I think anything that separates guitar (ukulele) players from the rest of the music world is bad. Tablature is a certain secret code only for a guitar player. So you have guitar players who can read tablature and not music.
– Peter Bernstein
However, You Still Need to Understand TAB
With that said – Here are a few of my lessons regarding TAB.
A TAB from 1554
Orphenica Lyra by Miguel de Fuenllana (1554)
“Example of numeric vihuela tablature from the book Orphenica Lyra by Miguel de Fuenllana (1554)”
Little is known of Miguel de Fuenllana's life. It is assumed from his name that his roots lie in the municipality of Fuenllana, in the province of Ciudad Real, although he was born in Navalcarnero, Madrid. Blind from birth, he composed a Libro de música para vihuela intitulado Orphenica Lyra (Seville, 1554), dedicated to Philip II of Spain. At the arrival of Isabel de Valois, third wife of Philip II, she brought with her a group of French instrumental musicians who wished to stay in the Spanish court; Fuenllana alternated with this group and his musical works were performed together with those of foreign artists. At the death of the queen in 1568 he continued serving in the Spanish court. He died in Valladolid.
Reading Ukulele TAB - Alternate Notation
Updated: 18 Dec 2023
"TAB" or "Tablature", is an alternate form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play. TAB is sort of a secret language between guitar players and ukulele players. Although a shortcut to getting started it actually serves to alienate one from the rest of the music world.
The Trouble with TAB
Updated: 19 Jun 2021
TAB, short for tablature is a form of musical notation using numbers and letters on a staff that that corresponds to the number of strings of fretted string instrument. Theses number tell a player which fret to place their fingers on the fingerboard. TAB has a history with lute music from centuries ago and has found wide use in the music publishing industry catering to the guitarist who can?t or doesn't want to learn to read.
Fingerpicking on `Ukulele - Alternating Thumb Style
Updated: 22 Apr 2012
There are two common styles of fingerpicking on ukulele. This series of lessons explores the Alternating Thumb Style. A future series will explore the Thumb and three finger style, the traditional p i m a classical guitar style that we’ll adapt to ukulele.
