Bugle call
Encyclopedia
A bugle call is a short tune
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...

, originating as a military signal
Military communications
Historically, the first military communications had the form of sending/receiving simple signals . Respectively, the first distinctive tactics of military communications were called Signals, while units specializing in those tactics received the Signal Corps name...

 announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugle
Bugle
Bugle is a brass musical instrument.Bugle may also refer to:* Contrabass bugle, lowest-pitched instrument in the drum and bugle corps hornline* Bugle , common names of flowering plant genus Ajuga...

s, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a battlefield. Naval bugle calls were also used to command the crew of many warships (signaling between ships being by way of signal flags.)

A defining feature of a bugle call is that it consists only of notes from a single overtone
Overtone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...

 series. This is in fact a requirement if it is to be playable on a bugle
Bugle (instrument)
The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure, since the bugle has no other mechanism for controlling pitch. Consequently, the bugle is limited to notes within the harmonic series...

 or equivalently on a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

 without moving the valves. (If a bandsman plays calls on a trumpet, for example, one particular key may be favored or even prescribed, such as: all calls to be played with the first valve down.)

Bugle calls typically indicated the change in daily routines of camp. Every duty around camp had its own bugle call, and since cavalry had horses to look after, they heard twice as many signals as regular infantry. "Boots and Saddles
Boots and Saddles
For the 1957-1958 syndicated western television series starring Jack Pickard, Patrick McVey, and Gardner McKay, see Boots and Saddles .Boots and Saddles is a bugle call sounded for mounted troops to mount and take their place in line....

" was the most imperative of these signals and could be sounded without warning at any time of day or night, signaling the men to equip themselves and their mounts immediately. Bugle calls also relayed commanders' orders on the battlefield, signaling the troops to Go Forward, To the Left, To the Right, About, Rally on the Chief, Trot, Gallop, Rise up, Lay down, Commence Firing, Cease Firing, Disperse, and other specific actions.

Bugle calls

  • Adjutant's Call
    Adjutant's Call
    Adjutant's Call is a bugle call indicating that the adjutant is about to form the guard, battalion, or regiment.)The top staff is for the Bugler, while the lower staff is for the Drums and the Cymbals....

    : indicates that the adjutant
    Adjutant
    Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

     is about to form the guard, battalion, or regiment.
  • Alarm (as played by Sam Jaffe
    Sam Jaffe (actor)
    Sam Jaffe was an American actor, teacher, musician and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur and The Day the Earth Stood Still...

     near the end of Gunga Din
    Gunga Din (film)
    Gunga Din is a 1939 RKO adventure film directed by George Stevens, loosely based on the poem of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, combined with elements of his novel Soldiers Three...

    )

  • Assembly
    Assembly (bugle call)
    Assembly is a bugle call used to call in a group of soldiers or scouts. It is also sometimes referred to as "Fall in"....

    : Signals troops to assemble at a designated place.

  • Attention
    Attention (bugle call)
    Attention is a bugle call sounded as a warning that troops are about to be called to attention.This is taken from the British Alarm, at which call the troops turned out under arms....

    : Sound as a warning that troops are about to be called to attention.

  • Boots and Saddles
    Boots and Saddles
    For the 1957-1958 syndicated western television series starring Jack Pickard, Patrick McVey, and Gardner McKay, see Boots and Saddles .Boots and Saddles is a bugle call sounded for mounted troops to mount and take their place in line....

    : Sounded for mounted troops to mount and take their place in line.

  • Call to Quarters
    Call to Quarters
    Call to Quarters is a bugle call which signals all personnel not authorized to be absent to their quarters for the night....

    : Signals all personnel not authorized to be absent to their quarters for the night.

  • Charge
    Charge (bugle call)
    Charge is a bugle call which signals to execute a charge, or to gallop forward into harm's way with deadly intent. A simple unmistakable call, it was even recognizable by experienced horses.-External links:*...

    : Signal to execute a charge: gallop forward into harm's way with deadly intent.

  • Church Call
    Church Call
    Church Call is a bugle call which signals that religious services are about to begin. The call may also be used to announce the formation of a funeral escort....

    : Signals religious services are about to begin.
    The call may also be used to announce the formation of a funeral escort from a selected military unit.

  • Drill Call
    Drill Call
    Drill Call is a bugle call which sounds as a warning to turn out for Drill....

    : Sounds as a warning to turn out for drill.

  • Fatigue Call
    Fatigue Call
    Fatigue Call is a bugle call which signals all designated personnel to report for fatigue duty....

    : Signals all designated personnel to report for fatigue duty.

  • Fire Call
    Fire Call
    Fire Call is a bugle call which signals that there is a fire on the post or in the vicinity. The call is also used for fire drill....

    : Signals that there is a fire on the post or in the vicinity.
    The call is also used for fire drill
    Fire drill
    A fire drill is a method of practicing the evacuation of a building for a fire or other emergency. Generally, the emergency system is activated and the building is evacuated as though a real fire had occurred...

    .

  • First Call
    First call
    "First call" is a bugle call with three distinct meanings.At a horse race, where the tune is also known as the Call to the Post, it is a signal that all mounts should be at the starting gate because the race is about to begin. The tune is usually sounded by a bugler five to 10 minutes before the...

    : Sounds as a warning that personnel will prepare to assemble for a formation.
    • This call is also used in horse racing
      Horse racing
      Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

      , where it is known as Call to the Post. In that context, it indicates that jockeys need to have their mounts in position to be loaded into the starting gate.

  • First Sergeant's Call
    First Sergeant's Call
    First Sergeant's Call is a bugle call which signals that the First Sergeant is about to form the company....

    : Signals that the First Sergeant is about to form the company.

  • Guard Mount
    Guard Mount
    Guard Mount refers to two things. The first is the actual forming of a military security group called: the Guard. The second is the bugle call which was used to signal the formation of the group.-Military formation:...

    : Sounds as a warning that the guard is about to be assembled for guard mount.

  • Last Post
    Last Post
    The "Last Post" can be either a B♭ bugle call within British Infantry regiments or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British Cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery used at Commonwealth military funerals and ceremonies commemorating those who have been killed in war.The two regimental traditions have...

     is a bugle call used at Commonwealth of Nations military funerals and ceremonies commemorating those who have been killed in a war.

  • Mail Call
    Mail Call (bugle call)
    Mail Call is a bugle call which signals personnel to assemble for the distribution of mail....

    : Signals personnel to assemble for the distribution of mail.

  • Mess Call
    Mess Call
    Mess Call is a bugle call which signals mealtime.Mess call is associated with the following lyrics:Mess Call is a bugle call which signals mealtime.:Mess call is associated with the following lyrics:...

    : Signals mealtime.

  • Officers Call
    Officers Call
    Officers Call is a bugle call which signals all officers to assemble at a designated place....

    : Signals all officers to assemble at a designated place.

  • Pay Call
    Payday March
    Payday March is a bugle march. The first strain, repeated, also serves as Pay Call, a bugle call to announce that the troops will be paid....

    : Signals that troops will be paid.

  • Recall
    Recall (bugle call)
    Recall is a bugle call used to signals to soldiers that duties or drills are to cease, or to indicate that a period of relaxation should end. Outside of a military context, it is used to signal when a game should end, such as a game of capture the flag among scouts.-History:Like other bugle calls,...

    : Signals duties or drills to cease.


  • Retreat: Signals the end of the official day. This bugle call is very close to Sunset
    Sunset (bugle call)
    Sunset, also known as the Retreat Call, is a bugle call played in United Kingdom and British Commonwealth countries to signal the end of the official military day. It uses a slightly different melody to the US Retreat bugle call. In common with all bugle calls, it consists only of notes from a...

    used in the UK and British Commonwealth countries.

This call is also used to introduce Act 2 of La damnation de Faust of Hector Berlioz.

  • Reveille
    Reveille
    "Reveille" is a bugle call, trumpet call or pipes call most often associated with the military or summer camp; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise...

    : Signals the troops to awaken for morning roll call.

  • The Rouse
    The Rouse
    The Rouse is a bugle call most often associated with the military in Commonwealth countries. It is commonly played following The Last Post at military services, and is often mistakenly referred to as Reveille....


  • School Call: Signals school is about to begin.

  • Sick Call: Signals all troops needing medical attention to report to the dispensary.

  • Stable Call: Signals troops to feed and water horses. Lyrics dating to 1852 Sumner's March to New Mexico: "Come off to the stables, all if you are able, and give your horses some oats and some corn; For it you don’t do it, the colonel will know it, And then you will rue it, as sure’s you’re born."

  • Swimming Call

  • Taps
    Taps
    "Taps" is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfields Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet...

    : Signals that unauthorized lights are to be extinguished.
    This is the last call of the day.
    The call is also sounded at the completion of a US military funeral
    Military funeral
    A military funeral is a specially orchestrated funeral given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute,...

     ceremony.


  • Tattoo
    Military tattoo
    The original meaning of military tattoo is a military drum performance, but nowadays it sometimes means army displays more generally.It dates from the 17th century when the British Army was fighting in the Low Countries...

    : Signals that all light in squad rooms be extinguished and that all loud talking and other disturbances be discontinued within 15 minutes.

  • To Arms (Signals all troops to fall under arms at designated places without delay.)


  • To The Colors, or To the Color
    To the Colors is a bugle call to render honors to the nation. It is used when no band is available to render honors, or in ceremonies requiring honors to the nation more than once. To the Color commands all the same courtesies as the National Anthem.
    The most common use of To The Colors is when it is sounded immediately following Retreat when the National Color is being lowered for the day.

Popular culture

Many of the familiar calls have had words made up to fit the tune. For example, the US Reveille goes:
I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up this morning;
I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up at all!
The corporal's worse than the privates,
The sergeant's worse than the corporals,
Lieutenant's worse than the sergeants,
And the captain's worst of all!
< repeat top six lines >


and the US Mess Call:
Soupy, soupy, soupy, without a single bean:
Coffee, coffee, coffee, without a speck of cream:
Porky, porky, porky, without a streak of lean.


and the US Assembly:
There's a soldier in the grass
With a bullet up his ass
Take it out, take it out
Like a good Girl Scout
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...

!


Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...

 wrote a tune called, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". In a filmed version of his musical, This Is the Army
This Is the Army
This Is the Army is a 1943 American wartime motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, and a wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, directed by Sgt. Ezra Stone...

, he plays a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 doughboy
Doughboy
Doughboy is an informal term for an American soldier, especially members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The term dates back to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48....

 whose sergeant exhorts him with this variant of words sung to "Reveille": "Ya gotta get up, ya gotta get up, ya gotta get up this morning!" after which Berlin sang the song.

"Taps" has been used frequently in popular media, both sincerely (in connection with actual or depicted death) and humorously (as with a "killed" cartoon character). It's also the title of a 1981 movie of the same name (See also Taps (film)
Taps (film)
Taps is a 1981 drama film starring George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, as well as then up-and-comers Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. Hutton was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1982 for his role in the film. The film was directed by Harold Becker. The screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, James...

) adapted from Devery Freeman's 1979 novel Father Sky and shot at Valley Forge Military Academy and College
Valley Forge Military Academy and College
Valley Forge Military Academy & College is an American all male preparatory boarding school and coeducational junior college in the military school tradition...

 in Wayne, Pennsylvania in 1980.

"Taps" is also quoted in the introduction to the popular big band hit Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was a major hit for The Andrews Sisters and an iconic World War II tune. This song can be considered an early jump blues recording...

. Written by Don Raye
Don Raye
Don Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...

 and Hughie Prince, likely the most well known recording was done by The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...

.

First call
First call
"First call" is a bugle call with three distinct meanings.At a horse race, where the tune is also known as the Call to the Post, it is a signal that all mounts should be at the starting gate because the race is about to begin. The tune is usually sounded by a bugler five to 10 minutes before the...

 is best known for its use in thoroughbred horse racing, where it is also known as the Call to the Post. It is used to herald (or summon) the arrival of horses onto the track for a race.

Another popular use of the "Mess Call" is a crowd cheer at football or basketball games. The normal tune is played by the band, with a pause to allow the crowd to chant loudly, "Eat 'em up! Eat 'em up! Rah! Rah! Rah!"

See also

  • Bugle calls of the Norwegian Army
    Bugle calls of the Norwegian Army
    The Norwegian Army had in 2002 officially 59 bugle calls . These are divided into two groups;- Bugle calls – “Orders” :...

  • Bugle and trumpet calls of the Mexican Armed Forces
    Bugle and trumpet calls of the Mexican Armed Forces
    The Mexican Armed Forces has a lot of bugle and trumpet calls for all its branches. Drums and bugles are used to signal the calls for the most units of the Army, Navy and the Air Force while the cavalry trumpet is used to signal the calls for the cavalry units of the Army and Air Force, and the...

  • Military rites
    Military rites
    Military rites are honors presented at a funeral for a member of a military or police force. These rites, which are performed at the burial, include the firing of rifles, presenting of a flag and or bugle calls. In Australia and New Zealand a Poppy Service is often held for members of the Armed...

  • 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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