 Like most of their concert counterparts, they are pitched in either C or BB♭, although within the dwindling number of drum corps still using older instruments, they are, like the rest of the traditional bugle line, pitched in the key of G (or GG, depending on which naming convention is used).Instruments in any of these keys are generally larger in modern times compared to their older counterparts, although improved materials and construction techniques in the manufacture of instruments allows them to be made stronger and lighter than before.With most circuits now permitting B♭, C, and F instruments, the modern contrabass bugle is essentially a concert tuba converted for ease of marching.