How to Blow a Bugle

Trumpet players can play the bugle with relative ease. Bugle playing is popular with scouts, historical re-enactments and at sporting events. Proper lip placement and breathing are critical to playing the bugle. Here are some basic tips for getting the feel for how to blow a bugle.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Start by learning how to hold the lips against the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece must be firmly held against the lips to avoid a tingling in the lips. The lips should be slightly puckered also, with a small space left between the upper and lower lips.
2. Place the tongue back from the lips. The tongue is used to make a staccato, or short, note. The tongue acts like a stopper for the air entering the mouthpiece.
3. Blow evenly into the mouthpiece. Do not buzz the lips together. The air flow should be even. Increased volume is obtained by increasing the air flow. More air equals a louder note.
4. Tighten or loosen the lips as you blow to create the individual notes. Tighter lips create higher notes and looser lips create lower notes. The bugle has a limited number of notes which it can make, so a player should not expect to play complicated songs on a bugle.
5. Hold the bugle away from the chest perpendicular to the ground. The bugle player's arms should be held away from the body to allow for maximum expansion of the lungs. Playing slow and evenly is the proper method to get the first tones before moving on to playing specific notes.