Bugle Horns

Our horns - Soprano, Mellophone, Baritone and Contrabass

United Alumni Senior Drum and Bugle Corps only play G Bugles horns. This means that the horns are pitched in the Key of G, not B flat or F like marching or concert style bands. Most junior corps (membership under the age of 21) now use B flat and F instruments, along with some all-age corps. Most Alumni Corps like United Alumni are staying true to our Drum & Bugle Corps roots and have no plans to switch to B flat and F horns.

Our G Bugles also have a larger percentage of conical tubing as opposed to cylindrical tubing. This allows the horns to be played much louder without sounding strained. Our Bugles are designed to be played outdoors and project in a way that most brass instruments can not match.

Most of the horns owned by United Alumni are fully chromatic with 3 valves. Although, we do still have a couple of old 2 valve and valve rotor Contrabass horns currently in use.

Bugle Fingering Chart

Soprano, Mellophone, Baritone, Contrabass

Soprano Bugle

The Soprano is the soprano voice in the bugle choir. It's closest cousin in the marching or concert band world is the more commonly known Trumpet. A typical full size horn line the soprano will be broken up into 3 parts.

Mellophone Bugle

The Mellophone is the alto voice in the bugle choir. It's closest marching or concert band cousin is the F Mellophone, or B flat French Horn. The Mellophone is the primary mid-range voice in most modern corps. There are typically two and sometime three separate parts for a Mellophone used in the horn line.

Baritone Bugle

The Baritone is the tenor/baritone voice in the bugle choir. It's closest marching or concert band cousin is the Trombone and of course Baritone. However, the Baritone Bugle is much darker and richer than a Trombone. In a typical bugle line there will be 3 separate baritone parts.

Contrabass Bugle

The Contrabass or more commonly known as Contra, is the bass voice in the bugle choir. It is also the largest instrument. It's closest marching or concert band cousin is the Tuba or Sousaphone. The Contra has an incredibly rich, dark bass sound. There is normally only one part to a contra line.

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United Alumni Senior Drum and Bugle Corps

PO. Box 845, Simcoe, ON, N3Y 4T2

For information on United Alumni Senior Drum and Bugle Corps

please contact our Corps Director Ed Pow at 519-720-9290 or e-mail at info@unitedalumni.com

United Alumni 2008

Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

Last Modified: June 22, 2008