Abstract This article examines the challenges of interpreting ancient musical notation and reflects on how it is displayed in modern research through the example of the Hurrian H6 tablet. Also known as the ‘Hymn to Nikkal’, this tablet is one of the oldest known examples of instructional musical notation in cuneiform. Part of a larger corpus from Ugarit, it offers insight into musical traditions, practices and cultural life during the Late Bronze Age (1595–1155 Bce). The relative completeness of H6 has drawn scholarly attention, prompting ongoing debate over tuning systems, scales and performance practices. Interpretations often rely on modern Western notation, which, while making the music accessible, can distort the original parameters of the 3000-year-old music instructions. This article proposes tablaturization as a more historically sensitive alternative. By focusing on string numbers and their relationships, this method offers a more open-ended and adaptable approach.
Dylan Lawrence Gibson (Tue,) studied this question.
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