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How To Play The Bugle - the slur

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hitting it and holding it while you count 1-2-3-4. Then go to C
in the third space in the staff. Contract your lips a little to play
C. Then contract your lips a little more and try the E, and
finally the high G.

When you have learned to play these four notes, you should
have little difficulty with the low E and middle C. For these
notes as well as the others, however, you need lip strength and
breath control from the diaphragm, and it takes a little practice
to develop these two qualities.

The Slur

In some bugle music you will find a curved line connecting
two or more notes of different pitch. This is called a slur, and
it is illustrated in Fig. 105, which is the music of Reveille, the
best known of all the bugle calls.

When you come to a slur, you tongue or "attack" only the
first note. You blow the second note by changing the contrac-
tion of your lips, without making a second "attack." Practicing
slurs is a first-rate way to strengthen your lips and gain tone
control.

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