Army bands and other military ensembles can be great careers for performing musicians. Not only can they provide a steady source of employment, but a work environment with abundant musical variety. Whether you’re a jazz player wanting to play with some great musicians, or a rock musician who loves entertaining people, there’s a good chance you’ll find opportunities in a military band.
I personally spent over 7 years as a full-time musician in the Army band after auditioning for both Air Force and Navy bands. I also attended the tri-service Navy School Of Music, where many of my classmates and teachers were Marine and Navy musicians. In this article I’m going to explain the different types of U.S. military bands. I’ll share how the bands in each military branch are similar in some ways and different in other ways. I’ll share what it’s like to perform in a military band. I’ll also show you what qualifications are necessary for the various bands and how to audition for each military band branch.
Types Of Military Bands
There are 3 general types of military bands. Theses are the Premier Bands (also called Special Bands), Regional Bands, and the part-time groups which include Reserve and National Guard Bands.
The Premier bands are more elite and there are only a few of them. They employ the smallest number of musicians and are therefore the most competitive to get into. All branches of the military have premier bands.
All military branches except the Coast Guard have full-time, active duty Regional Bands (also called Fleet Bands). The Army has 20 Regional Bands and the Air Force and Marines each have 10. The Navy has 11. Together these provide lots of opportunities for musicians who want to continue to hone their skills and see the world while serving their country.
All branches except the Coast Guard have Reserve or National Guard Bands.
The Job Of A Military Musician
Officers And Enlisted Musicians
An officer’s job in a military band is to lead and conduct the band. An enlisted musician’s job is to perform on their instrument. So if your goal is to continue to perform on your instrument you’ll need to enter the military bands as an enlisted musician.
Performing In Premier Bands
A military musician in a Premier Band is a very specialized position. As a general rule they seek musicians who are really amazing at one skill rather than the most versatile musicians though there are exceptions. Your only job in this type of group is basically to play your instrument. Some of these bands do lots of traveling. Others do not.
Premier Band musicians enjoy enlistment contracts that guarantee they are not deployable outside the United States.
Members of The President’s Own and the United States Coast Guard Band are the only members of the United States Armed Forces not required to undergo basic training.
Each Premier Band is different, depending on their mission. At the bottom of this article there is a list of the Premier Bands (Special Bands) for each branch. Each has their own website where you can get additional details about each band.
Performing In Regional Bands
The first thing to understand about Regional Bands is that ultimately you will be stationed wherever your military branch needs you. Usually you can request 2-3 bands. They might send you to one of those but they might not. This is different than enlisting in a Premier Band where you audition for a specific band and location.
After attending basic training you will attend the Navy School Of Music in Virginia Beach for at least 6 months, whether you are in the Army, Navy, or Marines. The Air Force does not sent band members to the school. Personally I had a blast at the School Of Music! Basically I was paid to take private drum lessons, rehearse with military bands, study music theory, and practice my instrument all day. I wasn’t anxious to leave when I graduated!
Regional band jobs differ somewhat with each band. But as a general rule each band has multiple ensembles and types of performances. As a drummer/percussionist, I played snare drum and percussion with the concert bands and marching bands. I played drum-set with jazz ensembles, show bands, Dixieland bands, jazz combos and rock bands. Performances included concerts, ceremonies, parades, and dinners. This is typical for all military Regional Bands.
One of the misconceptions I think people have concerning Regional Bands is the level of musicianship. Every single musician I worked with in Regional Bands was very talented. It isn’t easy to pass the audition. So you have to be at a certain level to get into any of the military bands. Beyond that, I met some musicians who were absolutely amazing! They may not have been amazing players when they came into the military. But when your full-time job is performing and practicing your instrument, people tend to get really good at it!
Here’s another thing to be aware of. Your main job in a military band is playing your instrument. Depending on the individual needs of the unit you are assigned to, they may give you additional duties for you to work on when you are not rehearsing or performing. These can include working in the music library. They could also include admin jobs like booking performances for the band.
Performing In National Guard And Reserve Bands
National Guard and Reserve Bands require only one weekend per month for rehearsals and performance and sometimes a two-week concert tour or musical support for a military base. There are Reserve and National Guard Bands that have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to perform music for our troops. There is not a great likelihood of a Reservist or National Guardsman to be activated but it depends greatly on the band you will be a part of and their parent organization. National Guard and Reserve musicians are part-time guard members with full-time civilian careers. These bands are a perfect opportunity for musicians who wish to serve their country on a part-time basis.
Differences Between Performing Various Military Branches
Your music duties will be similar regardless of which branch you join. Your military duties and lifestyle are what vary a lot with each branch. One thing to be aware of is that you cannot laterally transfer to another branch of the military. You have to wait until your enlistment is up to enlist in another branch. Therefore it’s important to choose carefully. Here the the different branches compared.
Marine Bands
In a Marine regional band you are a Marine first and foremost. Band members train the same way as all other Marines. Your main job is to be a musician but you need to be ready to be a combat Marine whenever they need you. This really appeals to some people. They can be a Marine and a musician. I personally considered joining the Marine Band because I thought it would be really cool to be a Marine!
Army Bands
In an Army regional band it’s somewhat similar to the Marines although to a lesser degree. In the Army you are a musician first and soldier second. And just like in the Marine band, there are people who really enjoy being a soldier along with a musician. You get to shoot M16s, throw grenades and all that Army stuff.
It’s important though to note that if you are assigned to an Army Division Band, you may deploy for combat along with the rest of your division. When I was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division Band in New York, we deployed to Haiti. My main job while there was playing music for the troops. But the band also manned an M60 machine gun position. Additionally we did roving security patrols with night vision scopes. I wasn’t expecting this kind of experience in the band! It was interesting anyway.
One big advantage the Army regional bands have over other military branches is its size. Because it is a much larger organization than the Air Force band for instance, there are more opportunities for promotion. More promotions mean more money. In the Army band you may finish your first 4 year enlistment as an E5 or E6. In the Air Force you may stay at your same pay grade the whole 4 years.
Navy Bands
Navy musicians are not trained on weapons. Your entire job in a Navy Fleet Band is to play music. The biggest difference in the Navy band is that everything is geared around the ships. Depending on which band you serve with, you may spend 6 months per year on a ship out to sea,
Air Force Bands
Air Force musicians also are not trained on weapons. They don’t tend to deploy but it’s still a possibility. But in the Air Force band when you deploy your job is to perform on your instrument.
Military Band Pay And Benefits
With the exception of the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, new enlistees in premier ensembles automatically enter at the pay grade of E6 (staff sergeant in the Army and Marine Corps, Technical Sergeant in the Air Force, and Petty Officer First Class in the Navy and Coast Guard). That’s $35,766.00 per year base salary.
Regional Band musicians automatically enter the military at the pay grade of E4 which is $30,042.00 per year.
National Guard Band and Reserve Band musicians also enter at the rank of E4. They serve one weekend a month and train 2 weeks per year. They get a starting salary of $5,257.35.
in addition to their salary, full-time band members enjoy a generous housing allowance. This varies greatly depending on where you live. As a general ballpark housing for an E4 can range from $1,275 to $2,124 per month. For an E6 it’s more in the range of $1,512 to $2,655 per month. These numbers are for military musicians with no dependents. If you have dependents those numbers will be higher. At the following site you can enter zip codes, rank and dependent status to get a more accurate idea. https://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/basic-allowance-for-housing
All full-time military bands also provide medical and dental care for you and your family. These benefits are available to National Guard and Reserve Band musicians while they are on duty.
Full-time musicians receive 30 days paid vacation yearly.
Military Band Qualifications
None of the military bands require a college degree. They all do require a high degree of musical skill for admission. All military bands require auditions.
The Premier Bands require the highest musical skills. Most of the players in premier bands have degrees although there are exceptions.
The musical skills required for a military band depend on which band you are auditioning for. For example, some of the Premier Bands are drum corps. Others are jazz bands or other types of groups which require a different set of skills.
The Regional Bands generally require less formal education but a great deal of versatility. I personally met performers while I was in Army Regional Bands who held doctorate degrees in music but could not pass military band auditions for the Regional Bands. In some cases these were performers with a high degree of education in classical music, but who simply couldn’t perform other styles like jazz and rock well enough to pass the audition.
As a drummer/percussionist in the Army band, I personally was required to perform at a very high level on marching as well as symphonic snare drum. I had to play mallets and tympani as well. In addition I had to very versatile on the drum-set. I performed a wide variety of styles including jazz, rock, latin and funk music. I didn’t need to be better than everyone else at any of these skills. But I was required to be really good at all of them.
Auditioning For Military Bands
Whether you find auditioning for a military band difficult or easy depends much on your background and the band you are auditioning for. I personally auditioned 4 times before entering the Army band.
The first time I auditioned was for the Air Force band. I was just out of high school. I hadn’t been to college yet, but I had been playing drums professionally at that point about 3 years. I was told that they could probably take me into the band, but they really thought I should go to college first.
I auditioned 6-9 months later again, once more for the Air Force as well as the Navy. I was basically told the same thing again. They didn’t refuse me outright but really encouraged me to continue my schooling.
After 2 years of college I auditioned for the Army band. I passed the audition and went into the Army.
My point here is that you may audition multiple times. If you don’t make the first time try again a year or two later after you’ve had a chance to develop your skills some more.
Audition Requirements
The audition requirements are a bit different for each military branch. They vary by the type of band and your instrument. Here is a general list for most instruments.
- A prepared solo – might be your choice, might be assigned – and perhaps an etude as well
- Scales – major and all forms of minor – two octaves
- Excerpts – both prepared and sight-reading
- Maybe some jazz improvisation or at the very least a jazz style excerpt
- Rhythm section players will also be required to demonstrate various styles on their instrument
In addition part of your audition may be performing with the ensemble you are auditioning for.
Setting Up Auditions
The first thing to understand about military band auditions is that there needs to be an opening for your instrument in the band you are auditioning for. The Premier Bands don’t need new players often, and when they do it’s usually for one specific position. The Regional Bands usually have more positions open. However, they don’t need an unlimited number of drummers, etc. So before you audition for a military band check to see if there are openings for your instrument.
Most of the time when people inquire about auditioning for military bands they are directed to branch recruiters. But for musicians wanting to play in a military band it’s usually better to take a more direct approach to auditioning. Some recruiters won’t know how to arrange an audition for you because music is such a small area of the military. Other recruiters may try to steer you toward some other career area in the military, maybe an area they really need to fill. With that in mind I’ve included the information for auditioning for each branch of military band at the bottom of this article.
My Thoughts On Playing In The Various Types Of Bands
Like most young musicians I initially wanted to play in a Premier Band. I met the drummer with the U.S. Army Blues jazz band when they came to out high school. I also met a drummer who had played with the Air Force Airmen Of Note. So coming out of high school, playing with one of the Premier military jazz bands was my dream.
The truth of the matter though was I simply wasn’t ready to play with those ensembles coming out of high school. There are rare exceptions, but most musicians coming out of high school are not ready to play with a Premier Military Band.
To take this one step further, most military musicians will never play in a Premier Military Band. It’s a bit like a young talented basketball player wanting to play in the NBA. There are few of those types of bands in existence and very few positions open. Many of the players stay in the same Premier band for 20 years. Competition for those bands is extremely fierce. No matter how good you are you may not get accepted into the position you’re after simply because there are so few positions available. But you should still audition for these bands if that’s really what you want to do. They do have to pick someone. It could be you.
If you want to have a full-time career in a military band, the Regional Bands are a great option. Many musicians in the Army, Marines and Navy pass the audition and go into a Regional Band right out of high school. This is less common in the Air Force. Most of their musicians are college graduates but it’s still possible to pass the Air Force band audition coming right out of high school.
Personally I hated college and couldn’t wait to leave. So I joined an Army Regional Band after 2 years as a percussion major at a University. The Army was not my first or second choice. But I got tired of waiting to get into one of the other branches. I was aware that I’d have to do a lot of “military” type of things – much more than I would if I’d joined the Air Force or Navy bands. But I was willing to put up with that to get into a military band.
I figured that if I practiced enough I would eventually get a chance to audition for the Premier Army jazz bands. Theoretically the Army states that this is true. However, when I got to my first Regional Band I was informed by numerous band members who had been in the Army band for many years that this simply was not the reality. They said the Premier Army bands absolutely never hire Regional Band musicians for the Premier Bands. In all their years with the band they had never seen it happen. Needless to say this was very disappointing to me. The truth though, is that even if I had waited 2 more years and finished my college degree, there’s a good chance I never would have gotten to play with a Premier Band for reasons I stated earlier. There would have had to be an opening for a drummer in one of those bands, and I would have had to win the seat over hundreds of other incredible drummers who would be auditioning. So all in all, probably nothing lost.
For me playing in a Regional Band was a very rewarding experience. I got paid to continue to hone my skills for over 7 years. I made some good friends from all over the country.
It also gave me lots of credibility when I got out of the military, especially in jazz circles. Many famous jazz musicians played in military bands so it looks great on a resume.
List Of U.S. Military Premier(Special) Bands
Army Special Bands
The U.S. Army Band (Pershing’s Own) Washington D.C. https://usarmyband.com/ensembles
The U.S. Army Blues – Part of The U.S. Army Band (Pershing’s Own), is the premier jazz ensemble of the U.S. Army. https://usarmyband.com/ensembles/the-u-s-army-blues
The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps Washington D.C. https://www.oldguard.mdw.army.mil/4-3-infantry/fife-and-drum-corps
The U.S. Army Field Band Fort Meade, MD https://www.armyfieldband.com/
U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors are part of The U.S. Army Field Band. Known as America’s Big Band, the Jazz Ambassadors are the premier touring jazz orchestra of the United States Army. https://www.armyfieldband.com/about/ensembles/jazz-ambassadors
The U.S. Military Academy Band West Point, NY. https://westpointband.com/
Air Force Premier Bands
The USAF Band, Washington, D.C. https://www.music.af.mil/USAFBand/
Airmen Of Note is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., it is one of six musical ensembles that form The U.S. Air Force Band. https://www.music.af.mil/USAFBand/Ensembles/Airmen-of-Note/
The USAF Academy Band, Peterson SFB, CO https://www.music.af.mil/Bands/US-Air-Force-Academy-Band/
Navy Premier Bands
The United States Navy Band, Washington, D.C. This organization features six performing ensembles: the Concert Band, the Ceremonial Band, the Commodores jazz ensemble, Country Current country-bluegrass ensemble, the Cruisers contemporary entertainment ensemble, and the Sea Chanters chorus. There are also several chamber music groups. https://www.navyband.navy.mil/
United States Naval Academy Band https://www.usna.edu/USNABand/index.php
Marine Corps Premier Bands
The United States Marine Band, Washington D.C. This band includes the Marine Chamber Orchestra and Marine Chamber Ensembles. https://www.marineband.marines.mil/
United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps. This group travels more than 50,000 miles annually, performing over 400 events worldwide. https://www.drumcorps.marines.mil/
Coast Guard Premier Band
The United States Coast Guard Band https://www.uscg.mil/community/band/
Audition Information For All U.S. Military Bands
Army Band Auditions
The four Special Army Bands post vacancies on their individual web sites. Please check periodically for openings.
The best way to audition for an Army Regional Band is to contact the band nearest to you and arrange an audition. Each band has their own website with contact information. Here is a list of Army bands and their locations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Army_Bands
Navy Band Auditions
The U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C., vacancies and audition information https://www.navyband.navy.mil/career-opportunities/usnb-auditions
Navy Fleet Bands, open positions, Complete contact information, audition materials. https://www.navyband.navy.mil/career-opportunities/fleet-band-auditions
Air Force Bands
Initial auditions are done online by submitting mp3 files. If you pass the initial audition they will then audition you in person. The following site has information about open positions as well as contact information for all Air Force bands. https://www.music.af.mil/auditions/
Marine Bands
“The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, current openings for this band, audition information as well. https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Career-Info/
United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps, audition and contact information https://www.drumcorps.marines.mil/Become-a-Member/
Regional Bands (Musician Enlistment Option Program), Each recruit is required to perform 10 pre-selected audition excerpts beyond expectation, demonstrate scale proficiency, and perform a selected piece to sight read. For more information regarding the audition process, including instrument-specific requirements, e-mail marinemusic@marines.usmc.mil