THIS book has been planned with a view to placing before the gen eral reader the main facts tha t will enable him to apprecia te m usic intelligently. One often hears the remark, I ’m fond of music, b ut I don ’ t understa nd it. ” The present work has been written with the idea of ena bling the non-musician to comprehend the real mea ning of the tona l art, and to familiarize himself with the value of the grea t com posers ’ works, the use of the instruments , the various m u sicalforms , anda num ber of subjects of similar importance .