Definition of "tablature" [tab•la•ture]

• An engraved tablet or surface. (noun)
• Music A system of notation using letters, symbols, or other visual cues instead of standard notation to indicate how a musical piece is to be played. For example, guitar or banjo tablature typically consists of a diagram of the strings with finger positions indicated by numerals corresponding to the appropriate frets. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You put mp3s into the device via SD card, the songs are converted into guitar tablature, and the tablature is projected, with laser lights, onto the guitar fretboard as you play."
• "We might have a chord chart if there are tough chords, or if there is one really hard line I might jot it down in banjo tablature, which is a number system that I read."
• "As fans left the club they were offered a chance to buy Thompson's songbook, complete with guitar tablature to help them sound just like their hero."