At the Centre for Digital Musicology at the University of Wrocław, we are beginning work on a new research initiative titled inTAB (INcomplete TABlature. Sources in European Keyboard, Lute and Guitar Music Notation (1600–1800)), dedicated to the study of early modern musical sources written in tablature notation.

The project focuses on sources originating from both ecclesiastical and secular environments and written in various tablature systems, including keyboard tablature (particularly New German tablature), French lute tablature, and Alfabeto notation associated with the Italian and Spanish traditions of plucked-string instruments. These notational systems reflect a rich and complex musical culture that circulated across Europe between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Many seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablature sources remain insufficiently catalogued and difficult to access, despite preserving unique evidence of European musical repertories, performance practices, and compositional traditions. Due to the complexity of tablature notation and the limitations of existing databases, these materials have often remained at the margins of musicological research.

One of the main goals of the inTAB project is to gather dispersed bibliographic data and improve the accessibility of these materials by supporting their future use in digital and musicological research. By preparing a preliminary bibliography and digital inventory of surviving tablature sources, the project will pay particular attention to manuscripts and prints preserved in Central European collections, especially those connected with the historical region of Silesia.

At its current stage, the inTAB project is being developed on a voluntary basis as an independent research initiative of the Centre for Digital Musicology. We welcome future cooperation and collaboration.

Project coordination:
Dr Grzegorz Joachimiak

Research collaboration:
MA Marianna Siatkowska

Support for database development:
Kinga Kępa
Wiktora Wojciechowska
Karolina Skrzypczak