Higham Keyed and Valve Bugle

When this rare keyed and valve bugle was acquired by collector Steve Ward (surfacing in Sao Paolo, Brazil), it became the fifth example of this model known. As rare as it is, the design is well known in historical brass circles, appearing in numerous articles and books on the history of musical instruments. The maker, Joseph Higham, is very well known having been in operation from 1842 until the late 1960s (at least as a “brand”). The earlier production exhibited creativity and quality, but later, more workmanlike brass band instruments.

This instrument show signs of major repairs and modification, the valve not being original, nor is the large ferrule joining the mouthpipe tube to the bell tube. The straight mouthpipe shank shown beside the bugle in the first image below was inserted when found and being made of seamed tubing and similar amount of deterioration as the keys may be original. It is difficult to determine the intended pitch of the instrument, playing almost a half step above modern C with the valve open and equally high A with the valve engaged. The circular crook, shown inserted, was made to put the bugle in a normal high pitch C, with the ability to tune to modern pitch by extending the slide.

Examining the photos of the other three known examples shows variability in overall tube length. One of the longest appearing and with the earliest serial number, 7, is in the Brighton museum in Brighton, England and is the one that Dr. Robert Eliason studied for his article “Brasses with Both Keys and Valves”, published in the 1976 Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society. It has a shorter straight shank in place and a shorter appearing valve slide. This bears out in Eliason’s observation that it is pitched in C with the valve open and Bb with it engaged. He states that the instrument is not in playable condition, presumably determining pitch by measuring.

The four keys result in the same pitches as the first four keys in more common bugles with six or more keys. That is, in the bugle pitched in C, the open standing key depressed gives B, the second key, C sharp, the third, D and the fourth, E flat. The valve with either two or three semitones would bridge the tones missing from the absent keys, but with different fingerings. There is no way of knowing if these two bugles were designed for different fingerings or it resulted from modifications, but there is some logic to playing as this one is set up. The third partial of the A series (valve engaged) gives the E natural when playing in C and the experienced keyed bugle player was already accustomed to using the left hand for this note, rather than the unfamiliar combination of the valve and first key (fourth finger of right hand). Of course, playing in Bb, Eb and F, the most common key signatures in brass bands, there may not be an advantage with one length over the other. In either system, the new fingerings must be learned and modern keyed bugle specialists may indicate which is more sensible.

The valve slide tubes, not being original to this instrument (serial #23), could be shortened to conform to the earlier instrument if that is deemed to be more likely as it was originally constructed. The next earliest example after the Brighton instrument, is #17, in the Tolson Museum, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Arnold Myers reports that it is pitched in C without crook or long shank and the valve tube length adds three semitones. It has a circular crook that lowers the overall pitch to Bb. The two remaining bugles #43, in the Historisches Museum, Basel and #61, in the Horniman Museum, London (listed as pitched in Eb), they both appear to have shorter overall tube lengths with longer valve slide tubes, almost certainly adding three semitones. The latter two don’t have a circular mouthpipe crook or finger hook on the valve lever mount as pictured above, but a period photograph in Ralph Dudgeon’s collection, of a musician holding a very similar instrument exhibits both. This is the cover photo of his excellent book “The Keyed Bugle”.

As always, we hope that future research and input from knowledgeable readers with add to this story.