KenDavis500 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Our Troop's first Bugler played Taps tonight. Not well BUT he nailed the last part. It gave me chills. 12 yr old just learning the trumpet. ​Do y'all have a Bugler? Does he play a bugle or a trumpet/coronet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeCastor Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hey, Ken. I think the bugler is dying breed, unfortunately. There's nothing quite like having a 12-year old bugler playing "Taps" at a moving flag retirement ceremony or playing "To the Colors" at dawn as the flag is snappily raised in the crisp outdoor air. As a trombonist I appreciate the bugler position and wish there were more Scouts willing to put themselves out there. Personally, I have a US Regulation Bugle and played it at our latest Wood Badge course--not well, mind you. Scouts might be more willing to be bugler if the unit/patrol owned one. They are relatively inexpensive (http://www.usregulationbugle.com/) and sound pretty good. Mom or dad might be less willing to let their son take his nice trumpet into the woods... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 For a while, our troop had three. They used their trumpets. At summer camp, for taps, they would take it on rotation and two would go to either end of the site. One would lead. The other replied. It all depends on the time and talents of the boys ... and what your troop does. Lot's of backpacking in areas better served by silence in the evening is not conducive to bugling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 What you need is a willing instructor/Merit Badge Counselor. I offer the Bugling MB at local Merit Badge Days/fairs and always get a couple of boys. Sometimes they are even "prepared". I ask the day organizers to tell the boy(s) to contact me to get the prerequisites and to bring their own instruments. It takes a fair amount of practice to do all the required bugle calls in one session. What is funny is when the boy arrives and says he thought I would provide the instrument! I willingly sign "partials" and give them my card to arrange a later day to complete the badge. I am surprised (maybe I shouldn't be) at the range of talent. Some Herb Alperts, some who can't read music and play by ear, some who say they want to earn it but don't really want to do the practice. I tell them there are lots of opportunities to play, if they are good and make themselves available. I have played at camps, Wood Badge courses, various dedications and other Scout functions. I was asked to play at the dedication of a flag plaza at a new Muslim Mosque, asked by a Wood Badge brother, and I'm not Muslim! Even got my picture in the paper. It was very interesting, they have a very successful Scout program there. Like everything else in Scouting, all you can do is provide opportunities and step back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeCastor Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Like everything else in Scouting, all you can do is provide opportunities and step back. SSScout, I absolutely love this statement! Sorry, Ken, for going slightly off-topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenDavis500 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 I've seen bugles on ebay for a reasonable price (<$40), but I know nothing about bugles or trumpets. If a new to music person is learning the trumpet would he be able to play the bugle? Or would it just add another level of difficulty? I would love to have a Troop bugle for use at camps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeCastor Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Bugles don't have valves but you can use the same mouthpiece as a trumpet. The US Regulation Bugles come with a pretty terrible one, in my opinion, so I purchased an entry-level trumpet mouthpiece from a local music store. It works just fine. If a Scout has experience changing pitch on a trumpet he should not have any problem changing pitch on the bugle. Personally, I have trouble with the bugle because my embouchure is more suited for a trombone/tuba. I'm a low brass dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisos Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Ken, trumpet to bugle should not be a problem; the tones on a bugle are the same as on a trumpet with all the valves closed (i.e., no keys pressed). If you can easily hit the G above at the top of a treble clef with a trumpet, then playing a bugle won't be a problem. It would take a new trumpet player some time and practice to build up that much range and control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalScout Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 We have a bugler. We actually had 3 scouts try out for the position and the scouts chose the best bugler. Our bugler, when he remembers to bring his trumpet, will play assembly at the troop meeting opening then retreat at the meeting close. Here's a great website with bugle calls: http://www.music.army.mil/music/buglecalls/default.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJCubScouter Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 My troop when I was a Scout did have a bugler. "My" current troop has had one, briefly, but he did not actually play the bugle, he played the saxophone. I think he played some bugle calls at one meeting and one camping trip. It was kind of a novelty at first, but I think the novelty (not to mention his parents' interest in having his expensive saxophone accompanying him on camping trips) wore off pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeattlePioneer Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 One activity I like to do is to give boys a chance to blow a bugle, often for the first time. a popular activity for Cub Scout Dens, and I've done something similar at Boy Scout Camporees. Circa 1982 I gave one aspiring bugler my with the expectation he would practice faithfully and be a troop bugler. That was the last time I ever saw that instrument... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Yep, buy your own instrument. Save the original mouth piece for something else (I don't know what) and put out for a Bach 12C Trumpet mouthpiece. Expensive, but it is much more comfortable and has a noticeably better tone, even from a young beginner. Tie it to the bugle, so it doesn't get lost! Vaseline on the tuning slide. Wipe off and wash out periodically, dry thoroughly. Note the difference in gauge of metal on American made versus Chinese made instruments. Buy the heavier (American) if you can find one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentinel947 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 My Troop hasn't had a bugler in several years.... Hmmmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twocubdad Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 No bugler, but over the years we've had two different pipers. The troop being led into the opening campfire at summer camp by bagpipes is pretty cool. I play the bugle, counsel the merit badge and have volunteered for Bugles Across America in the past. We've had a couple guys take a stab at bugling for the troop, but never really stuck with it. (Maybe it's tough to compete with bagpipes.) The troop has a bugle which we loan out to the guys. I think guys really need a couple years on the trumpet/coronet to have a good shot at it. They need to hit a high G comfortably, and it takes a couple years to develop the lip for that. ( But there are ways to cheat that on the trumpet.) Funny story -- one of my older guys decided he wanted to be the troop bugler. Great. So I gave him the troop bugle, the MB pamphlet and showed him what work on. Next week he came back and decided to play the taps for the flag raising (yeah, I know, but it was his first week so we went with it.) He was AWFUL. He could play only one tone (and that poorly) in the general rhythm of Taps. I let this go on for a few weeks but finally asked him how long he had been playing the trumpet. "Oh, I don't play the trumpet." What instrument do you play. "I don't play anything." Really? What made you think you could play the bugle? "I don't know, I thought it would be fun." Although I offered to teach him, I noted learning any instrument is a long term commitment. But I was willing if he was. He wasn't. I suppose he figured since a bugle doesn't have keys, holes or buttons it must be easy to play. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christineka Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm a bugling merit badge counselor and believe all boys should take it up! In reality, though it's not very popular. My son, however earned the merit badge and was/is troop bugler. He's only 11, though and not the most outspoken of boys. Despite the fact that he learned to play all of the required bugle calls, I'm pretty sure that the only one he's ever played as troop bugler is reveille. (There were a lot of complaints.) I found that the Rexcraft bugle is missing the low c, that's needed for "Call to Quarters". I ended up buying a gunga din style bugle for cheap, but it's pitched in b-flat as opposed to the rexcraft's g, so it's harder to play. (I know my son can't play high g on a b-flat instrument.) A boy could simply use a trumpet (or cornet) and press down either 1 and 2 or 3 to play in g and still have that lower note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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