Raoux was born in Montpellier; he trained there and in Paris, where he went in 1703. In 1706 he won the Prix de Rome, which allowed him to embark on a lengthly Italian stay, in Rome, Venice and Padua. Back in Paris in 1714, where he remained for the rest of his life, apart from a brief English visit in 1720, becoming a member of the French Academy in 1717. He specialized in mythological and allegorical subjects, as well as genre scenes and portraits. Like many French artists of his generation, he was strongly influenced by Dutch art, in particular the work of Godfried Schalcken.

This music-making scene echoes Dutch examples of the same date, by artists like Willem van Mieris. The work was formerly known as 'The Singing Lesson', an obviously misleading title as eighteenth-century singing teachers didn't generally wear swords to work. The harpsichord player is clearly a young gentleman and has the look, familiar from Dutch art, of the comically besotted suiter. Also familiar from Dutch art is the image of a beautifully-dressed woman with her back to the spectator.