Michel L'Affilard

Michel L'Affilard (c.1656-1708) was a French tenor and the writer of a notable book on singing.

L'Affilard sang in the choir of Louis XIV from 1683 to 1708, with a salary of 900 livres.

L'Affilard's work on sight-singing, Principes trés faciles pour bien apprendre la musique, passed through seven editions (Paris, 1691; Amsterdam, 1717).

In it, the tempo of the airs is regulated by Joseph Sauveur's pendulum, the precursor of the metronome.

The book has become an important source on music practice of the time.