Hear the sound of a bugle (AIFF, 199K, 5
sec.)A member of the extensive horn family, it's likely that the ancestors of the bugle were short, relatively straight animal horns. But by the 1700s, these instruments were usually made from a metal tube of brass or copper with a short, semicircular bend. Often associated with the military, bugles have served both as solo or accompanying instruments and as signaling devices for watchmen, cavalry soldiers, and hunters among others.
The keyed bugle was first patented in 1810 by an Irish bandmaster, Joseph Halliday, who perhaps was inspired by the keyed trumpets of Austrian musician Anton Weidinger. Halliday's instrument was originally made from copper. Bugles soon became popular in Europe where they were made from brass or nickel silver. Introduced into British military bands early in the 1800s, the bugle became known as the Kent horn in honour of the Duke of Kent, head of the British forces. Keyed bugles served as important instruments in military and other bands in England and the United States up until the 1850s. Although they are used only infrequently outside of military ceremonies, these instruments have occasionally been featured in contemporary compositions by
Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Aaron Copeland.
Hear the sound of a bugle (AIFF, 199K, 5
sec.)Selected References:
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