A Green's function formalism for calculating spin-wave excitations is devel
oped for practical calculations and tested for real solids. The mapping to
the Heisenberg Hamiltonian commonly used in spin-wave calculations is avoid
ed, making the formalism suitable for both localized and itinerant magnetic
systems. To test. the formalism, we have calculated the spin-wave spectra
and dispersions of ferromagnetic Fe and Ni. The results prove to be in very
good agreement with experiment and some novel features are predicted.