United States Armed Forces School of Music The Navy School of Music ( formerly and still widely known as the U . S . Armed Forces School of Music ) is a United States Navy school located on board Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Ft Story in Virginia Beach , Virginia . The school ' s mission is to provide specialized musical training to musicians of the Navy and Marine Corps military bands . The school does not provide training for musicians of the Air Force or Coast Guard . The school no longer provides training to Army musicians , although the Army school is co - located with the Navy school and they share facilities . Establishment of the Navy School of Music . The U . S . Navy School of Music was founded at the Washington Navy Yard by order of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation on 26 June 1935 . The school was originally run by the U . S . Navy Band , with members of the Navy Band teaching classes and private lessons in addition to their regular performance duties with the band . After the commencement of World War II , these duties were deemed too onerous for the Navy Band personnel and the school was separated from the band and relocated to the Anacostia Naval Receiving Station in Washington , D . C . on 24 April 1942 . Inclusion of Other Services in Training . The Marine Corps was given an allocation for 15 students in 1946 and the first Marine Corps students enrolled in 1947 . The school was renamed " U . S . Naval School of Music " to reflect the fact that the school now trained not only Navy personnel but all personnel of the naval service . In 1950 the Army reached an agreement with the Navy to begin training Army musicians at the Naval School of Music . The first class of 150 Army students began training in January 1951 . Move to Little Creek . On 13 April 1961 the Secretary of the Navy announced plans for the US Naval School of Music to be relocated to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base . On 12 August 1964 the doors to the Naval School of Music in Washington , D . C . were secured , and students enlisted in the navy band would spend 150 days at the academy , fine - tuning their skills to motivate the nation . The USS Caddo Parish and the USS Monmouth County proceeded to Little Creek loaded with musical instruments and Army and Navy personnel . Each ship had a band aboard to play honors as it passed George Washington ' s tomb in Mt . Vernon , Virginia . This was the first time an Army band performed honors on a Navy ship for president George Washington . The ships landed at the base on the morning of 13 August 1964 . The school was renamed " U . S . Armed Forces School of Music " concurrent with the move . One of the highlights of the move of the School of Music was the dedication ceremony concert , which included Arthur Fiedler , conductor of the Boston Pops , conducting the School of Music Concert Band . The Army School of Music . The earliest formal training for U . S . Army musicians was at the " School of Practice for U . S . A . Field Musicians " at Fort Jay ( then known as Fort Columbus ) , an infantry recruiting post on Governors Island in New York Harbor . A second , lesser known school was established at the western infantry recruiting post at Newport Barracks in Kentucky . Musical training was first held at this location in 1809 , but training was not formalized at Governors Island until the mid - 1830s . Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the 20th century , training was often sporadic and not standardized . In 1911 , Frank Damrosch , director of the Institute of Musical Art ( later renamed The Juilliard School ) , and Arthur A . Clappe , a graduate of the Royal Military School of Music , began a formal school for Army bandmasters at Fort Jay . By 1914 , the school had added a course of basic musical training to the program of instruction . The school grew rapidly , along with Army bands as a whole , during World War I . In February 1920 , the Army Music School at Fort Jay was designated a Special Services School of the Army . In September 1921 the school was moved to the Army War College , Washington D . C . This ended the affiliation with the Institute of Musical Art , which lasted 10 years and provided the Army with many outstanding leaders ; among the school ' s graduates during the Fort Jay years was composer Percy Grainger . The school was closed by the Army in 1928 . The Army re - opened the school and re - established a three - month warrant officer band leader training beginning 10 June 1941 by the Adjutant General and functioned under the supervision of the leader of the United States Army Band . It was originally located in the United States Army Band Barracks , Army War College and subsequently moved to Fort Myer , Virginia . Students were selected from enlisted men who had the following general qualifications : a . At least three years service in a Regular Army band , b . Physically qualified and possess the moral and general qualifications necessary for appointment as Warrant Officer s , and c . Not over 45 years of age . On 24 July 1943 sites were approved by Lt . General Somervell for two band training units . One was located at the Signal Corps Replacement Training Center , Camp Crowder , Missouri , and the other at the Quartermaster Replacement Training Center , Camp Lee , Virginia . Becoming operative about 1 September 1943 , the Adjutant General assigned 20 enlisted men on alternate weeks beginning with the weeks during July and August 1943 who were " earmarked " for the bandsman course . Approximately 160 bandsmen were trained during each training cycle . One commissioned officer was in charge of the course . The training was run concurrently with the regular basic training of soldiers . The band training units were organized by the Chief of the Music Section , Special Services Division and music officers were placed in charge of each installation . The training program and all curricular material was prepared by the Music Section , Special Services Division . After training what the Army considered to be enough bandmasters , the school was again closed on 1 January 1944 . Bandsmen for the Army received on - the - job training for the next several years and there were no advanced - level course for bandmasters or senior enlisted leaders . The Army began consolidating musical training with the Navy in 1951 , but maintained separate , Army - only bandsmen courses at several other locations until January 1956 . Since 1956 the Army has conducted musical training only in conjunction with the Navy School of Music . Combined training of music warrant officers and enlisted bandsmen at the Band Training Unit , Camp Lee , Virginia . The Navy retains control over training and administration and " owns " the curriculum ; the commanding officer , executive officer , and training officer ( with the exception of one Marine Corps officer ) have always been Navy officers . The Army contingent was designated " U . S . Army Element School of Music " in 1951 ; however , due to recent force - structure realignment , the Army contingent was redesignated " U . S . Army School of Music " in 2005 . In October 2010 the Army deconsolidated activities from the Navy and Marines . Though all three services share facilities , faculty and administration , the curriculum changed to meet the need of a fast - paced Army . The Advanced Individual Training ( AIT ) was reduced from approximately six months to just less than 10 weeks . To fall in order with Army Force Generation ( ARFORGEN ) , a modular strategy to sustaining global commitments , bands organize by small units called Music Performance Teams ( MPTs . ) The teams consist of the command team , the ceremonial unit , the popular ensemble , brass section and woodwind section . Some bands have more MPTs than others to create a larger organization according to deployment needs . Training has begun to move away from large wind ensembles except for marching bands . Though the concert band is still the choice for large stages , smaller venues of the deployed theaters dictate that smaller groups are most effective . The concept of the MPT was developed to facilitate transporting musical groups to the patrol bases , forward operating base s ( FOBs ) , Contingency Operating Bases ( COBs like COB Speicher ) and any other troop operated position . The Army bands must fit in convoys of trucks or in helicopters to move through areas of operation to put on shows . An MPT is not a set instrumentation , but a team of instrumentalists and / or singers who are tasked to perform in a certain genre . Army bands deploy genres of American blues , country music , bebop , Dixieland jazz , gospel music , R & B , Salsa music , bluegrass music , rock music or barbershop quartet — and any style that the talent at hand can develop . The School of Music is developing their program to emphasize the diversity of music by training leaders to organize , rehearse and perform in small ensembles tailored to meet the troops ' current interests . In this manner , an Army Band is not just the music of John Phillip Sousa , but is also today ' s top 40 in many genres .