# Tablature · Concept

> Notation that says which strings or finger positions to play, not which pitches sound.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DEE951HKQ42/tablature  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Tablature

Concept · musicology · in 1 mystery

# Tablature

Notation that says which strings or finger positions to play, not which pitches sound.

[Hurrian songs of Ugarit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs)[2 sources]

A tablature records actions on an instrument: which string to pluck, which fret or hole to use, in what order. It does not record pitch directly, so the same tablature gives different music on a differently tuned instrument. Staff notation does the reverse and records pitches and durations. The distinction matters for the Hurrian songs of Ugarit, whose notation names pairs of strings on a nine-stringed lyre. The terms are known from Babylonian theory tablets, but the tuning, the direction of the scale and the rhythm are not, so a transcription into staff notation adds information the tablet lacks. Gibson argues that a string-number tablature is the most a reader can defend from the evidence [@gibson2025tablaturization] [@gibson2021reexamination].

## Where it comes up

**[Hurrian songs of Ugarit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs)**

The notation fixes which strings are involved and in what order, but pitch, rhythm and scale direction cannot be recovered from it, so no realization in staff notation can be shown right.

[Q: What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h)[Undetermined beyond a string tablature (Bayer, Rahn, Gibson)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX3FHRSCP/undetermined-beyond-a-string-tablature-bayer-rahn-gibson)

## Sources 2

[Rethinking ancient music interpretation through Hurrian Hymn H6: a tablaturization](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK87X6NKG/rethinking-ancient-music-interpretation-through-hurrian-hymn)

SRC

[A Re-examination of Ancient Near-Eastern Music-Theoretical Tablets and Notation; Concerning a Tablaturisation for the Hurrian H6 Cuneiform Tablet](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK8D1ARTC/a-re-examination-of-ancient-near-eastern-music-theoretical)

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Tablature [Concept CPT0DEE951HKQ42]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DEE951HKQ42
```

Key

**CPT** 0DEE951HKQ42

Record

Concept

Field

Musicology

Related

[Decipherment](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01ZWFP5/decipherment)

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[Decipherment](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01ZWFP5/decipherment)

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