For years it’s been accepted that Salvation Army bands have more or less the same instrumentation as their secular brass band counterparts. Cornets, trombones and euphoniums are in. Flutes, oboes and saxophones are out.

If Sherry McCormick gets her way, that might be about to change. Sherry, a Salvationist of fifty-two years, plays the clarinet, which is not a standard brass band instrument. “I’ve been playing the clarinet for nearly forty years now. I’ve been accepted into all sorts of ensembles in that time. I’ve played in orchestras, concert bands, jazz combos and last month I played in the pit for a production of Annie. Yet when I go to the Army on Sunday my instrument has to stay packed away in its case.”

One of these things is not like the others.

This question hasn’t always been so settled. In the early 1980s there was a move in some corps to allow woodwinds into their bands. Now-retired Bandmaster Ken O’Shea remembers the time well. “There were all sorts of things going on in the Army. It had never really been an issue, but then Joy Webb and the Joystrings inspired a whole generation of Salvationists to start using guitars and drums in worship. We had such a group in our corps. They had saxophones, I think, and a flute. They even had trumpets, played by cornet players from the brass band! It was crazy. But as long as they didn’t try bringing those other instruments over to our band, I didn’t mind.”

Not every Corps had a bandmaster as open-minded as BM O’Shea. Some corps refused to allow the new expressions at all, fearing that their brass bands would be forced to accept foreign instruments. In one case, the brass band members all resigned in protest when the Corps officer made the mistake of inviting an oboe player to band practice. The band never re-formed, and the Corps soon closed.

Positional Statements

Faced with growing dissatisfaction amongst the banding community within the Salvation Army, various Headquarters around the world issued Positional Statements to settle the issue. Positional Statements set out the official view of the Salvation Army on a particular matter. Individual soldiers are not required to agree with them, but officers are expected to adhere to them in public. Whilst Positional Statements are normally issued at the territorial level and might address specific, local concerns, statements on specific issues are generally very similar and are ratified by International Headquarters before publication.

In short: several territories around the world issued instructions as to what is and isn’t acceptable in a Salvation Army band.

This particular statement set out the instrumentation that could be used, following the British terminology: Cornets (Soprano and Bb), Tenor Horns, Baritones, Euphoniums, Trombones (Tenor and Bass), Basses (Eb and BBb) and ‘percussion instruments as required.’ Other instruments might be allowed as solo instruments on special occasions, but approval to invite such a soloist needed the express permission of the Divisional Commander (Corps/Divisional Bands) or Territorial Music Secretary (Staff or Headquarters Bands).

This is the ruling that Sherry McCormick finds so objectionable. “Why shouldn’t I be able to play in my Corps band? It’s not like they haven’t got room for me—last Sunday they only had half-a-dozen players. A clarinet on the cornet bench would have filled a pretty big gap.”

Ret-Bandmaster O’Shea sees things a little differently. “Brass bands are part of the Army’s history. Small bands are a very important part of that tradition. We could invite a clarinet in. But then we’d have to invite bassoonists in. Then harmonica players. And then what? Accordions? Bagpipes? Sure, it might be big and all the parts would be covered. But it wouldn’t be a band any more. These boundaries might seem restrictive, but they’re an important part of who we are.”

Growing Dissent

Whilst the Positional Statements regarding this issue might seem to have the final word, Ms McCormick is just one of a small but growing number of Salvationists who are openly questioning the official stance. Ms McCormick operates a Facebook page known as ‘Salvationists for more inclusive bands’ which has over 700 members and growing daily. A large number of the members of her group are woodwind players, but many are traditional brass players who do not agree with the Army’s position. Some aren’t so sure, or don’t even play an instrument, but have joined the group simply in order to learn more about woodwind players in general.

One thing is clear: as more and more Salvationists learn to play woodwind instruments, and as traditional brass bands diminish in the Army world, there is going to be greater pressure for the Army to relax the rules. The Salute will be following this story with interest.