The spring of the ghana immigration service Regimental band, 1998-2023

Abstract

Regimental bands have a rich history in military traditions. These bands have musicians who play woodwinds, brass and percussion instruments at parades, concerts and other forums. This thesis researched the administrative structures which have guided and continued to guide the performance of military (regimental) bands in and outside Ghana. Specifically, the research focused on the selection modalities of musicians, their musical backgrounds, and training avenues. At the core of the study was to comprehensively record the history of the Ghana Immigration Service Regimental Band. To achieve these objectives, I employed participant-observation, focus group interviews, and one-on-one interviews in addition to the review of pertinent literature. The research revealed that a Standard Operating Procedures designed for the band unit in 2013 made mention of three (3) structures i.e. Officer-In-Charge, Second-In- Command (2IC), and Band leaders. The research also revealed that the various recruitments into the band were not advertised as done for the general-duty personnel. The majority of the musicians also learnt to play their instruments from church and community bands the rote way where issues of professionalism were not given serious attention. The study concluded that the band has not had a steady recruitment of its musicians for the past 25years. It also concluded that the mode of recruitment could account for the weak background of most musicians. It is therefore recommended that a steady recruitment plan is drawn and the recruitment mode enhanced whilst recruiting musicians who have good backgrounds in Music. It is also recommended that the band unit is made semi-autonomous whilst administrative structures are formulated to regulate and enhance its smooth operations.