Against The Wind

Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches.

Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as guitar as well as many free reed aerophones such as the harmonica. Tablature is commonly used in notating rock, pop, folk, ragtime and blues music, and was common during Renaissance and Baroque eras.

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

To distinguish standard musical notation from tablature in the context of the latter, the former is usually called "staff notation" or just "notation".

An alternate usage of the word "tab" is common on the internet, where it can also refer to conventional chord symbols (for harmony), or note names (for melody).

Tablature is more easily read by a novice musician than Standard Notation; all one needs to do is tune the instrument, place one's fingers on the indicated string and fret, and observe the duration flags. During the Renaissance, Tablature was used by professionals and amateurs alike to set down music for lute, cittern, bandora, orpharion, four- and five-course early guitar, and viols de gamba. Repertoire for lute began to change during the 1700s; use of the lute in orchestras as basso continuo obliged lutenists to work from parts written in staff notation for harpsichords and harps. Tabulature continued to be used for solo lute and guitar works, but eventually lost popularity and nearly died out, remaining in informal use amongst amateurs, aficionados and within folk idioms such as flamenco.

Victorian era musicologists had a quandary when it came to publishing scholarly editions; players of the original instruments were uncommon, while most musicologists do play piano. Editions prior to the Early Music movement presented the music transcribed for guitar or piano (or both), leaving lute players at a loss for their own repertoire as it was originally published.