High On A Hill

Wonky_Baton

Wonky_Baton

Active Member
Played an arrangment called High on a Hill for the TA and it was an excellent tune. I was delighted to find it in Dunston band library library and gave it a whirl. Unfortunately it isn't the same without Bugles - maybe cornet players have too much music in them to get the rip saw effect of a bugle. If there are any rough tough hairy arsed bugle players fancy helping the band out at Beamish Museum over Easter, I would love to play the piece one last time. No money would be involved but i know how much bugle players love hanging around with real musicians. PM me for details!! :p
 
PeterBale

PeterBale

Moderator
Staff member
From my forces experience, take any of your players out into a field and try and tune up for half an hour, then bring them back in to play "High on a Hill" and they'll be so out of tune it'll sound just as if you had buglers after all :!: :wink: :lol:
 
Dave Payn

Dave Payn

Active Member
Tell you what, though, seriously, bugles are a sod to try and tune. Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde calls for four of them to play in unison for most of the time as I tried alas to no avail a few years back! (this of course, leads to a variation on a very old muso gag. How do you get a quartet of bugles to play in tune. Either (a) shoot three of them or in this case, (b) shoot the bleedin' lot!)
 
super_sop

super_sop

Supporting Member
Dave Payn said:
Tell you what, though, seriously, bugles are a sod to try and tune.
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Tell me about it!! that was my job before every concert whilst i played in the TA. A real chalenge that!!

High on a hill, was one of my favorite pieces, and used to go down a storm in Shrewsbury castle and the like, with two solo buglers high up on the walls of the castle. It also helped having some of the top buglers in the Light Div, and one of the best bugle majors they ever had.
ah the memories :)
 
Wonky_Baton

Wonky_Baton

Active Member
In the absence of any buglists, would French horn players suffice?
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Them bloody French horns are taking over this forum and following me all over. I cant believe so much was written for such a talentless instrument!! :p

As for tuning bugles why bother. the more they grate the better it sounds. Oh to be marching at 160 again with my mouthpiece in my eye, listening to the bugles blasting their bosoms off. :wink:
 
PeterBale

PeterBale

Moderator
Staff member
Baldeagle said:
O my god am i glad i was in the Cavalry! Having said that, Cavalry Trumpets are just as bad :lol:
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. . . and a lot louder :lol: :lol: :lol:

Many happy memories of massed band concerts with the Life Guards, finishing with "The Battle of Waterloo", with cavalry trumpet calls blasting out from all corners of the stage :wink:
 
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