The 24 Notes and Beyond
Traditional bugle calls are built from a small handful of notes in the bugle’s natural harmonic series, but each one carries its own history and its own job to do — waking a camp, calling everyone to the flagpole, or laying a fallen service member to rest.
Daily & Ceremonial Calls
- First Call — the “get moving” call, sounded before Reveille
- Reveille — wake-up call
- Assembly — everyone falls in
- Mess Call — time to eat
- Drill Call — fall in for drill or activities
- Fatigue Call — work detail
- Officers’ Call — officers/leaders report
- Recall — return to camp or quarters
- Church Call — call to services
- Swimming Call — call to the waterfront
- Fire Call — fire alarm
- Retreat — end of the day, flag lowering
- To the Colors — flag ceremony, no words sung
- Call to Quarters — lights out approaching
- Taps — day’s end, and the call sounded at military funerals and memorial services
Notation & Audio
We’re steadily growing our library of notation and recorded calls so you can hear a call before you try to play it. If you’re working on a specific call for your Merit Badge or a ceremony and don’t see it here yet, reach out — we’re happy to help you track it down.
Need a Bugler for a Ceremony?
If you’re organizing a memorial service or ceremony and need someone to sound Taps, contact us and we’ll try to help connect you with a bugler in your area.