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An element of the mellophone puzzle, and understanding where we are today with the modern marching mello, is the G mellophone bugle.
For those that don’t know, before the 2000 season drum corps used only instruments pitched in G, one of them being the G mellophone bugle. The instrument is pitched just a minor third lower than the B-flat trumpet.
I finally tracked one down to try it a few weeks ago and was amazed how much it felt like a trumpet compared to a F mellophone which feels more like a descant horn to me. Also it is clear that the Mello 6 mouthpiece was designed for this instrument, not the F mello. On G mello it really works and intonation on the one I tried, this Dynasty mellophone bugle, was quite good.
The topic of the G mellophone bugle was addressed in two recent installments of The Mellocast. In the most recent episode (27) this statement in the show notes is really right on the money: “G Mellos slot a lot like Trumpets. F Mellos are very different; they slot more like a French Horn.”
For horn players in DCI groups the F mello was a step in the right direction to be sure.
