# First call
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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/First_call.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_call
> Source revision: 1356459559
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{{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](/source/United_States_Army_Band)
| format = [ogg](/source/ogg)
}}
'''"First Call"''' is a [bugle call](/source/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](/source/military_installation) (mainly the [U.S. Army](/source/United_States_Army) and the [U.S. Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force)), it is a pre-[reveille](/source/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"](/source/Bugle_call) (lowering the flag at the end of the day).[{{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 }}]
In other military contexts,{{clarifyme|date=May 2026}} it is used (e.g., 5 minutes) before sounding ["Assembly"](/source/Assembly_(bugle_call)) for any particular formation.[{{cite web |url=https://home.army.mil/stewart/my-fort/soldiers/bugle-calls |title=Bugle Calls |accessdate=2026-05-16 }}]
==U.S. Navy use==
On ships of the [U.S. Navy](/source/United_States_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."[{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xf-nvtd.html#hoisting|title=Naval traditions about flags|publisher=|accessdate=2016-07-02 }}]
==Horse racing==
At a [horse race](/source/horse_racing), "First call" is a signal that all mounts should be at the [paddock](/source/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.[{{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=}}]
The tune is usually sounded by a bugler five to ten minutes before the scheduled start time of the race.[{{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 }}]
{{clear}}
==Score==
\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 { }
}
=== 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.[{{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](/source/Japan_Racing_Association) |language=ja}}] The practice started in 1959, when the [Japan Racing Association](/source/Japan_Racing_Association) started playing ''Bahn Frei!'' by [Eduard Strauss](/source/Eduard_Strauss) after [Radio Nikkei](/source/Radio_Nikkei) started to use the song for their radio broadcast to signify listeners that the race was about to start.[{{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}}]
The current fanfares adopted by the JRA were introduced in the late 1980s, with [Koichi Sugiyama](/source/Koichi_Sugiyama) composing the fanfares used in [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo_Racecourse) and [Nakayama Racecourses](/source/Nakayama_Racecourse).[{{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](/source/Sports_Hochi) |language=ja-JP}}]
To date, the JRA uses 21 fanfares depending on the racecourse and the race grade that is about to start.