What does 1 Corinthians 14:8 mean?

Paul is showing why it is not helpful for people to display the gift of tongues during the church service if nobody can interpret what is being said. He has compared it to flutes and harps, "lifeless instruments," producing a series of random notes in random order. That is not music; it is noise, and it is unhelpful to those who hear it.

Now he ups the stakes. Then, as now, bugles were used in military settings to signal the troops to take designated actions. Different melodies represented different orders. Most importantly, one specific melody blasted on the bugle was used to call the army to go to battle.

If the bugle just blurts out an indistinct sound, notes in no sensible order, how will the soldiers know what to do? Bugle noise would lead only to confusion, not action. Paul will show in the following verse how this parallels what happens when tongues are spoken in church settings with no interpretation.