Fake bugler played at my grandfather's funeral yesterday

[wicket]

Yesterday was my grandfather's funeral. Being an army veteran he was granted a full military honor service with color guard, gun salute and a bugler to play "Taps". As soon as it started up, something just didn't sound right. I looked over at the bugler and while he had the piece to his lips, he wasn't playing anything. The sound kept cracking so you could tell it was a recording. Several people made comments after the service that they couldn't believe how fake it sounded. I poked around on line and found that this is happening a lot:

Digital bugle plays taps when soldiers can't

Buglers for military funerals are in short supply, but a new device lets anyone play taps

I'm pretty upset- had I known they were going to do this I probably could have found a real live bugler to play (I know a lot of musicians) and there also is a group dedicated solely to providing buglers for military funerals called Bugles Across America.

What do you think DUers- am I being too sensitive after having lost my grandfather or would this upset you too were this your relative?

*sigh* I really wish they had told us before hand so I could've atleast tried to secure a bugler. This is in no way meant to denigrate the color guard of course- they did a wonderful job and brought a lot of comfort to my family.

:cry:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I knew about the fake bugle thing

And I think it is sad that whoever arranged it didn't tell you about it and ask if you happened to know someone who could play it for real.

[AlCzervik]

2. i'm sorry about your Granpa, same thing for my Uncle Bud

and my sister in law had to fight to get him into the vets cemetary. Bud was a highly decorated tailgunner during ww2 and in the end he was treated very poorly by the governemnt. Again, i'm sorry.

[wicket]

19. Thnak-you very much

:hug:

[alpizzy]

27. I had an Uncle Bud....

who was a tailgunner in WW2. Seriously.
We're from Ohio. Where are you from?

[AlCzervik]

28. he was from Cambridge mass.

[alpizzy]

36. For a second ....

I thought we could be related. :)

[bigscott]

3. sorry to hear that

my uncle passed recently and they had a real bugler there - still sounded a bit strained. I heard there are hundreds of WW2 vets dying each day - it must be hard to keep up with - then there are the 2250 others............

[wicket]

20. Very true- thanks for your comments

n/t

[donheld]

4. Quite disgusting

:grr::grr:

[wicket]

21. The more I think about it, the more upset I get

:cry:

[enlightenment]

5. That is beyond tacky.

If they couldn't find a bugler, then just be honest and play a recording.
My sympathies for your loss.

[wicket]

22. Thank-you very much for your kind thoughts

:hug:

[derby378]

6. Next thing you know, the "bugler" will hold a Casio up to the microphone

That is pretty disgusting.

[wicket]

23. I didn't realize how widespread this was...

...until I did some digging around. Our veterans deserve better than this!

[sarge43]

7. No I think you're right

They should have given your family the options and let you decide. At least they should have a decent recording.

For your grandfather: Ave atque vale, frater.

[wicket]

24. Thanks sarge

:patriot:

[sarge43]

39. You're welcome, wicket. n/t

[Gman]

8. I guess you can't blame the buglers for not staying in the Army

these days. They probably don't want to be playing "Charge" while an IED goes off right next to them.

[wicket]

25. VERY true

n/t

[murielm99]

9. My father is 80 years old, and a World War II veteran.

He travels all around his area, southern Wisconsin, to be in color guards for veterans' funerals. He told me that buglers are not the only thing in short supply. Often they cannot find enough veterans to participate in the funeral at all. Most of the veterans who do this are aging, and dying in increasing numbers.

[wicket]

26. It's just sad

:( Your father sounds like a very good man. :patriot:

[Nickster]

10. Last year at my Granpa's funeral they played taps via a tape.

I would have liked a bugler, but at least they didn't fake it. I dunno, I didn't get too worked up over it. All things considered, it was really a very small part of my considerations for that day.

[wicket]

29. Sorry to hear about your grandfather

:patriot:

[Nickster]

63. Same to you my friend, same to you. Thank you.

[lumberjack_jeff]

84. Same with my dad - but that was about 10 years ago.

You'd have thought that a bronze star and two purple hearts would have earned an actual bugler, but "bugle-synching" would have been worse imo, than a tape.

But like you, I considered it was a small thing in the overall scope.

[BiggJawn]

11. "Taps" ain't that hard to play.

I'm no horn man, I played winds, but even *I* could get through "Taps" on either a bugle or a trumpet with the keys held down.

[wicket]

30. And it's what- 24 notes??

I could've found someone easily had I known they were going to use such a crappy recording.

[yellowdogmi]

44. actually 4 notes eom

[Occulus]

74. 24 notes, using four tones on the scale

:D

[oldtime dfl_er]

12. It's just like everything else this admin does

all hat no cattle, basically. All show, no substance. Why do things right when you can cut corners? At least you can be assured some of us are thankful for your grandtather's service to his country.

[wtmusic]

18. Remember Rummy signing military honors certificates with a digipen?

These MFers can all rot in hell.

[wicket]

33. I heard about that- made me so furious

:grr:

[wicket]

32. Thank-you very much

Your kind thoughts are greatly appreciated :hug:

[KansDem]

13. Your grandfather didn't send a fake soldier to do his job when called

You are not being too sensitive.

I heard a live bugler at my grandfather's and dad's funerals. You should have heard one, too.

It's a matter of respect, but it appears the Pentagon wants convenience.

A sad commentary? Yes, in these times, but unfortunately not surprising.

[wicket]

34. Thanks so much

I really appreciate it :hug:

[rd_kent]

14. While I understand your frustration, I think you overreact.

Just my opinion, but as a 19 Navy guy, I disagree with your take on the matter. I did a tour on a Honor Guard and there just are'nt many folks left anymore who play the bugle. The services have musicians, yes, but thay play in bands and are not attached (usually) to honor guard units. It sucks that they used a bad recording and THAT is disgraceful, but with the amount of burials and memorials our guys have to perform these days is almost more than can be handled. Be glad that the Army honored your Grandfather for that is what he deserved. But in this time of budget cuts, we find ourselves going to Costco and buying toilet paper with out own money because we exceeded our limit on funding for items like that.
A sharp salute from me to your Grandfather, I thank him for his service and may he rest in peace.

[wicket]

35. Thank-you

:patriot:

I guess it wouldn't have bothered me as much if they used a better recording, this one was full of snaps and cracks like it was taken off a record player.

[wtmusic]

43. to each his own

"going to Costco" for someone who risked his life for his country is pathetic. Period.

[rd_kent]

51. What are you talking about????

[Kickin_Donkey]

76. Reread the post ...

The Navy man is talking about going to Costco to buy toilet paper for HIMSELf and his comrades because the government didn't have enough money to cover it.

[sarge43]

82. Well, not to defend Smirky or Rummy , but this has been going on

for a long time, probably since Org chucked a rock at Gorg. Scrounging is an ancient martial art, because no matter what, you run out of stuff, grunts tend to be wasteful; hence "If you want two, requisition four, six is even better". I routinely kept an out of pocket stash of office supplies in my room. Never knew how things would shake out at the end of the fiscal year, plus very useful in the art of the deal. "Sure I got that. What do you have I could use?"

Anyone who heading for some overseas hellhole should take a supply of toilet paper or kleenex with them. It's a prime trade item - useful for insulation, filters, excellent for cleaning and polishing, etc and not least of all its primary function.

[flowomo]

15. I actually use the "fake bugle" example in a college class I teach....

I saw a story about this a few years ago and decided it was a perfect example of the kind of "fakery" that increasingly characterizes our culture (along with, for example, the use of fake trees and birdsongs in some planned communities). Students genenerally have mixed reactions to the bugle. The original AP article about also contained a range of reactions.

[semillama]

31. Fake trees and birdsongs!?!?

can you post more about that? I've never heard of it.

[flowomo]

46. Google around for articles on a planned community in Florida...

built by Disney and called "Celebration." They were putting amplified speakers in their trees to broadcast "birdsong." They also would truck in tons of dead leaves (!) to simulate "autumn." The fake trees were an issue in California some years ago -- plastic trees (maintenance free!).

[flowomo]

53. ok, here's a link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml;jsessionid=1YJMQUGZWOWSBQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&xml=/property/2004/06/26/prcel26.xml

be sure you get it all -- espcially the second part that's not blue; it's a huge URL

[wicket]

37. Sounds very interesting

I'm with the other poster- fake trees and birdsongs??? Sheesh. It's like those who lip sync during a concert, if I wanted to listen to their studio albums I would've stayed home and not paid mega $$ to see them live!

[flowomo]

47. actually, I use Milli Vanilli as another example!

ersatz is everywhere

[wtmusic]

45. Right up there with spraypainting grass green

for NFL games :crazy:

[flowomo]

48. yep, fakery abounds. "Truthiness" is not just a verbal phenomenon..

now we have lots of truthy objects too.

[wtmusic]

16. Not sensitive at all

I would rather hear an incompetent bugler attempt to play with some emotion, or no bugler at all.

That's pretty pathetic.

[wicket]

38. Amen to that.

Thank-you.

[rd_kent]

42. I strongly disagree

See my post #14.
The recording is used so that a bumbling bugler doesnt ruin the cremony.

[Sammy Pepys]

17. Yup.

When my grandfather was interred he got full honors, but they just played an audio track of Taps...no one faked it or anything.

[applegrove]

40. That has been going on for years. They couldn't afford it - so they

changed the policy. Years ago. Like 10.

[libnnc]

41. I think this has been going on for a long time

I remember in high school ('87 or '88) our band director got a request from the local VFW for our first chair trumpet player to play taps at someone's funeral.

I'm very sorry for your loss. It's so sad how our veterans get treated. The fake bugler is the final insult.

[Liberal OIF Vet]

49. Fake Bugle....

I am with a reserve unit ( I an active duty) and we have to do funerals all the time. We use the fake bugle. Though I personally feel a real bugler should play, not everyone can play Taps. It is a very difficult bugle call to play (I used to be a US Marine Musician years ago). I would rather have it played by recording than by some poor smuck jacking the song up. Bugler are in short supply around the US.

[TrogL]

50. It's not that hard to play

The fingering is really easy - there isn't any.

You only need to get to a high G and a low C. Any first year trumpet player can do that. If you can't get to a high G, hold down valves 1 and 3 and play it in G. That makes the top note a D which anybody can play.

[Liberal OIF Vet]

52. To play Taps well....

Take a lot of practice. The intervals involved are not for novice trumpet players. The top is a G (If you are playing the bugle call in Concert Bb)and to play the E in tune take a nice ear and embochure control.

[Kickin_Donkey]

79. Not only that ...

you're essentially playing a solo live performance, which isn't easy even in the best of circumstances.

Anybody can bleat out a couple of notes on a horn, but it takes practice, experience, confidence, and some talent to perform for a live audience -- and Taps, with its slow pace and suble tonalities, is no gimme.

Some people on this thread obviously have never been horn players or musicans.

(A former trumpet player here)

[rd_kent]

54. Great, then you can volunteer

to attend these funerals and play taps. The military does not have the cash to pay folks to play taps at most funerals.

[Occulus]

75. Doesn't the military have bands?

I clearly recall seeing these not twelve years ago in my high school's band room.

Surely they're not all gone.

Geez- find and hire a kid who marched DCI over the summer. They're all over the place.

[sarge43]

80. Military bands and orchestras

No, they're certainly not gone; however, there's probably only a couple of hundred assigned to the band/orchestra MOS. Further, they're concentrated in DC and at the major training centers like the Academies, Great Lakes and Lackland, etc. There just flat aren't enough, especially in the horn section, to attend all the vet funerals. As someone pointed out, the WWII vets are leaving and as we had over 12 million people in uniform at the end of the Big One, that's a lot of funerals.

As said, the VA rep should give the family the options rather than a tacky fakeout.

[rd_kent]

86. Yes they do have bands

But the folks performing the burials are a cermonial guard, not a band. If they sent the trumpet players to the cermonial units (which is a full time job) they wouldnt be able to have the band.
As for hiring goes, the military cannot just hire someone. Who will pay for it? Units cannot just write a check to a trumpet player, it doesnt work that way.
It seems like it would be an easy fix, but most people who are posting their opinion on this subject just have no idea what they are talking about or know how the system works. Im sure that the cermonial units would LOVE to have a live bugler attached to them, but they dont, so in order to complete the ceremony, they play a recording.
Right or wrong, thats just the way it is.

[Gormy Cuss]

55. I could play it well by the end of my first year playing trumpet.

Practice, practice, practice. I played it for Scout events. I think an amateur effort by an accomplished high school trumpet player would be more respectful than a canned recording, and the families should be the ones making the choice.

[Liberal OIF Vet]

57. One real bugler....

Should be the one to play. I agree. But unless there is some Bugler's union out there that will play for free, the reality is that a recording is what is going to be played 95% of the time.

[jmowreader]

62. There is such a thing...

http://www.buglesacrossamerica.org

This is going to come across as a damn fool question...but why doesn't the military cross-train at least its brass players to play Taps on the bugle? It ain't like the embouchure on a trumpet or a tuba is as different from a bugle as the embouchure on a clarinet or sax is from a bugle.

[Ron Green]

67. During Vietnam, many if not most brass players in US Army bands

did funeral detail. They'd check out a trumpet, ride a couple hours in a van with an honor guard, do the funeral in some little town and ride back to the post. It took most of the day to do it.

[Liberal OIF Vet]

69. I was a Tuba player in the Marine Corps.....

years ago and will tell you that a tuba player can not play Taps on a bugle very well. The embouchures are way different. Plus there are only so many military bands in the US and they would never be able to cover the entire US. I will check out that site though. Maybe we can find some buglers for the funerals we have to do at my unit.

[dsc]

71. I was gonna say the same thing

I played baritone and tuba throught high school and I would never have been able to even play a note on a trumpet. The embouchures are totally different. A french horn player maybe and of course any trumpet player.

[newportdadde]

56. Your grandfather deserved to have the real thing played.

I would have been upset as well. For what its worth I personally appreciate his service as do many others here.

[qanda]

58. They have outsourced everything else

You would think they could at least pay someone to come to funerals and give these soldiers the honor they are due. They did the exact same thing at my grandfather's funeral.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, may your dear grandfather rest in peace.

[negativenihil]

59. Some Clarification

I was attending this funeral along with wicket, and i brought this to her attention.

The crackling she described in my opinion was caused by a possible loose connection within the digital bugle. It cracked maybe 5 or 6 times.

(edit: this noise could also have been caused by a broken/defective speaker. I've blown enough speakers in my time to know what one sounds like. so yes, to add insult to injury, the digital bugle wasn't even maintained...)

What bothered me the most about this was the bugler was positioned somewhat out of sight from everyone, and far enough away that grieving family wouldn't notice such a detail. Being the nerd that i am however, i picked up on it instantly.

Anyway - this man fought for us in WW2 and i felt insulted by the idea that a person with any musical talent couldn't be secured.

I must have ranted about this for a solid 45min on our ride home...

[wicket]

68. Thank-you :)

:)

[ProfessorGAC]

60. Same At My Dad's Funeral

Personally, i couldn't have cared less whether it was live or memorex.
The Professor

[SoCalDem]

61. As the older guys leave us, there are fewer of them to do this .

It's sad, but true.. More and more bases are closed..(they used to be scattered all over the country) and there just are not enough people left who play the bugle to go around.. It would have been nice of them to warn you..It seems tacky to me too, but it's become the norm.:cry:

When they called him to service, a real guy showed up....not a recording:cry:

There was a news story a while back about a young school kid who did this as a community service because he felt bad about the vets not having a real bugler.. I'll try and find the article..

[wicket]

81. "When they called him to service, a real guy showed up....not a recording"

Thank-you so much- that is so true. Your thoughts are greatly appreciate :hug:

[hfojvt]

64. as a HS trumpeter

I used to do it for $5
Easy money, if you can find it.
I cannot believe trumpet players are in short supply.

[Occulus]

77. It's not that

It's that society in some areas makes young musicians feel undervalued and ignored by giving a whole sports section to the local schools' various sports teams and nothing or next to it to the artists and drama and music departments. Any kid on any football team might be willing to join in a neighboorhood game in the park, but try finding a group of "bandfags" (good GOD, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that word) willing to start a chamber group outside school.

:grr:

They won't do this because they think they'll be made fum of. The sad thing is- they would be, by somebody.

[WildEyedLiberal]

65. That does seem really disrespectful

They could have at least been up front with you so you could've either okayed their decision or found a real bugler for a replacement.

[politicat]

66. We were lucky.... My sister plays trumpet and was ROTC at the time.

She played for my grand-father's funeral. The American Legion's (who supplied his color guard) bugler was in the hospital having gall bladder surgery in 1998 when my grandfather died.

This is not a new problem - there aren't a lot of buglers/trumpeters out there, and the military stopped training them years ago. Those who are left are generally elderly or just happen to be musicians.

VFW has a similar problem - not enough membership. DH is a life member, but is not comfortable being the youngest man by 30 years in a building - he's a Gulf War Vet.

[Harper_is_Bush]

70. That sucks, but try not to let it get you down...

did your Grandfather have a sense of humor? Maybe he would have laughed at the absurdity of it?

[dsc]

72. That is too bad

I remember in high school our band would do the Veterans Day and Memorial Day Parades and Taps at the cemetary. Any high school band would have several students capable of playing Taps. At least the first three trumpet players.

[fishwax]

73. at my grandpa's funeral they just played the record, with no pretense

And it was quite pleasant. But I can definitely understand your reaction at having a bugler only to find out it wasn't real. I would probably feel the same way in that case.

My condolences on your loss :hug:

[Eric J in MN]

78. That is better. If they can't ge a bugler, they should just play

a CD without anyone holding up a fake bugle.

[wicket]

88. Thank-you very much

:hug:

[msongs]

83. my dad's funeral is today - we will see if its all fake thanks to bushco

and his budget cuts against the veterans who served in ww 2

Msongs
www.msongs.com/liberaltshirts.htm

[wicket]

85. I'm so incredibly sorry

The nation lost some great men this week :patriot:

[rd_kent]

87. Just a sec, bud!

While I dont support shrub or his cronies in any way, this particular issue aint his doing. Blaming EVERYTHING on him, while easy to do since MOST everything is his fault, isnt the way to get respect. It only dilutes the things that ARE his fault.