To provide a background for this study, an attempt has been made to correlate the facts known about Playford's life and work. The examination of the treatise has two main objectives: 1. to give an exposition of the material presented by Playford (which includes not only theory of music with examples, but also instructions on singing and on playing the viol and the violin, as well as a number of musical compositions); and 2. wherever possible, to discover the sources used by Playford in writing the treatise.