Tablature
Lines and numbers show where the fingers go, not which pitch sounds
Related
Tablature does not write pitches directly; it writes what the hand does. Lines usually stand for strings, and the letters or numbers on them give frets; wind instruments have comparable hole diagrams. Renaissance lute books used letters, modern guitar TAB uses numbers, but the idea is the same.
It removes the work of deciding which string carries a pitch: read the sign and place the finger. The cost is that one pitch has several positions, so the notation depends on tuning and instrument, and early sources often leave rhythm unmarked.
Guitar music today often prints TAB beneath the staff: the staff carries pitch and rhythm, TAB carries position. Calling TAB a simplified staff is a common mistake; it records actions, not scale-degree relationships.
Sources
- 指法谱的弦线记法与历史形态，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Tablature"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.