Is there really such a thing as Baroque music? Why is affect a central theme in the music of the Rationalism era? What market strategies did Telemann employ? What does Pythagoras have to do with music? How did Bach learn the modern concerto style? Why is the sonata a typically Italian invention and why was the suite preferred in France? What is style? How can one determine the tempo of a composition from the pre-metronome era today? Why are manners so essential in the Baroque period? This first volume of the series Basic Knowledge of Baroque Music answers core questions about instrumental music between 1680 and 1750. Fundamental information about an art form that originates from a distant time but can still deeply move us today is provided in manageable units for learners, educators, and practitioners.