Benjamin Cutter (Woburn, Massachusetts September 6, 1857 – Boston May 10, 1910) was an American violinist and composer.
[1] Ephraim was an elder brother of William Richard Cutter, the prominent genealogist, who was therefore Benjamin's uncle, despite being just ten years older.
[4] He was a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1881 to 1885,[5] and from 1888 was on the faculty of the New England Conservatory, where he taught violin, viola, harmony, composition, and theory.
[9] Cutter's concise textbook in harmonic analysis was intended "for those who have studied Harmony and would apply it in their every-day musical life—in other words, in their playing and in their teaching" (v).
The basic method of harmonic reduction is that "the extreme notes of the florid phrase must be brought into proper vocal compass, after which the inner parts may be added, .