There were well over 200 books of music for plucked-string instruments printed from 1500 to 1599. Most of these sources were written for the lute, vihuela, or guitar. There were also a few books for one of four lesser-known instruments: the cittern, the bandora, the mandora, and the orpharion. Almost all of these books employ a notational system called "tablature" and most were written for amateur performance at home.

Tablature Chronology--all tablatures listed in order of publishing date Composers--all composers listed alphabetically Printers--all printers listed alphabetically

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STATUS REPORT

**NOTE: There are no complete tablatures on this Web site--only incipits (the first few measures of a piece) for identification and study purposes.**

This is a work in progress--like most Web pages--but I hope to be adding more detailed information as I work through the sources . . .