Taps - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"Taps" is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military

United States armed forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfield

Daniel Butterfield

Daniel Adams Butterfield was a New York businessman, a Union General in the American Civil War, and Assistant U.S. Treasurer in New York. He is credited with composing the bugle call Taps and was involved in the Black Friday gold scandal in the Grant administration...

s Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during flag ceremonies and 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,...

s, generally on 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 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...

. The term originates from the Dutch term taptoe

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...

.

The tune is actually a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the "Scott Tattoo

Scott Tattoo

"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".The call was published in musical notation in an American military manual written by Major General Winfield Scott, first published in 1835...

" which was used in the U.S.