The bugle has been part of organized outdoor events since armies of Greeks stood against Sparta.  While early horns were just straight, the modern curled bugle brass instrument is much easier to carry!

The last of the bugle uses is with the Boy Scouts.  The bugle has been a tradition of scouting since the merit badge was published in 1911.  An attempt to retire this merit badge ocured in 2010, it failed as traditional Scouters from all over the nation made a lot of noise and got the decision rescinded.

For a full listing of the requirements, see:  http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Bugling

My goal as a merit badge councilor for this rare but traditional award is to educate modern Scouting to the benefits of this communication medium.  This traditional method of communication forms all of the necessary messaging for an entire summer camp, or just an overnight outting.  For many, it is a real treat to hear taps in the distance before going to sleep.

Here is a sample weekend schedule of bugle calls (rough personal recordings, just so you can kinda hear how they sound):

Friday Event				Bugle Call	   
9:00pm   Crackerbarrel			Assembly	   
10:00pm  SPL Meeting			Officers Call	   
10:30pm  Everyone to Campsite		To Quarters	   
11:00pm  Lights Out			Taps	   
Saturday Event		   
7:00am   Wake up!			Reveille	   
8:00am   Breakfast			Mess	   
9:00am   Assemble for Flags		Assembly	   
9:15am   Flags move toward pole		To The Colors	   
9:30am   Start Service Projects		Fatigue	   
12:00      Lunch			Mess	   
1:00pm   Back to work			Fatigue	   
3:00pm   Clean up, open time		Swimming	   
6:00pm   Dinner				Mess	   
7:15pm   Evening Flags			Assembly	   
7:30pm   Lowering of the flag		Retreat	   
7:45pm   Start of Capture the Flag	First Call	   
8:30pm   End of Capture the Flag	Recall	   
9:00pm   Campfire Program 		Drill Call	   
10:30pm  End of Campfire		To Quarters	   
11:00pm  Lights Out 			Taps	   
Sunday 	 Event		   
7:30am   Wake up!			Reveille	   
8:30am   Breakfast			Mess	   
9:20am   Gather for Flags		Assembly	   
9:30am   Flags move toward pole		To The Colors	   
10:00am  Start of Worship Services	Church Call	   
12:00    End of camp activities		Retreat	 

Traditionally, First Call was used to wake the cooks before Reveille. 

For this sequence, the only call not used is Fire!  The fire call should be left as a call only to warn of emergency such as a fire, tornado, or serious emergency where the Scouts should gather for further instructions. 

The music for those who want to see the music, it can be found here:  http://www.usscouts.org/mb/bugle_calls.asp

If you want to download the entire set of calls, here is a link to a zip of the files (including Fire!):  zipfile