[image or embed]
Proofread _PÄ«nyÄ«n_ Plus Lyrics Available for the Concluding Song for the Mandarin 2025 Convention (proofread, mobile-friendly, adjustable text size, zip file for offline use…) https://troubadourworks.com/tiandi/sjj/Pinyin_Plus/
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 12:48 AM
[image or embed]
A _PÄ«nyÄ«n_ calligraphy time-lapse video has been added to the MEotW post on “_ÄnnĆ _”. https://t.co/faHpcNbUEj pic.twitter.com/Hi5Jba5KFX
— tiandi, Links News (@TiandiLinksNews) July 11, 2024
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
How important is talent with music or languages when it comes to learning Mandarin? What else is important for learning Mandarin?
The 2024 convention song “‘HĒo XiÄoxi’!” (music+PÄ«nyÄ«n), on an iPhone (landscape orientation)
Chart showing the relative changes in pitch for the four tones of Mandarin Chinese
Wereon
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Thankfully, an official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is now available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file (2020 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation š¼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 158, which were added in the Mandarin 2024 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing.
While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.
Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation š¼) can in certain situations force the PÄ«nyÄ«n text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people. (This relegation of PÄ«nyÄ«n to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that PÄ«nyÄ«n can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)
Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.
The official PÄ«nyÄ«n “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation š¼ together with PÄ«nyÄ«n, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the PÄ«nyÄ«n.
Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2024 conventions, in the forms of proofread musical notation š¼ with PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics and proofread PÄ«nyÄ«n web material (more correct than computer-generated PÄ«nyÄ«n like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better, have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:
Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad š±. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.
Scheduling notes:
The PÄ«nyÄ«n songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones š± running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:
The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use PÄ«nyÄ«n as a writing system on its own.
In the material with musical notation š¼ in the above resource, expressions in the PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics do not trigger a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation š¼. As time allows, links will be added to PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics in the material with musical notation š¼. Each of these links will cause a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.
Previously, musical notation š¼ in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that š), though, that the musical notation š¼ for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation š¼ produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones š±.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
What myths and misinformation about Chinese characters should Mandarin field language learners be wary of?
Screenshots from the English and Mandarin versions of the video “Protect Yourself From Misinformation”
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Thankfully, an official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is now available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file (2020 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation š¼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 158, which were added in the Mandarin 2024 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing.
While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.
Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation š¼) can in certain situations force the PÄ«nyÄ«n text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people. (This relegation of PÄ«nyÄ«n to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that PÄ«nyÄ«n can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)
Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.
The official PÄ«nyÄ«n “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation š¼ together with PÄ«nyÄ«n, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the PÄ«nyÄ«n.
Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2024 conventions, in the forms of proofread PÄ«nyÄ«n web material (more correct than computer-generated PÄ«nyÄ«n like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better (including much proofread musical notation š¼ with PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics), have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:
Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad š±. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.
Scheduling notes:
The PÄ«nyÄ«n songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones š± running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:
The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use PÄ«nyÄ«n as a writing system on its own.
In the material with musical notation š¼ in the above resource, expressions in the PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics do not trigger a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation š¼. As time allows, links will be added to PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics in the material with musical notation š¼. Each of these links will cause a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.
Previously, musical notation š¼ in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that š), though, that the musical notation š¼ for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation š¼ produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones š±.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
What can help us to sing like the angels at Mandarin meetings, conventions, etc.?
The 2024 convention song “‘HĒo XiÄoxi’!” (music+PÄ«nyÄ«n), on an iPhone (landscape orientation)
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Thankfully, an official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is now available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official PÄ«nyÄ«n PDF file (2020 NiĆ”n 3 YuĆØ Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation š¼.
While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.
Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation š¼) can in certain situations force the PÄ«nyÄ«n text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people.
Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.
The official PÄ«nyÄ«n “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) web material that is now available on jw.org and on the WOL addresses some of the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation š¼ together with PÄ«nyÄ«n, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the PÄ«nyÄ«n.
Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2023 conventions (including the concluding song), in the forms of proofread musical notation š¼ with PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics and proofread PÄ«nyÄ«n web material (more correct than computer-generated PÄ«nyÄ«n like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better, have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:
Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad š±. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.
Scheduling notes:
The PÄ«nyÄ«n songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones š± running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:
The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use PÄ«nyÄ«n as a writing system on its own.
In the material with musical notation š¼ in the above resource, expressions in the PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics do not trigger a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation š¼. As time allows, links will be added to PÄ«nyÄ«n lyrics in the material with musical notation š¼. Each of these links will cause a PÄ«nyÄ«n Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.
Previously, musical notation š¼ in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that š), though, that the musical notation š¼ for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation š¼ produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones š±.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
