- Listenly
- Public Library
- All Authors
- Walter Raymond Spalding
author
Walter Raymond Spalding
1865–1962
A longtime Harvard music professor, he wrote warmly and clearly about how to listen to music with more understanding. His best-known book, Music: An Art and a Language, helped generations of readers approach classical music with sharper ears and less intimidation.
1 Audiobook
Music: An Art and a Language
by Walter Raymond Spalding
About the author
Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1865, Walter Raymond Spalding became an American organist, teacher, writer, and composer whose career was closely tied to Boston and Cambridge. He studied at Harvard, later taught there, and became an important figure in the university's musical life.
Spalding is remembered especially for his work as a music educator. His books include Music: An Art and a Language and work on harmony and musical analysis, all aimed at helping students and general readers understand how music is built and why it moves us. That practical, welcoming approach is a big part of why his writing still circulates today.
He was also recognized by his peers during his lifetime, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1935. Spalding died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1962.