A system of musical notation tailored to a particular instrument or group of instruments and indicating the keys, frets, etc to be used rather than the pitch to be sounded. German organ tablature used mainly letters in conjunction with rhythmic signs; lute tablatures used letters or numerals on lines representing the strings of the instrument. The only instruments for which tablature is normally used today are the ukulele and the guitar: the notation conveys a diagrammatic indication of finger-placings.
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). (In the context of guitar tab, standard (5-line) musical notation is usually called 'staff notation' - even though tab is also written on a staff - or just 'notation').
Moreover, both of these words are relatively long and are frequently changed to brief "tab" in casual speech. "guitar tab", "bass tab", "organ tab") when required. (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. 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 specialized computer programs.
Concepts
While standard musical notation represents the rhythm and duration of each note and its pitch relative to the scale based on a twelve tone division of the octave, tablature is instead operationally based, indicating where and when a finger should be depressed to generate a note, so pitch is denoted implicitly rather than explicitly. The rhythmic symbols of tablature tell when to start a note, but often there is no indication of when to stop sounding it, so duration is at the discretion of the performer to a greater extent than is the case in conventional musical notation. Tablature for plucked strings is based upon a diagrammatic representation of the strings and frets of the instrument, keyboard tablature represents the keys of the instrument, and recorder tablature shows whether each of the fingerholes is to be closed or left open.
Harmonica tab
The harmonica tab was basically a 1-to-1 mapping of the notes to the corresponding hole, and thus, is a type of numbered musical notation. For each note, it will indicate the number of the hole to play, direction of breathing (in or out), and even either bending (usually for diatonic) or "slide-in" (usually for chromatic)
One methodology for indicating direction of breath is by showing the direction of arrow; However, the more popular method would be to use a slightly simplified notations, such as "o" for whole note, // for half notes, "/" for quarter notes, "."
For chord, they will simply show the numbers to play, so for example:
a C major (CEG) chord (on a C diatonic): 456eHowever, they may simplify it, especially when playing blues. For chords, it was common to just play three or two holes instead (sometimes even just one), especially when the instrument is not of the same key. D7 chord (D-F#-A-C): 4i (D) or 4e (C)
Guitar tab
Like standard notation, guitar tab consists of a series of horizontal lines forming a staff (or stave). Each line represents one of the instrument's strings, so guitar tab has a six-line staff, and bass guitar tab has four lines. Those new to tablatures may, if not told otherwise, initially be confused at the order in which the strings are written; Thus, when tablature is written with the thickest string on the bottom, it makes for simple and consistent playing of the guitar while reading tab at the same time.
Numbers are written on the lines also, where each number represents a fret on the instrument.
For chords, a letter above or below the tab staff denotes the root note of the chord.
Examples of Guitar Tab Notation:
The chords E, F, and G: e|---0---1---3--- B|---0---1---3--- G|---1---2---0--- D|---2---3---0--- A|---2---3---2--- E|---0---1---3--- E F G Excerpt from "Happy Birthday": e|------------------------------------------------------------------------ B|------------------------------------------------------0----------------- G|------------------2-----1-----------------------------1-----2----------- D|2---2-4-----2-----4-----2-----------2---2-4-----2----------------------- A|0---0-0-----0-----------------------------------------------0----------- E|------------------------------0-----0---0-0-----0-----------------------...While guitar tab is reasonably standardized, different sheet music publishers adopt different conventions for how to write various things.
The most common form of lute tablature uses the same concept but differs in the details (e.g. standard staff notation
Tab has some advantages over staff notation. On the other hand, classical guitar music usually uses staff notation for its precision on timing and rhythm.
Advantages
Direct visual representation. Since tab is a direct visual representation of the instrument's fretboard, it can often be easier and quicker for the player to interpret. Like painting by numbers, musicians learning to play the guitar or lute often find tab easier to read, because it does not require any training for one to be able to read tab.
In the same vein, some players prefer tab because the guitar and lute, like the piano, are 'harmonic' instruments, meaning that multiple notes are played at once; yet there is more complexity to producing a particular pitch than is the case with the piano: to produce, say, note C5 (the C an octave above middle C), a pianist simply presses the C5 key, while a guitarist must select the second string, press the string down against the first fret with the left hand, and simultaneously pluck or pick the string with the right hand (or vice versa for a left-handed individual). An additional potential source of confusion is that many of the notes within the range of a plucked string instrument can be played on several different strings, so for example the note C5 discussed above could also be played on the third string at the fifth fret or on the fourth string at the tenth fret. These complexities make the relation between staff notation and playing technique less direct in the case of fretted instruments than in the case of a piano. While staff notation needs to remove the string/fret ambiguity by further indicating the position of fret (usually with Roman numerals), tab does not contain this ambiguity at all.
Simple typewriter-font representation. Another advantage of tab over staff notation is that tab can easily be represented as ASCII tab - a plain-text computer file, using numbers, letters and symbols to construct a crude representation of tab. it is now possible to find free tablatures for virtually any popular music on the Internet, although a considerable amount of those tabs may be illegal. (Legal Issue below.)
Disadvantages
Instrument-specific. Tablature is instrument-specific, while staff notation is generic. This limitation means that only a guitarist can read guitar tab, while music written in staff notation can be played by any suitable instrument. Beside this, it also prevents the guitarist from playing pieces that are composed for other instruments (because most of them are written in staff notation). In contrast, a guitarist who reads staff notation can understand those pieces, make necessary adjustment and play them on guitar.
More difficult to read without playing. In a similar vein, since tab notation effectively gives instructions on how to play notes rather than information on how the notes will sound, it can be very difficult to get a feel of the music simply by studying the page without playing it through;
Lack of timing information. Another limitation of tab is the lack of accurate information on rhythm and timing. For pop/rock guitarists, it may not be a great problem as they often learn a piece by listening to the recording of the music to get the 'feel' before consulting the tab for instructions on how to play. Other pop/rock guitarists may read tab and staff notation in tandem to acquire information of rhythm and timing. (Power Tab Editor and TablEdit Tablature Editor are examples of tandem tab and staff notation.) Rhythm is sometimes also indicated by notes or note stems written above the tab staff. This is always done in lute tablature, and sometimes in guitar tab, particularly if there is no accompanying notation staff.
For classical guitar, however, tab is too dysfunctional to be used for most pieces above intermediate level, simply because of its inaccuracy on rhythm.
Simplistic. The largest disadvantage may be that solely using tablature can keep an individual from focusing on music theory, which derives from a knowledge of the notes themselves, not a recognized predetermined position for playing notes or chords. People who have only learned from tab have a tendency to noodle around trying to find the sound they're looking for, rather than recognizing the potential of the notes within the key they find themselves in.
Lute tablature
Lute tablature is conceptually similar to guitar tablature, but comes in at least three different varieties. In this style the strings are represented by the spaces on the staff (rather than the lines on the staff, as for guitar tablature), and the stops are indicated by lowercase letters of the alphabet (rather than numbers), with the letter 'a' indicating an open string and the 'j' skipped (as it was not originally a separate letter from 'i'). However, stops for the first course are shown immediately above the top line, and stops for any courses beyond the sixth are shown below the bottom line, with short horizontal strokes to extend the staff similar to the way very low notes are shown in regular musical notation.
Lute tablature provides flags above the staff to show the rhythms, often only providing a flag when the length of the beat changes, as shown in the example. (Notice that this piece begins with a half measure.)
Other variants of lute tablature use numbers rather than letters, write the stops on the lines rather than in the spaces, or even invert the entire staff so that the lowest notest are on top and the highest are at the bottom.
As with guitar, various different lute tunings may be used, all written using the same tablature method. A guitar can often be played off lute tablature by tuning the g string down to an f# and putting a capo at the third fret to preserve the original pitch.
In standard Baroque lute tabulature, each staff has six lines, representing the FIRST six courses.
F____________________ D____________________ A____________________ F____________________ D____________________ A____________________Lower case letters or "glyphs"are placed on each of these lines to represent notes. For a note with the finger on the first fret a "b", a note on the second fret a "c", etc.. So:
F_____c___ D_____a___ A_____b___ F_____c___ D_____a___ A_____b___ G - awould represent a G-minor chord,
All open strings would represent a D-minor chord:
F______a________ D______a________ A______a________ F______a________ D______a________ A______a________ D- ///aThe strings below the 6th course are notated with additional short "ledger" lines: glyphs are placed below the staff. These courses are tuned in accordance with the key of each piece played:
G- a F- /a E- //a D- ///a C- 4 B- 5 A- 6The rhythm is notated in a fairly straightforward manner: It is represented by headless note-stems with tails [stylized similarly but some regional variations (in spite of some variety the confusion is rare)], with the exception of whole and half notes, whereas it would be essential to use heads.
German lute tablature
The origins of German lute tablature can be traced back well into the 15th century. first course first fret is letter a, second course first fret is letter b, third course first fret is c, fourth course first fret is d, fifth course first fret is e, first course second fret is f, second course second fret is g and so on.
Examples:
French Italian German -r- --- k -d- --- o -d- = -0- = n -a- -3- 2 --- -3- --- -2-Musette tablature
Borjon de Scellery's Traité de la musette includes pieces for musette de cour in both standard notation and tablature, plus a partial explanation of his system.
The numbers refer to the keys on the instrument, and are shown on a five-line stave so that they also correspond with standard notation.
The standard notation shown in the illustration is also taken from de Scellery;
Computer programs for writing tablature
Various computer programs are available for writing tablature - see Scorewriter, Fronimo, Django. Some are solely for tablature, while others also write lyrics, guitar chord diagrams, chord symbols and/or staff notation (Power Tab, Guitar Pro or TablEdit).
The business model that many Internet tablature sites follow is based on the supply of free goods. The legality of free Internet tablature served by tablature websites is still in dispute largely because websites have thus far only been threatened with legal action;
The Music Publishers' Association (MPA) has recently taken the position that distributing free tablature online is illegal and is pushing to shut down websites that offer free tablature. Several websites that offer free tablature have already taken their tablature offline until a solution or compromise is found.
As of Monday December 12, 2005, tabs of copyrighted music were considered illegal by the music industry, and numerous prominent sites providing tabs, such as Mxtabs.net, had closed down. They say that Mxtabs has accounted for as much as $3000 a month in sheet music sales, and offers many tabs that do not have equivalent sheet music published, so Mxtabs and similar sites are the only place that musicians can find a way to play these songs. The letter concludes by pointing out that tabs have never been proven to be illegal, then requesting that sheet music companies contact Mxtabs in order to create a system of tab licensing.
On July 17, 2006, Guitar Tab Universe (GTU) posted a letter on its homepage that its ISP had been jointly threatened with legal action by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and the MPA "on the basis that sharing tablature constitutes copyright infringement" . MuSATO argues that Internet guitar tablature does not inifringe upon publishers' copyrights because it does not come from pre-existing printed resources and are not entirely accurate representations of songs. Furthermore, Internet guitar tablature enables an educational relationship between music student (the one who downloads tabs) and music teacher (the one who created the tab). Guitar tab websites foster this educational relationship by making this tablature freely available to the public. A copy of the certified letter received by the site owner, along with a brief note similar to the one posted on Mxtabs from the site owner, has been posted on the website.
The tablature debate was featured on NPR's Morning Edition in a segment entitled "Music Industry Goes After Guitar Tablature Websites" on August 7, 2006.
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