The Music Branch is a

personnel branch Personnel branches, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), are groupings of related military occupations. Personnel branches were officially established at unification in 1968 to amalgamate the old Canadian Army corps and similar occupational groupi ...

of the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

(CAF). It is primarily composed of

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

musicians, and also deals with the selection and musical training of its recruits. The branch encompasses all the

military band A military band is 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 tit ...

s in service in the

. It is roughly the equivalent to the

Royal Corps of Army Music The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music. History The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...

(CAMUS) in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It is composed of: * 15 Voluntary bands * 6

Regular Force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, career ...

bands * 53

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

bands The members of these bands come from all over the CF, coming from units in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, and

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

. The branch controls all RCN and RCAF bands through the

Naval Operations Branch The Naval Operations Branch (french: Branche des opérations navales) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces. The branch consists of most of the seagoing occupations and trades of the Royal Canadian Navy. Members of the branch wear an embro ...

and the

Air Operations Branch The Air Operations Branch (french: links=no, Branche des opérations aériennes) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces (CF). All members of the branch wear air force uniform. Training Royal Canadian Air Force Academy The Royal Canadian Air ...

respectively. The music branch as a whole is responsible for fostering morale in the CF and providing musical support for all aspects of military life and for official military ceremonies, including

guards of honour Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for dignitaries.

Directorate of History and Heritage

The Directorate of History and Heritage is a sub-department of the Department of National Defence that is responsible to the

Chief of Military Personnel The Chief of Military Personnel (CMP) is the senior Canadian Armed Forces officer responsible for the military's human resource programs. As a " Level One" organization, the CMP reports directly to the Chief of the Defence Staff. Responsibilitie ...

(CMP) for providing personnel and technical advice regarding the Music Branch. It was founded on 1 September 1996 by merging the Canadian Forces Music Centre and the Directorate of Military Traditions and Heritage. On 1 April of the following year, the Music Centre was made part of the Directorate. The directorate has 7 sections, with the musical section making up DHH 7. Its specific roles include: *Developing and managing Music Branch policy *Evaluating musician qualification level *Provide advice and guidance on human resources including recommending the relocation of personnel and the recruitment for the Music Branch *Recommending the authorization of official music, marches and calls The DHH Music Staff is the official leadership of the DHH and the Music Branch that formulates Music Branch policy and carries out its roles. The order of precedence is as follows: *Supervisor of Music *Music Branch Chief Warrant Officer *Music Branch Chief of Staff *CF Music Branch Standards Advisor *Pipes and Drums Advisor and Standards

Master Warrant Officer Master warrant officer (MWO) is a senior military rank in the Bangladesh Armed Forces, the Canadian Forces, Singapore Armed Forces, the South African National Defence Force and the Israel Defense Forces. Bangladesh Armed Forces Bangladesh-army- ...

*Brass and Reed Standards

*Music Branch Auditions Coordinator

Military Tattoos

The Music Branch handles all CF Military Tattoos around the country, including the

Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a show inspired by Military Tattoos given by military bands and display teams. It has taken place annually in Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax since 1979. It is currently held in the Halifax Scotiabank ...

, the

Fortissimo Sunset Ceremony The Fortissimo Sunset Ceremony is an annual Canadian military music event held on the grounds of Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital of Ottawa. The ceremony is a combination of the historical Beating Retreat event which originated in the Unit ...

and the

Canadian International Military Tattoo Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

. The first tattoo to be managed by the branch was the Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo in 1967, which was the world's largest travelling show.

Traditions

March

The branch traditionally had no military marchpasts by virtue of military customs. Recently, it adopted ''Canada on the March'' by Lieutenant Colonel C. H. Jaeger as its march past.

Music Division

The Canadian Forces Logistics Training Centre Music Division is the training institution of the Music Branch that offers a curriculum of instruction to potential musicians in the CF. Part of the

Royal Canadian Logistics Service The Royal Canadian Logistics Service (RCLS, french: links=no, Service royal de la logistique du Canada) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). In April 1997, the CF Armed Forces Council decided to incorporate the Personnel Admi ...

, it is the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' successor to the

Canadian Forces School of Music The Canadian Forces School of Music, CFSM (French language: École de musique des Forces canadiennes, EMFC) was an educational institution that supported the music branch and all Canadian military bands in the Canadian Forces. It was created in ...

. It is located in Building E-51 at

CFB Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, CF ...

. It consists of a concert hall, 47 practice studios, 10 teaching studios, a library, and four classrooms.

Supervisors of Music

*Clifford Hunt (1964-1968) *Charles Villeneuve (1980-1984) *Commander George Morrison (1984-1990) *Lieutenant Colonel Gaétan Bouchard *Lieutenant Colonel W. Scott Attridgehttps://www.cfmws.com/en/AboutUs/Library/PublicationsandPresentations/SOF/Pages/Acknowledgements-and-Credits.aspx *Lieutenant Colonel Peter Chan (2017-2020) *Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gaudreau (2020–Present)

Order of precedence

External links

Canadian Forces RecruitingCanadian Forces and Department of National Defence

References

{{Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Armed Forces Military history of Canada Canadian Armed Forces personnel branches Military bands of Canada