"Tattoo" is a bugle call played in the evening in the British Army and the United States Army.
The original concept of this call was played on the snare drum and was known as "tap-too", with the same rule applying. Later on, the name was applied to more elaborate military performances, known as military tattoos. The etymology of the military tattoo is from Dutch "tap toe", unrelated to the Tahitian origin of an ink tattoo. [1]
In the United States Army, the tattoo signals that all light in squad rooms be extinguished and that all loud talking and other disturbances be discontinued within 15 minutes, at which time "Taps" should follow. [2] At 28 bars long "Tattoo" is recognized as the longest bugle call in the repertoire of the United States Army.
The tattoo in the British Army is used to recall soldiers to their barracks. The call lasts twenty minutes, begins with "First Post", and ends with "Last Post". [3]
"Taps" is a bugle call that is sounded as a signal for “lights out” at the end of a military day, and during patriotic memorial ceremonies and military funerals conducted by the United States Armed Forces. The official military version is played by a single bugle or trumpet, although other versions of the tune may be played in other contexts. It is also performed often at Girl Guide, Girl Scout, and Boy Scout meetings and camps. The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfield's Lullaby", or by the first line of the lyric, "Day Is Done". The duration may vary to some extent.
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of Scotland. The event is held each August as one of the Edinburgh Festivals.
"Reveille", called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from réveille, the French word for "wake up".
The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery, and is used at Commonwealth military funerals, and ceremonies commemorating those who have died in war.
In rudimental drumming, a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associated with various forms of field drumming, where the snare drum plays a prominent role. In this context "rudiment" means not only "basic", but also fundamental. This tradition of drumming originates in military drumming and it is a central component of martial music.
Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, 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.
United States military bands include musical ensembles maintained by the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and United States Coast Guard. More broadly, they can also include musical ensembles of other federal and state uniformed services, including the Public Health Service and NOAA Corps, the state defense forces, and the senior military colleges.
A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the Tahitian origins of an ink tattoo.
The position of at attention, or standing at attention, is a military posture which involves the following general postures:
The Großer Zapfenstreich is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the German federal armed forces, the Bundeswehr, and by the Austrian federal armed forces Bundesheer. The Zapfenstreich is performed only during national celebrations and solemn public commemorations, to honour distinguished persons present at such special events. Examples are the farewell ceremony for a German federal president, or at the conclusion of large military exercises. It takes place in the evening hours and consists of a military formation of at least one military band, two platoons of armed infantrymen, and two lines of soldiers carrying torches, in total about 400 men.
"Recall" is a bugle call used to signal 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.
"First Call" is a bugle call with three distinct meanings.
Martial music or military music is a specific genre of music intended for use in military settings performed by professional soldiers called field musicians. Much of the military music has been composed to announce military events as with bugle calls and fanfares, or accompany marching formations with drum cadences, or mark special occasions as by military bands. However, music has been employed in battle for centuries, sometimes to intimidate the enemy and other times to encourage combatants, or to assist in organization and timing of actions in warfare. Depending on the culture, a variety of percussion and musical instruments have been used, such as drums, fifes, bugles, trumpets or other horns, bagpipes, triangles, cymbals, as well as larger military bands or full orchestras. Although some martial music has been composed in written form, other music has been developed or taught by ear, such as bugle calls or drum cadences, relying on group memory to coordinate the sounds.
A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distinction between a military band and a corps of drums, was that 'drummers' were not employed to play their instruments to entertain or delight, but rather they carried out a utilitarian battlefield role. This role was fulfilled by trumpeters or buglers in the cavalry and the artillery, who did not form into comparative formed bodies in the way that drummers did; therefore, an orthodox corps of drums will exist in the infantry arm.
The Norwegian Army had in 2002 officially 59 bugle calls. These are divided into two groups;
"Scott Tattoo" is a bugle call entitled "The Tattoo" first published in 1835, and thought to be the source of the bugle call known as "Taps".
Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.
The His Majesty the King's Guard 3. Company is a renowned military band and drill unit the Norwegian Armed Forces. It is attached to the Hans Majestet Kongens Garde or The King's Guard, acting as its unit band and drill team. The band and drill unit is based out of Huseby Leir in the capital Oslo where its area of responsibility is. It is a renowned unit that is famous around the world for its participation in international military tattoos. In its activities, it participates in parades and ceremonies for HM Harald V of Norway) and Norwegian members of the House of Glücksburg. It also supports the government and the military, specifically increasing the esprit de corps in army units as well as in the public. The concert season usually lasts from December to March/April while the marching season lasts until September.