Corps of Army Music
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| British Army Arms and Services | |
The Corps of Army Music is a corps of the British Army. It was formed in 1994 as an umbrella organisation, centred on the Royal Military School of Music, to oversee the 29 new permanent Military Bands formed following Options for Change, although each band continues to wear the capbadges and Full dress uniforms associated with the corps or regiment it is historically affliliated to. In 2006, the regular army bands were reorganised again, with a reduction in total numbers:
- The four bands of the Royal Armoured Corps amalgamated into two.
- The Band of the Royal Irish Regiment disbanded from regular service.
- The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland formed by amalgamation of the Highland Band and Lowland Band.
- The new Minden Band of the Queen's Division formed by amalgamation of the Minden Band and the Normandy Band.
- The new Band of the King's Division formed by amalgamation of the Waterloo Band and the Normandy Band.
- The new Band of the Prince of Wales' Division formed by amalgamation of the Clive Band and the Lucknow Band.
At present there are 23 regular bands and the Corps employs 1,100 musicians. All bands are made up of fully trained soldiers who have to maintain annual military training and can be called upon to support the Army Medical Services. The minimum term of service is four years, and the corps promotes itself to potential employees as a good opportunity to obtain a salaried post as a musician, something which is generally hard to find, possibly before embarking on a civilian career in music. The bands of the Guards Division are all based in central London and carry out State Duties along wth the Royal Artillery Band and have 49 musicians. Both the Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry (Life Guards and Blues and Royals) have 35 musicians but also carry out State duties. The Corps and Infantry bands also all have 35 musicians each. The musicians employed in each band are highly flexible, providing an eclectic range of ensembles including; Concert bands, Big bands and Fanfare trumpeters, not just Marching bands.
Contents |
[edit] Regular Army bands
| Cavalry | Infantry | Support Arms | Services |
| Band of the Life Guards | Band of the Grenadier Guards | Royal Artillery Band | Band of the Royal Logistic Corps |
| Band of the Blues and Royals | Band of the Coldstream Guards | Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers | Band of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
| Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band | Band of the Scots Guards | Band of the Royal Corps of Signals | Band of the Adjutant General's Corps |
| Light Cavalry Band | Band of the Irish Guards | Band of the Army Air Corps | |
| Band of the Welsh Guards | |||
| Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland | |||
| Minden Band of the Queen's Division | |||
| Band of the King's Division | |||
| Band of the Prince of Wales' Division | |||
| Band and Bugles of The Rifles | |||
| Band of the Parachute Regiment | |||
| Gurkha Band |
[edit] Corps of Drums/Pipes and Drums
In addition to the regular bands, most Infantry battalions maintain their own independently administered musicians, either in the form of the Corps of Drums (for English and Welsh regiments) or the Pipes and Drums (for Scottish, Irish and Gurkha regiments). The Corps of Drums of an infantry battalion will usually feature drummers, buglers and flautists, while the Pipes and Drums will be formed of bagpipers and drummers. These bands are descended from the drummers and pipers who led infantry regiments in columns (first documented in 1854 at the Battle of Balaklava), and who used their drums or bugles to sound orders on the battlefield. Unlike the regular bands, these are first and foremost fully trained Infantry soldiers who form one of the battalion's specialist units, such as the mortar, anti-tank or machine-gun platoon. As a result they are not part of the Corps of Army Music and in the case of the Pipes and Drums, are trained by the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming.
[edit] Territorial Army Bands
Prior to Options for Change and the formation of the Corps of Army Music, most regiments, especially infantry regiments, maintained their own bands. This tradition has since passed to the Territorial Army, who maintain and operate regimental bands in the names of infantry regiments:
- Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
- Band of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)
- Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
- Band of the Royal Anglian Regiment
- Band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment
- Band of the The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
- Band of the Royal Welsh - the only all-brass band remaining within the British military
- Band of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)
- Band of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th & 33rd/76th Foot)
- Band of 51st (Scottish) Brigade
- The Staffords Band
- The Salamanca Band of The Rifles
- The Waterloo Band of The Rifles
- Band of the Honourable Artillery Company
- 150 (Northumbrian) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps Band
- Regimental Band (Inns of Court and City Yeomanry) of the Royal Yeomanry
- Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band
- Territorial Band of the Royal Engineers
- Band of the Bermuda Regiment
At the time of writing, April 2007, there are 20 official TA Bands. TA Bands have retained their independence from the Corps of Army Music and are administered by their parent regiments. There are also several TA Bands that are privately sponsored within the army. There are also several bands in the Army Cadet Force, including The Cassino Band of Northumbria Army Cadet Force and The Borneo Band of Durham Army Cadet Force.
[edit] Order of Precedence
| Preceded by: Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps |
Order of Precedence | Succeeded by: Royal Gibraltar Regiment |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Military Brass Bands
- Official site
- Royal Engineers Band
- Regimental Band of The Royal Welsh - Territorial Army band, and the only all-brass band remaining within the British military.
- www.militarytattoo.org - Information Website
