Command Conduct

After a minimum of 12 months as a trained musician (M3), you may request to become a candidate for promotion and sit a further musical examination to gain the M2 qualification.

If you are successful and are considered to be suitable for promotion you would in time be selected for a Junior Command Course at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) Lympstone. At this stage musical ability is only one half of the picture - leadership qualities are also needed by a Corporal and, if you demonstrated these on the course, you could be promoted to Band Corporal.

A similar process applies to promotion to Band Sergeant. Firstly comes a Senior Command Course at CTCRM, then twelve weeks are spent in the classroom at the School of Music, upgrading your specialist music ability to qualify for M1. If successful at this you would, after a time, be promoted to Sergeant. If you performed exceptionally well on the M1course and had the neccessary GCSEs you might even be selected for the Bandmasters' Course before you made Sergeant.

The Bandmasters' Course involves 12 months of intensive study and continuous assessment with the subjects covered including conducting, aural, orchestration, arranging, harmony and composition, counterpoint, the elements and the theory of music, history and analysis, and viva voce. The aim is to duplicate as closely as possible the training that takes place in an ordinary musical conservatory or college of music. And although the course lasts only one year, there is a distinct advantage in having an orchestra constantly on hand to conduct. Great attention is given to the 'phrasing' and 'soul' of a conductor under training. Video is used extensively, so that a student can see in playback how his style is developing. And in the concert hall, during practice, two instructors watch a conductor's performance from different angles, ready to help and advise.

At the end of the year, all the subjects are finally assessed by examiners from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and those successful are awarded an LRSM diploma. Individuals may also take teaching diplomas - a real reflection of the quality of training.

As a rough guide, if you progressed well, you could expect to be Band Corporal at 26, a Band Sergeant at 29 and a Bandmaster at 35. Beyond that lies the opportunity to achieve a Commission - all officers in the Band Service are promoted from the ranks, because that is the only way the vital blend of musicianship and leadership can be obtained.