Keyed bugle
The Royal Kent bugle is a variant of the bugle popular in the 19th century, especially in the English Army in 1856.[1] Its six keys allow pitch to be controlled beyond that possible with a standard bugle.[2]
History
In 1810 Joseph Halliday, the bandmaster of the Cavan militia, patented the keyed bugle, with five keys and a range of twenty-five notes, calling it the "Royal Kent Bugle" as a compliment to the duke of Kent, who was at the time commander-in-chief, and encouraged the introduction of the instrument into the regimental bands.[2] A Royal Kent bugle in the key of C, stamped with Halliday’s name as inventor, and made by P. Turton, 5 Wormwood Gate, Dublin, was exhibited by Col. Shaw-Hellier at the Royal Military Exhibition in 1890.[2] The instrument, made of copper, measures 17 inches (43 cm), and the total length of the tubing, including the mouthpiece, 50.5 inches (128 cm).[2] The diameter at the mouthpiece is 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) and at the bell 5.75 inches (14.6 cm).[2]
Pitch
The instrument has a chromatic range of two octaves, 
the open notes being: 
.[2]
To the original instrument specified in the patent, Halliday added a sixth key, which became the first and was in the normal position open; this key when closed gave B♭, with the same series of harmonics as the open tube.[2] The series, however, becomes shorter with each successive key. Thus, on being opened, the second key gives 
, the third key 
, the fourth key 
, the fifth key 
, and the sixth key 
.[2] The bore of the instrument is just wide enough in proportion to its length to make possible the playing of the fundamental tones in the first two series, but these notes are never used, and the harmonics above the sixth are also avoided, being of doubtful intonation.[2] In the ophicleide, the bass variety of the key bugle, the bore is sufficiently wide to produce fundamentals of a satisfactory quality.[2]
The keyed bugle was chiefly used in B♭, a crook for B♭ being frequently added to the bugle in C.[2]
References
- ^ Farmer, Henry George (1904). Memoirs of the Royal Artillery Band; Its Origin, History, and Process; An Account of the Rise of Military Music in England. London: Boosey and Co. p. 183. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Day, Captain C. R. (1891). A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. pp. 168–169, and pl. xi. fig. D. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
Further reading
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bugle". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Ralph T. Dudgeon, The Keyed Bugle, Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8108-5123-7
See also
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