TABLATURE

Tablature (or Tabulature) is a form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play.

Tablature is mostly (but not exclusively) seen for fretted stringed instruments, in which context it is usually called tab for short (except for lute tablature). It is frequently used for the guitar, bass, lute, archlute, theorbo, angélique, mandora, gallichon, and vihuela, but in principle it can be used for any fretted instrument, including ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and viola da gamba, as well as many free reed aerophones such as the harmonica. While today tablature is commonly used in notating rock and pop music, it is often seen in folk music, and was in fact common during Renaissance and Baroque eras. (In the context of guitar tab, standard musical notation is usually called 'staff notation' — even though tab is also written on a staff — or just 'notation').

Three types of organ tablature were also used in Europe: German, Spanish and Italian. There are several types of ocarina tabulature. Harp tablature was used in Spain and Wales.

An alternate (some would say incorrect) usage of the word "tab" is common on the internet, where it refers to conventional chord symbols (for harmony), or note names (for melody).

Etymology

The word tablature originates from the Latin word tabulatura. Tabula is a table or slate, in Latin. To tabulate something means to put it into a table or chart.

Spelling

There are 2 different common spellings, with (tabulature) and without "u" (tablature). While the "tabulature" is closer to original Latin word, and thus more correct etymologically, the adapted version "tablature" seems to be more wide-spread in modern English. As of 2006, Google searches indicate that word "tablature" (~5 610 000 hits) is used 27 times more frequently than "tabulature" (~209 000 hits). "Tabulature" is considered a "classical" spelling and is commonly used in academic music circles, particularly in relation to lute tabulature, while "tablature" is often used by pop and rock musicians.

Moreover, both of these words are relatively long and are frequently changed to brief "tab" in casual speech. To be less ambiguous, it is preceded by instrument name (i.e. "guitar tab", "bass tab", "organ tab") when required.

Origin

The first known existence in Europe is around 1300. In Asia there exist much older tablature notations.

Lute tablatures were of three main varieties, French, Italian (also widely used in Spain, Bavaria and southern France), and German, detailed below. A special variety of Italian tablature called "Neapolitan" was in use in southern Italy, and a Polish variety of French tablature appears in one manuscript. French tablature gradually came to be the most widely used. Tablatures for other instruments were also used from early times on. Keyboard tablatures flourished in Germany c. 1450 - 1750 and in Spain c. 1550 - 1680. Much of the music for the lute and other historical plucked instruments during the Renaissance and Baroque eras was originally written in tablature, and many modern players of those instruments still prefer this kind of notation, often using facsimiles of the original prints or manuscripts, handwritten copies, modern editions in tablature, or printouts made with computer programs.

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