崑曲工尺譜有兩個系統，一是文人按字聲腔格嚴加考訂而製作的清唱曲譜，只錄曲文不載說白科介，現存清代乾隆五十四年 (1789) 馮起鳳刻印的《吟香堂牡丹亭曲譜》54齣，還有乾隆五十七年 (1792) 葉堂刻印的《納書楹牡丹亭全譜》53齣，在節拍處理上只點板式不點小眼，便於唱家在旋律上靈活發揮。另一個系統是民間崑班藝人結合舞臺演出的實踐而製作的臺本曲譜，現存清代末年蘇州「大雅班」藝人殷溎深世代相傳而遺存的《牡丹亭曲譜》16齣，曲白、科介俱全，1921年由上海朝記書莊石印出版。經過相互比勘，《納書楹》唱譜較為接近於藝人的俗本，至今仍有實用價值。而殷溎深傳承的《牡丹亭曲譜》反映了梨園演唱本（臺本）的實際情況，其記譜功能已臻完善，在節拍處理上不僅板式齊全，且已點出小眼，起到了定腔定譜的作用。 經過與《納書楹曲譜》的縱向聯繫，與《遏雲閣曲譜》的橫向比較，可以看出《牡丹亭曲譜》反映了藝人臺本的創造性，藝人從舞臺效果出發，對《牡丹亭》原著有一些加工潤色的折目，如〈堆花〉、〈道場〉等，是藝人增飾出來的，又如〈尋夢〉、〈離魂〉、〈叫畫〉等，則對原著的套曲進行了精簡和刪節，這顯示了藝人二度創作的高度成就。 由此可見，明請以來崑曲的訂譜工作並沒有鐵板一塊地訂死，在曲調旋律上還是有發展變化的。

There are two systems of musical scores in Kun opera. One system is the literati tradition which rigorously matches musical notation to the sound and tone of each character to produce scores for “pure-singing” scripts. These scripts record only the arias and not the dialogue or action. Surviving examples for The Peony Pavilion include Feng Qifeng’s 9 woodblock printed edition, The Intoning Fragrance Hall Musical Score of the Peony Pavilion(Yin Xiangtang Mudanting Qupu) in scenes, and Ye Tang’s 9 woodblock printed edition, The Complete Musical Scores of the Pony Pavilion for the Bookcase (Nashuying Mudanting Quanpu) in scenes. These scores denote only the rhythmic downbeats and not the weak beats, thereby facilitating melodic improvisation by knowledgeable amateurs. The second system consists of the scores for performance scripts, which are based upon the stage wisdom accumulated by the commercial Kun opera actors. One surviving example includes The Musical Scores of Peony Pavilion (Mudanting Qupu) in scenes, which was transmitted down over multiple generations of performers and preserved by the actor Yin Guishen, a performer with the late-Qing Suzhou ensemble, “Great Elegance Troupe” (Daya ban). These scores, which include full notation of arias, dialogue, and stage directions, were published in 9 by Shanghai Chaoji Bookstore in lithograph edition. When compared with other editions, the Nashuying scores come relatively close to performance practice, and to this day still have considerable practical use. And yet, the scores transmitted by Yin Guishen in The Musical Scores of Peony Pavilion reflect the actual circumstances of commercial performance (stage editions); the scores for these scripts are complete, including full rhythmic and melodic notation of the downbeats as well as the upbeats-thus providing a complete guide to singing and performance. By comparing the Nashuying Musical Scores with The Eyunge Musical Scores (Eyunge Qupu), we can see that The Musical Scores of Peony Pavilion edition reflects the creative processes of on-stage performance, informed by what works in performance. These scripts capture actors’ adaptations of certain scenes from the original Peony Pavilion such as addition and embellishments in the scenes “Heaped Blossoms” (Dui hua) and “The Daoist Ceremony” (Dao chang), or abridgments and cuts in the song suites of the scenes “Pursuing the Dream” (Xun meng) “the Soul’ s Departure” (Li hun), and “Calling the Portrait” (Jiao hua), all of which are an expression of the high achievements of performers’ additional creative process (erdu chuangzuo). From all of this, we can see that, ever since Ming times, the practices of fixing musical scores for Kun opera have never been set in stone. Rather, musical melody has undergone a process of development and change in light of this tradition.