I have always held and still hold the opinions advanced in this work,
and I have neglected no opportunity to impress them upon my pupils.

I may be allowed to mention here, with some satisfaction, my daughters
Clara and Marie; and, among numerous other pupils, I speak with equal
pleasure of the estimable Herr Waldemar Heller, of Dresden, and Prof.
E.F. Wenzel, of Leipzig. I have always enjoyed their affection and
gratitude, and I feel a pride that they continue to defend and to teach
the principles which they have received from me.

This is not the first time that I have appeared as an author. The
"Signale für die musikalische Welt," as well as the "Neue Zeitschrift
für Musik," have published numerous essays from my pen under various
titles. The approval which they met with, at the time of their
appearance, has induced me to undertake this larger work. Several of
those earlier writings are included in this book, but in a partially
altered form. The frequently recurring character, the teacher Dominie,
originated with these essays; I need hardly say that he represents my
humble self. Those who are otherwise unacquainted with me will through
him understand my character, and will moreover see that a man of such
caustic brevity can be, by no means, a master of polished style. May
this last acknowledgment appease all those critics whose hair is made to
stand on end by my inelegant mode of writing. I will make no further
apology for my style. I have often availed myself of the dialogue form,
because it was conducive to brevity; not less frequently I have made use
of the form of the epistle and of personal discourse, as being more
congenial to my individual manner than that of a serious treatise. I
have also undertaken to say something about singing! A piano-teacher, if
he is possessed of mind and talent, as I suppose him to be, whether he