The history of the bugle is usually traced to the Seven Years’ War (1756–63), when the semicircular metal hunting horn came into use on the battlefield. It settled down as a single loop, pitched in C or B flat around 1800, while a two-loop version developed later in the nineteenth century following the Crimean War (1853–56). This instrument was used for military calls and signals, some of which can be traced back to the instrument’s pre-military life on the hunting field.

Keyed bugles were developed by Joseph Halliday in Dublin (1810) and these were taken up in early nineteenth-century military and wind bands. Keys were used, not to close holes in the usual manner, but to open them: the springing was such as to keep all fingerholes closed except when the keys were used. They became popular in the developing brass bands of the time and were used by the Besses o’ th’ Barn, founded in Manchester around 1815.

Styles & Forms | Late Romantic | Classical
Instruments | Cornet | Late Romantic | Classical