{{Short description|Bugle call}} {{About|the bugle call|the Christian music group|First Call}} {{expert|Military history|reason=The First Call bugle call has a French origin; the history and adaptation within American culture needs to be much more thoroughly explained.|date=May 2026}} {{listen | filename = FirstCall.ogg | title = First call | description = First call played on the bugle by a member of the United States Army Band | format = ogg }}
'''"First Call"''' is a bugle call used in America primarily in three contexts: the U.S. Army; the U.S. Navy; and horse racing.
==U.S. Army use== At a U.S. ground military installation (mainly the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force), it is a pre-reveille "courtesy" signal, sounded around 05:50, originally to assemble the trumpeters to deliver the reveille that is delivered at 06:00. Some locations also sound it a few minutes before "Retreat" (lowering the flag at the end of the day).<ref name="TapsBugler">{{cite web |url=https://www.tapsbugler.com/first-call-call-to-the-post/ |title=First Call and Call to the Post |first=Jari |last=Villanueva |date=2026-05-10 |accessdate=2026-05-16 }}</ref>
In other military contexts,{{clarifyme|date=May 2026}} it is used (e.g., 5 minutes) before sounding "Assembly" for any particular formation.<ref name="TapsBugler"/>
In contemporary practice, Army bugle calls are typically performed only on weekdays (Monday through Friday), with the First Call at 06:25, the Reveille at 06:30, a Retreat (To the Color) at 17:00, and finally Taps at 21:00.<ref name="armymil">{{cite web |url=https://home.army.mil/stewart/my-fort/soldiers/bugle-calls |title=Bugle Calls |accessdate=2026-05-16 }}</ref>
==U.S. Navy use== On ships of the U.S. Navy, "First Call" is sounded at 07:55, five minutes ahead of "Morning Colors" (raising the national ensign), and 5 minutes before "Evening Colors" (lowering the national ensign). In the absence of a bugle, the word is passed: "First call, first call to colors."<ref name="crwflags"/>
The same ceremony takes place on shore establishments, but not on ships underway.<ref name="crwflags">{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xf-nvtd.html#hoisting|title=Naval traditions about flags|publisher=|accessdate=2016-07-02 }}</ref>
==Horse racing== At a horse race, "First call" is a signal that all mounts should be at the paddock exit in order to proceed to the track to begin the post parade. This started to be used at horse races before the 1860s.<ref name="wfpl">{{Cite web|url=https://wfpl.org/curious-derby-whats-the-origin-of-the-call-to-the-post/|title=Curious Derby: What's The Origin Of The Call To The Post?|last=Ellis|first=Laura|date=2018-05-04 |website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>
The tune is usually sounded by a bugler five to ten minutes before the scheduled start time of the race.<ref name="wfpl"/>
The call serves a similar purpose in dog racing. When "First call" is used for this purpose, it is usually referred to as the "Call to the Post".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/sports/a-last-hurrah-for-hollywood-park.html|title=A Last Hurrah for Hollywood Park|date=2013-12-15 |work=The New York Times|accessdate=2016-07-02 }}</ref> {{clear}}
==Score== <score lang="lilypond" raw="1"> \header { title = "First call" tagline = ##f } \score { \relative c'' { \tempo 4.=96 \key c \major \time 3/8 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"french horn"
\partial 8 \times 2/3 { g16 c16 e16 } g8-. \times 2/3 { g16 g16 g16 } g8-. e8-. \times 2/3 { e16 e16 e16 } e8-. c8-. e8-. c8-. g8 r8 \times 2/3 { g16 c16 e16 } g8-. \times 2/3 { g16 g16 g16 } g8-. g8-. e8-. c8-. g8-. \times 2/3 { g16 g16 g16 } g8-. c4\fermata \bar "|." } \layout { } \midi { } } </score>
=== Japanese horse racing === {{Main|:ja:ファンファーレ (競馬)}} In Japan, a "fanfare" is played or performed just before the actual race starts, rather than five to ten minutes before, in order to proceed to the gates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ファンファーレ（競馬用語辞典） JRA |url=https://www.jra.go.jp/kouza/yougo/w298.html |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=Japan Racing Association |language=ja}}</ref> The practice started in 1959, when the Japan Racing Association started playing ''Bahn Frei!'' by Eduard Strauss after Radio Nikkei started to use the song for their radio broadcast to signify listeners that the race was about to start.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-26 |title=競馬中継60年～あの日、あの時、競馬場で【3】 |url=http://www.radionikkei.jp/keiba60th/post_6.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404115318/http://www.radionikkei.jp/keiba60th/post_6.html |archive-date=2021-04-04 |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=Radio Nikkei |language=ja}}</ref>
The current fanfares adopted by the JRA were introduced in the late 1980s, with Koichi Sugiyama composing the fanfares used in Tokyo and Nakayama Racecourses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Yoshida |first=Tetsuya |date=2021-12-24 |title=【有馬記念 Ｇ１ファンファーレ物語２】レース直前に曲を流すのは日本特有の文化 |url=https://umatoku.hochi.co.jp/articles/20211223-OHT1T51231.html |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=UMATOKU |publisher=Sports Hochi |language=ja-JP}}</ref>
To date, the JRA uses 21 fanfares depending on the racecourse and the race grade that is about to start.<ref name=":0" />
"First call" is also used as a fanfare at Funabashi Racecourse, a regional horse race track in Japan.{{fact|date=May 2026}}
==See also==
==References== {{reflist|1}}
==Bibliography==
==External multimedia== *[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/17first.mp3 MP3 file], [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/17first.rm RealMedia file], FAS.org
{{Bugle calls}}
Category:Horse racing terminology Category:Sporting fanfares Category:Bugle calls