Technology is advancing at great speed. The appropriate application of new technology as an instructional tool in education continues to be in demand. This is evident in music education, where the computer is becoming an important instructional tool through the use of traditional software design models (drill and practice, tutorials, simulation, and games). Corresponding with this growth in computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is a need to design better and more effective instructional tutorials. No longer can the design and presentation of CAI be based on intuition. Examination of the existing CAI research suggests that there are guidelines designers should take into consideration when developing instructional software programs. Informed programming decisions covering issues ranging from the use of graphics to the response time of the users can now be made based on this research. Consequently, efficient and effective CAI applications can be developed. An Introduction to Sound is a hypercard stack developed for the Apple Macintosh computer environment which has been designed with due consideration of these guidelines. The software presented is an introduction to the principles of sound and music suitable for use in conjunction with classroom teaching. The target audience is junior high school students, although the content and presentation may appeal to a much wider audience.