[1][2] It offers members examinations, courses, and awards.
The guild is a fellowship of those who sincerely desire to offer the best in music to the service of the church: amateur and professional musicians unified in a common ideal.
The founding patrons were Archbishop Frederick Temple and Sir George Elvey, organist of St George's Chapel, Windsor.
Although the organization was mainly Anglican since its founding, in 1988 in the centenary year of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster was invited to become a joint patron, and the guild's openness to all branches of the Christian Church was affirmed.
Since 1961, the guild has been charged with the responsibility of administering and examining for the Archbishop of Canterbury's Certificate in Church Music.