Frequently Asked Questions

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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

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My son is 13 years old and has been playing the trumpet for 4 years. He is the boy scout troops bugler. I am looking for a "take to camp" bugle. I want something that he will be able to enjoy playing for awhile. Does something in your selection fit these requirements?

Thank you for your time, Kim

There are a couple of factors here, you'll need to weigh which one is most important:

Since, this is a "take to camp" bugle, cost may be an issue (I'm sure you don't want to have your son bring his trumpet to camp). If you want to let it be abused and not worry about the cost, then the Gunga Din bugle would be the selection but only for low cost. You could even buy a six pack in case one, two, etc get destroyed.

The Cavalry model is my favorite for your situation. It plays in B-flat as does the trumpet so from a musical point of view it would be an easy transition. Since your son has been playing 4 years he should have no problems hitting the higher notes that the B-flat trumpet requires versus the G/F Cadet Bugle.

Most folks though, seem to like the Cadet bugle. Part of this is tradition, it is based on (okay copied) from one of the popular "official" boy scout bugles made by Rexcraft. Many of the adult scout leaders have fond memory of this style bugle. It has a tuning slide which helps out if more then one bugle player play together. It plays in a lower pitch which the younger and less experienced find easier to play. I however, have a harder time transitioning between this bugle and the trumpet due to the different keys. Though, I have no musical talent. In the case of camp, you'd have to be willing to accept some dents in this higher priced horn.. I would be amazed if a scout could go through a season of camping without a dent or two in his horn.

Your website is GREAT!

Thank you!

I have a tuba player

wannabe bugler--he works at it

but it is a huge struggle

His teacher had him get a wider deeper mouthpiece

and since he is playing on a trumpet he is using the valves to

stay away from the highest notes.

I have read everything--and what I am hearing is he needs to stay

with the trumpet because for now the bugle is just going to make the high notes harde

-Elizabeth

The Trumpet <-to-> low brass argument, are all over the map and 180 degrees in disagreement.

I'm going to make the following working assumption:

As a brass player, he has a better idea of how to make this happen then a reed/non wind player.

For ANY (except a few freaks of nature) player learning the trumpet, they tend to have more difficulty getting the "higher notes"

For the B-Flat trumpet (standard) doing bugle calls the note of interest is usually the G resting on the staff. That's often out of the range of the beginning player.

Thus the idea of using the "G" bugle or G/F bugle. Where in reality you only have to hit a lower note to make your song:

Key of instrument and what you would play on the b-flat trumpet (concert pitch)

B-Flat Open

A 1/2 step Valve 2

A flat 1 step Valve 1

G 1 1/2 step o valves 1 and 2

So to simulate the G Bugle you would hold down 1 and 2 which in theory should make it easier to play. If you can hit the notes however, there's no problem with a B-flat bugle.

The answer, like everything else PRACTICE.

I think the best advise I saw was treat each as separate instruments (Tuba as one Bugle/Trumpet as the other)...And develop the appropriate muscles for each.

There are tons of exercise books that will SLOWLY allow him to increase his range...especially taking advantage of the smaller increments when using the trumpet.

As a side noted: I did do a Bugles Across America gig where it ended up have three trumpet players (so I'm glad I had a trumpet in the car instead of just a bugle). One fellow who HIRED HIMSELF OUT as a bugler couldn't hit the higher notes, so we all played with 1 and 2 down.

It'll come to him in a reasonable amount of time, but don't do the bugle calls, work on developing the scales which would allow him to do the bugle calls.

I wouldn't worry about buying a bugle just for the scouts if he has a decent trumpet (heck, he can have a trumpet whose valves stink and still have a great bugle)...if he has an expensive trumpet you might want to think twice about letting it out on campouts.

Hope that helps!

-fred

Do you have official bugles?

Mark L. Chatworth, California

NOTE: The below is this website's best guess of a situation. You are advised to ask questions on your own before making any decisions. If anyone has documented evidence which better explains the situation, we will be of course happy to modify.

I don't know ANYONE who has an "official" bugle. The boy scouts used to have a licensed bugle made by a company called Rexcraft^tm.However this is no longer the case. There is a website out there selling something it refers to "U. S. Regulation Bugle^tm"Which he points out in the website is the only genuine "U. S. Regulation Bugle^tm"Which of course appears to be the case since, SINCE it appears they PICKED THE NAME THEMSELVES AND SLAPPED A TRADEMARK SYMBOL AFTER IT. The best we can tell is the name was simply pulled out of thin air. You might of seen this scam in the past on the records sold on TV featuring "The Original Artists." In that case, they had a group call "The Original Artists" who re-recorded all the songs. Same idea here. While there is an official looking logo and the such, the only thing regulation about the bugle is that it's based on the 1892 Army requirements for a bugle (just as our Cadet Model and the Rexcraft ^tm bugle). This fellow even "warns" people about other bugles (ours?) which aren't U. S. Regulation Bugle^tm" .

If you read the website carefully, you realize it's a worthless statement from any quality assurance, standards assurance, or governmental assurance point of view. We Sell the Brigadier bugle with is made by Jupiter, The Amati 223 and our own Philmont Bugle, which IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) are superior in every way except price to the US Regulation Bugle(tm).

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