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Gadgets for the Lazy
theodp writes "The Pentagon has found the perfect way to demonstrate it's purely the thought that counts - 700 bugle emulators which sit in real bugles and play 'Taps' at military funerals. The Ceremonial Bugle is just one item in Wired's collection of Gadgets for the Lazy."
Didn't read TFA, so I don't know if it mentions this, but the Taps-playing device is not for the lazy, but rather because there is a shortage of actual trumpet players for military funerals. A lot of burials are having to resort to using CD players; at least with these gadgets some of the ceremony is retained.
I played trumpet. The bugle is pretty much the same thing, minus the valves. You are thus restricted to a limited set of notes, and must choose your notes by mouth alone.
The restriction isn't anything like "one octave". It's more like "two notes per octave". To get enough notes to make a decent tune out of that, you'll need some extreme range. Building that range can take a long time. Mouth strength doesn't arrive in a matter of days.
There would also be something wrong if the bugle player hadn't gone through basic training. He wouldn't be a real soldier without that gas chamber.
Because of the shortage of available buglers, a group was formed to help aid the military in properly honoring our veterans. If you need their services, or wish to volunteer, go to the website.
I played trombone in high school, and "Taps" is easily played without any valving (or slide, in the case of the trombone) changes. If the mouthpieces are the same, a bugle is just a simple trumpet.
I read somewhere that prior to the invention of the trumpet valves, similar versatility would be achieved by owning multiple bugles or having multiple bugle players, each with a different bugle. Different length of tubing = different notes you can play.
It's my guess that there isn't a shortage of competent players in the country (any high school with a band program should have several) but a shortage of MILITARY bugle players. You don't send the 16-year-old kid with long hair to play taps at the funeral; you want the adult, with short hair and military uniform. This device lets any military-type person play taps.
The preferred solution is to not have a problem.
Right now there are about 1750 military funerals per day across the country. In 2008 it will peak at 2100 per day (if the stats are correct). Most state National Guard HQ's run a Funeral Honors program. Volunteers work 7-10 funerals a day and get a stipend of 50-60$ per day to cover expenses, most of the guys that I know that perform the duty lose money by the time they pay for gas, food, dry cleaning uniforms etc. Severice organizations (VFW, AL etc) also provide the service with unpaid volunteers. Finding any kind of brass players for that many funerals is very difficult, we're not talking small numbers here.
While I play neither, it is my understanding that a trumpeter cannot simply pick up a bugle and play it (especially well enough to do funeral detail).
Yes, it is obvious you play neither. I played trombone and taught myself some trumpet/french horn/baritone back in the day. One brass instrument is faily similar to another once you learn slide positions/valve combinations and train your lips to fit the different sizes of the mouthpieces. I can play you taps on the trombone, trumpet, bugle, flugelhorn, baritone, tuba, french horn, etc. Taps is the chopsticks of brass instruments.
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Years ago ( 1992-1996 ) I served with The Commandant's Own, United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps. I'd like to address two things:
Funerals
When we talk about a bugle playing taps we are talking about a "simple funeral" ( a full honors funeral consists of a complete band ) and we are also typically talking about a field music playing taps on a Bb Trumpet because the U.S. Military only has 2 D&B corps left. One is The Commandant's Own in Washington, DC and the other is the U.S. Naval Academy Drum & Bugle Corps. I'm not sure how the USNA D&B works but the USMC D&B has a Duty Music of the Guard and an on-call rotation of upper-voice ( Soprano & Mellophone players ) musicians for funerals. Lower voices ( baritone and contra-bass baritone players ) do not do funerals for what should be an obvious reason. The means there are only several dozen musicans available for funerals and most of them are not available due to other operational committments of the organization. That said, they perform at hundreds of simple funerals per year in the Washington, DC area. The families of the fallen servicemen who receive these last honors are truely the lucky ones. I've witnessed many funerals and they are truely emotiona.
Thoroughout the rest of the nation simple honors funerals are perfomed by musicians from various field bands of the U.S. Military, national guard bands and volunteers from Bugles across America. They do their best to meet the mission but the sad fact is that WWII veterens are dying at a rate of couple thousand per day. Many unfortunatly, do not get proper last honors.
Bugles:
I've seen many posts in this thread with misconceptions of what a bugle is. In the military context the bugles are 2 valved ( pistons ) instruments that are pitched in G. The first valve lowers the pitch by 2 semitones and the 2nd valve lowers the pitch by a semitone. This provides for a full chromatic scale in the instruments middle range. Some notes in the lower registers are missing. Music is written to the treble clef and arranged in SATB format. Typically it's Upper and Lower Lead, 2nd and 3rd Soprano. Upper/Lower Melophones. 1st, 2nd and 3rd Baritones ( 8vb ) and Contrabass Baritone ( 15vb ).
Okay, trumpet/bugle/cornet/etc players. Put your instrument where your mouth is and volunteer.
Bugles Across America needs volunteers.