This book describes how musical instruments produce their characteristic sounds. Included is a little history, copious illustrations and many biographical profiles of prominent personalities encountered along the way. The book is an expanded version of a series of articles written for the Sydney Organ Journal. It is addressed to non-specialists, musicians, music students and music lovers generally. Additional information is included in a set of appendices. A list of contents is given on the reverse page.

The author has conducted numerous investigations in both musical and physical acoustics. Until his retirement he was associate professor of physics in charge of acoustics at the University of New South Wales. He has been active as a recital organist and has conducted adult education courses in organ music. He was Chief Editor of Acoustics Australia for a number of years.