Corps of Army Music
Encyclopedia
The Corps of Army Music (CAMus) 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 with which it is historically affiliated. In 2006, in the wake of the Delivering Security in a Changing World
review, the regular army bands were reorganised again, with a reduction in total numbers:
The next year, the Light Division became simply The Rifles
but retained its unique band and bugles.
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 with 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 band
s, Big band
s and Fanfare trumpeters
, not just Marching band
s.
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 drummer
s, buglers and flautist
s, 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
.
and the formation of the Corps of Army Music, most regiments, especially infantry regiments, maintained their own military bands. This tradition has since passed to the Territorial Army, who maintain and operate regimental bands in the names of infantry regiments. The TA Bands are not part of the Corps of Army Music. They are still under the direct command of their parent corps or regiment.
There are currently 21 TA Military Bands located across the UK, Gibraltar and Bermuda http://www.army.mod.uk/13140.aspx:
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. These bands, like the TA bands, also have Corps of Drums, Bugle Sections and Pipes and Drums, and have connections to the various Army units and the CAMUS bands.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It was formed in 1994 as an umbrella organisation, centred on the Royal Military School of Music
Royal Military School of Music
The Royal Military School of Music in Twickenham, west London, trains musicians for the British Army's twenty-nine bands. It is part of the Corps of Army Music...
, to oversee the 29 new permanent Military Bands
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
formed following Options for Change
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....
, although each band continues to wear the capbadges and Full dress
Full dress
Full dress is a category dress codes that refers to most formal clothing available in Western society.-Civilian:For a civilian, during the Victorian and Edwardian period, this corresponded to a frock coat in the day, and white tie at night...
uniforms associated with the corps or regiment with which it is historically affiliated. In 2006, in the wake of the Delivering Security in a Changing World
Delivering Security in a Changing World
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the...
review, the regular army bands were reorganised again, with a reduction in total numbers:
- The four bands of the Royal Armoured CorpsRoyal Armoured CorpsThe Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
amalgamated into two: The Cambrai and Heavy Cavalry and the Light Cavalry. - 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 of the Scottish DivisionScottish DivisionThe Scottish Division is a British Army Infantry command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all Scottish line infantry units. The Scottish Division was formed on July 1, 1968 with the amalgamation of the Lowland Brigade and Highland Brigade...
. - The Minden Band of the Queen's DivisionQueen's DivisionThe Queen's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for has the regiments from the east of England and the remaining regiment of Fusiliers. The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counties Brigade, Fusilier Brigade and...
was retained while the Normandy Band was disbaned. - The new Band of the King's DivisionKing's DivisionThe King's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshire Brigade and North Irish Brigade...
formed by amalgamation of the Waterloo Band and the Normandy Band. - The new Band of the Prince of Wales' DivisionPrince of Wales' DivisionThe Prince of Wales's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. The Prince of Wales's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Mercian Brigade, Welsh Brigade and Wessex Brigade...
formed by amalgamation of the Clive Band and the Lucknow Band.
The next year, the Light Division became simply The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
but retained its unique band and bugles.
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
Army Medical Services
The Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army...
. 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
Guards Division
The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Regiment.-Introduction:...
are all based in central London and carry out State Duties
Public duties
Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role.-Germany:...
along with the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
Band and have 49 musicians. Both the Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry
Household Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
(Life Guards
Life Guards (British Army)
The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army and with the Blues and Royals, they make up the Household Cavalry.They originated in the four troops of Horse Guards raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards which were raised some...
and Blues and Royals
Blues and Royals
The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal...
) 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
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
including; Concert band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
s, Big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s and Fanfare trumpeters
Fanfare
A Fanfare is a relatively short piece of music that is typically played by trumpets and other brass instruments often accompanied by percussion...
, not just Marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
s.
Regular Army bands
| Cavalry | Infantry | Support Arms | Services |
| Band of the Life Guards | Band of the Grenadier Guards Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards... |
Royal Artillery Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:... Band |
Band of the Royal Logistic Corps Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength... |
| Band of the Blues and Royals Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal... |
Band of the Coldstream Guards Coldstream Guards Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division.... |
Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers | Band of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from Challenger II main battle tanks and WAH64 Apache... |
| Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band | Band of the Scots Guards Scots Guards The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland... |
Band of the Royal Corps of Signals Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army... |
Band of the Adjutant General's Corps Adjutant General's Corps The Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services. As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 people... |
| Light Cavalry Band | Band of the Irish Guards Irish Guards The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities... |
Band of the Army Air Corps | |
| Band of the Welsh Guards Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order... |
|||
| Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland | |||
| Minden Band of the Queen's Division Queen's Division The Queen's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for has the regiments from the east of England and the remaining regiment of Fusiliers. The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counties Brigade, Fusilier Brigade and... |
|||
| Band of the King's Division King's Division The King's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshire Brigade and North Irish Brigade... |
|||
| Band of the Prince of Wales' Division Prince of Wales' Division The Prince of Wales's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. The Prince of Wales's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Mercian Brigade, Welsh Brigade and Wessex Brigade... |
|||
| Band and Bugles of The Rifles The Rifles The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light... |
|||
| Band of the Parachute Regiment | |||
| Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas Brigade of Gurkhas The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of... |
Corps of Drums/Pipes and Drums
In addition to the regular bands, most InfantryBritish Army Infantry
The British Army's Infantry, part of the Structure of the British Army, comprises 51 battalions of Infantry, from 19 Regiments. Of these 37 battalions are part of the 'Regular' army and the remaining 14 a part of the 'Territorial' force...
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 drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
s, buglers and flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
s, 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
Heavy weapons platoon
Heavy weapons platoon is a term from military science which refers to an infantry platoon equipped with machine guns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, flamethrowers, grenade-launchers, anti-tank weapons, and/or other portable heavy weapons.According to U.S...
, 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
Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming
The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instructions of Scottish bagpipe music to military pipers, drummers and pipe bands.-History:...
.
Territorial Army Bands
Prior to Options for ChangeOptions for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....
and the formation of the Corps of Army Music, most regiments, especially infantry regiments, maintained their own military bands. This tradition has since passed to the Territorial Army, who maintain and operate regimental bands in the names of infantry regiments. The TA Bands are not part of the Corps of Army Music. They are still under the direct command of their parent corps or regiment.
There are currently 21 TA Military Bands located across the UK, Gibraltar and Bermuda http://www.army.mod.uk/13140.aspx:
- Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of ScotlandLowland Band of the Royal Regiment of ScotlandThe Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is a Military band in the Territorial Army and one of three Military bands in the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The band is based at East Claremont Street Drill hall in Edinburgh and is administered by 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment...
- Band of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...
- Band of the Royal Regiment of FusiliersRoyal Regiment of FusiliersThe Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
- Band of the Royal Anglian RegimentRoyal Anglian RegimentThe Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
- Volunteer Band of the Royal Gibraltar RegimentRoyal Gibraltar RegimentThe Royal Gibraltar Regiment is the home defence unit for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It was formed in 1958 from the Gibraltar Defence Force as an infantry unit, with an integrated artillery troop.-Formation:...
- Band of The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
- Band of the Royal WelshRoyal WelshThe Royal Welsh was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. It is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army, and the regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry.-Formation:The...
- Band of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army. It recruits throughout the North West of England...
- Band of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th & 33rd/76th Foot)Yorkshire RegimentThe Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...
- Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
- The Band of The Mercian Regiment
- The Salamanca Band of The RiflesThe RiflesThe Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
- The Waterloo Band of The RiflesThe RiflesThe Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
- Band of the Honourable Artillery CompanyHonourable Artillery CompanyThe Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...
- Band of the 150th (Yorkshire) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic CorpsRoyal Logistic CorpsThe Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
- Regimental Band (Inns of Court and City YeomanryInns of Court and City YeomanryKnown by its new title since 2009, the Inns of Court & City and Essex Yeomanry is a Royal Signals squadron in the British Territorial Army with its headquarters in Chancery Lane, London...
) of the Royal YeomanryRoyal YeomanryThe Royal Yeomanry is an armoured regiment of the Territorial Army consisting of five squadrons and a military band:*A Squadron *B Squadron... - Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band
- The Nottingham Band of the Royal EngineersRoyal EngineersThe Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
- The (Northern) Band of the Royal Corps of SignalsRoyal Corps of SignalsThe Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
- Band of the Army Medical ServicesArmy Medical ServicesThe Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army...
- Band of the Bermuda RegimentBermuda RegimentThe Bermuda Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed by the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally voluntary units, the all white Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps and the mostly black Bermuda Militia...
There are also several TA Bands that are privately sponsored within the army.
There are also several bands in the Army Cadet Force
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...
, including The Cassino Band of Northumbria Army Cadet Force
The Cassino Band of Northumbria Army Cadet Force
The Cassino Band of Northumbria Army Cadet Force is a Cadet-Youth Band.The band was formed in 2000, by George Morrison and Consisted of Cadets from various cadet detachment in Northumbria ACF's catchment area. As with all infantry bands, the Cassino Band takes its name from a battle honour...
and The Borneo Band of Durham Army Cadet Force. These bands, like the TA bands, also have Corps of Drums, Bugle Sections and Pipes and Drums, and have connections to the various Army units and the CAMUS bands.
Order of precedence
See also
- Royal Marines Band ServiceRoyal Marines Band ServiceThe Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy. It currently consists of five Bands and its headquarters is the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson in Portsmouth dockyard.-History:...
- RAF Music ServicesRAF Music ServicesRoyal Air Force Music Services is based at RAF Northolt and RAF Cranwell, and forms the central administration of one hundred and seventy musicians divided between the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, The Band of the Royal Air Force College, The Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment and...
- List of Marches of the British Armed Forces
External links
- Corps of Army Music 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