How to ID a Bugle

The bugle has maintained its popularity throughout the past 200 years.

Although a bugle is similar in appearance with a trumpet, there are significant differences between a bugle and other brass instruments. Bugles are used in venues ranging from concert halls to military barracks. By examining the instrument's physical characteristics and the proper method of performance, the casual reader and educated musician can identify this beautiful instrument.

Instructions

1. Check the instrument for valves. These are pistons surrounded by metal cylinders in the middle of the instrument. If the instrument has valves, it is not a bugle

2. Measure the instrument. Bugles are 10 to 17 inches in length. If the instrument is shorter or longer than this, it is not a bugle.

3. Check the instrument for a small opening at one end and a larger opening at the opposite end. The smaller opening should look like a cup, while the larger end should open outward. If the instrument does not have these two features, it is not a bugle.

4. Ask for the opinion of a professional trumpet or bugle player. The musician will be able to give you a definitive opinion on whether or not the instrument in question is a bugle.

Tips & Warnings

• Go to your local library and find recordings of bugle performances. You will discover that the bugle has a different sound than the trumpet because of its inability to play all of the notes that the trumpet can. The uses of a bugle can be very different from the trumpet. According to John M. Molino, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, "In addition to the very high quality sound, it provides a dignified 'visual' of a bugler playing Taps, something families tell us they want." The bugle carries a legacy in the armed forces that make it an icon of the military service.

• If you are handling a bugle, be careful and avoid dropping the instrument. The bugle is made out of a soft brass that can easily be dented or damaged if it is dropped or hit by something heavy.

References

• Taps Bugler: A Reference Guide to the Most Common Collectible Bugles
• The Middle Horn Leader: Evolution of the Bugle
• Encyclopædia Britannica: Bugle

Resources

• U.S. Army: TShe Bugle's Ageless Call