The bugle is a simple brass instrument used for sending signals. It has a wide, cone-shaped tube and usually does not include valves or other devices that change the pitch. Because of this, the bugle can only play notes that are naturally produced by the instrument. The player controls the pitch by adjusting how much air is used and how the mouth and lips are shaped.

History

The English word "bugle" comes from a mix of languages. It comes from French words like "cor buglèr" and "bugleret," which describe a signaling horn made from a small cow's horn. Going back further, the word connects to Latin "buculus," meaning a young bull. Old English also influenced the word, with "bugle" meaning "wild ox."

The name "bugle" refers to an animal's horn, which was how horns were made in Europe after the Western Roman Empire fell. Today, the bugle is made from metal tubing. This technology has roots in the Roman Empire and the Middle East during the Crusades, when Europeans rediscovered metal-tubed trumpets and brought them back to Europe.

Historically, horns were curved, cone-shaped instruments made from ox or other animal horns, shells, or hollowed ivory, like the "olifant." Another tradition used straight metal tubes made of brass or silver, dating back to the Greeks (called "salpinx") and Romans (called "tuba"), and even earlier to the Etruscans, Assyrians, and Egyptians (like King Tut's trumpet). After the fall of Rome, Europe lost contact with the Eastern Roman Empire, and the straight, tubular metal trumpets disappeared. Curved horns became Europe's main type of trumpet.

Straight, tubular metal trumpets remained in the Middle East and Central Asia, known as "nafir" and "karnay." During the Reconquista and Crusades, Europeans saw these instruments and began making them again. Early versions in Spain were called "añafil," and in France, "buisine." Europeans then learned how to bend tubes without breaking them, leading to new instruments by the 1400s.

New brass instruments were created, like the "clarion" and "natural trumpet." These bent-tube designs made long tubes easier to handle and controlled the sound. One design was the "sickle-shaped" horn or "hunting horn" in the 15th century. By the 18th century, Germans made a "half-moon" shaped horn called the "halbmondbläser," used by Jäger battalions. By 1800, this horn was bent into a loop, possibly first by William Shaw of London. At this time, the instrument was used as a "bugle horn" in the military.

In 1758, the "halbmondbläser" (half-moon) was used by light infantry from Hanover and continued until after 1813. It was crescent-shaped and carried on a shoulder strap. It spread to England, where it became the "bugle horn" and was used by light dragoons (1764), the Grenadier Guards (1772), light artillery (1788), and light infantry.

18th-century cavalry used early trumpets without keys or valves, which had a smaller bell and produced a sound heard at close range but not over long distances. Early bugles were coiled, often with two loops, and used for hunting and as signals for coaches. Related instruments included the "post horn," "Pless horn," "bugle horn," and "shofar." The ancient Roman army used the "buccina."

• Iberian Celtic trumpet or bugle made from clay, 2nd–1st century B.C., Iberian Peninsula.
• Roman bugle, 4th century. This late Roman bugle was found at Mont Ventoux, France, and is now in the British Museum.
• 13th century. Angels in art are shown with horns shaped like oxen horns.
• In 1405, a French illustrator painted a person playing a trumpet bent into a U-shape.
• In 1511, Virdung illustrated bent trumpets, including the "felttrumet" (field trumpet) and "busaun" (sackbut).
• A painting from 1412–1416 in France shows a "clarion trumpet," "buisine trumpet," and two "shawms." The "clarion" matches the "felttrumet" in Virdung's 1511 illustrations.
• An Ottoman miniature from 1568 shows musicians playing two "zurna," two spiral trumpets ("boru"), a cylinder drum ("davul"), and two kettle drums ("nakkare"). In 1529, the "Turkish field clamor" reached Vienna for the first time.
• Hessian-Darmstadt soldiers, 1816, one with a "halbmondbläser."

Uses

Pitch control on a bugle is achieved by changing how air is used and how the player shapes their mouth. Because of this, the bugle can only play notes that are part of the harmonic series. Most bugle music uses only five notes from the "bugle scale."

The bugle is mainly used in the military to signal daily activities at a camp. In the past, bugles were used by soldiers on horseback to send messages from officers to troops during battles. They helped gather leaders and give instructions for marching.

The bugle is also used in Boy Scout groups and in the Boys' Brigade.

The Rifles, a group of soldiers in the British Army, still use the bugle for special events and symbols. Other rifle groups did the same before them. When the Rifle Corps was created in 1800, it was the first group of light infantry in the British Army. They wore green jackets and had equipment better for fighting in small groups. Other soldiers used drums and whistles, but the Rifle Corps had more soldiers who needed to spread out over large areas. Bugles were chosen because their sound could travel farther without needing to be repeated. Each group of soldiers has a bugle major, a senior officer who leads the buglers.

The bugle has also been used to show surrender and peace.

In many military groups, a small flag or cloth can be attached to the bugle. This shows the unit or branch it belongs to.

In military tradition, the Last Post or Taps is a bugle call that marks the end of the day. It is also played at soldier funerals to show the soldier has passed away and at events like Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand and Remembrance Day in Canada.

• American naval bugler in 1917
• Chinese Eighth Route Army bugler during World War II. Photograph by Sha Fei.
• Two Japanese men demonstrating a bugle call, 2017
• American poster during the Second World War showing a bugler from the Ethiopian National Defence Force Band

Variations

The cornet is sometimes wrongly thought to be a valved bugle. However, the cornet came from instruments with narrower tubes, such as the French cornet de poste (meaning "post horn") and cor de chasse (meaning "hunting horn").

Keyed bugles (German: Klappenhorn) were created in the early 1800s. In England, Joseph Halliday received a patent for a keyed bugle design in 1811, and it became known as the Kent bugle. This instrument became common in military band music in Britain and America. Its popularity is shown by the many published method books and musical arrangements for it. The Kent bugle was widely used until about 1850, when it was mostly replaced by the cornet. Richard Willis, who became the first bandmaster of the United States Military Academy's West Point Band in 1817, composed and performed many pieces for the keyed bugle.

Since the middle of the 19th century, bugles have usually been made with piston valves.

• Soprano bugle (high pitch)
• Alto bugle (medium pitch)
• Baritone bugle (tenor pitch)
• Contrabass bugle (bass pitch)