Taps Across America
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CBS NEWS TO COMMEMORATE MEMORIAL DAY WITH “TAPS ACROSS AMERICA”
#CBSTaps
Monday at 3PM local time, thousands of trumpet and bugle players will sound Taps from their porches
Memorial Day celebrations across the U.S. will look a bit different this year, with most picnics, parades,
and services cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. That’s why CBS News “On the Road” correspondent Steve Hartman is teaming up with retired Air Force bugler Jari Villanueva to keep the spirit of the holiday alive.
Hartman and Villanueva are asking veterans, musicians, teachers, and students of all abilities and ages to sound Taps on their front lawns, porches, and driveways at 3:00 PM local time this Monday, May 25
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Hartman was inspired by a story he did in 2012 on Don Brittain, who sounded Taps on his balcony at sunset. Hartman thought other trumpet players could do the same. Independently, Villanueva had virtually the same idea for a Memorial Day tribute. Villanueva runs the organization Taps for Veterans. He says he wasn’t content to let the holiday pass without commemorating America’s fallen service members, as well as the many lives lost to coronavirus.
If you’d like to dust off your trumpet or bugle and sound the call, here’s what you need to know: Who can participate?
Anyone who can sound Taps on a trumpet, bugle, or similar instrument
When should I sound Taps?
Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day) at 3:00 PM in your time zone
How do I sound Taps?
Find the sheet music here. Villanueva recommends playing in the key of B flat, if possible.
Where should I play?
Your front yard, porch, balcony, driveway, etc. – anywhere you can be socially distant from neighbors and passerby. Feel free to alert your neighbors so they can come listen from a safe distance!
On Tuesday’s CBS Evening News, we’ll share videos of some of the participants. Here are some tips to help you record your video:
What should I use to record a video of myself playing?
Any phone with a video camera works – you don’t need any fancy equipment. Just place your phone somewhere stable, or have someone with steady hands hold it in one place. Hold the phone horizontally, not vertically, so your video is wider than it is long. Record the whole performance. If neighbors or friends come to listen, get a shot of them too!
How do I share my video with CBS?
Tag us in your video on social media with the hashtag #CBSTaps, or upload it to this folder. Please include your full name and location in the file name, if possible.For active links to the music, etc., here is the original announcement:
https://www.tapsbugler.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Taps-Across-America-CBS.pdf
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I am doing it also my 2 grand children. One plays trumpet the other cornet
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I plan on doing it from my front porch, with the US flag displayed. Probably won’t record it, though.
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Here in Orlando several of us are doing it at the flag stand outside a local VFW hall (who sponsors a community band we play in). The hall property backs up to a large lake. We figure to remind some outdoor BBQers around the lake or maybe the local restaurant/bar across the lake about the occasion.
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I, too plan on playing
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Sheet music?
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@Curlydoc said in Taps Across America:
Sheet music?
That's a rather cryptic response, Curly. You need sheet music to play Taps?
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@Curlydoc said in Taps Across America:
Sheet music?
There is a link within the link I posted that will get you to the sheet music that Dale posted.
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I might add that I have often heard measures two and three played as dotted eight-sixteenth notes and not straight eights. Caution.
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I’ll be using this field trumpet to sound Taps. A real musical instrument made by Kanstul, this one pitched in Bb. I use a Bach 6BM trumpet mouthpiece in it, which I found to give good intonation and a nice tone. I keep it in an old American-wrap cornet case. Practice mute is for warming up a bit in the car at the cemetery before a military burial.
There’s an active duty military family that live across the street, and they plan on stepping outside to listen. Just today, I found out their oldest son, who is 10, has recently begun taking trumpet lessons, so he will probably have a special interest in it.
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I’ve signed up and will be uploading video. Playing from my front yard and will see how many neighbors come out.
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I'll be working in the ER all day tomorrow. I might take a chance, leave my horn in car, and if the ER slows down around 3pm, go out and play taps.
Mike
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@Dale-Proctor said in Taps Across America:
This is the correct, accepted way of playing Taps, according to Bugles Across America as well. Here's a nice version:
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Still trembling!
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@djeffers78
It’s an honor and a beautiful tribute always! Tears of gratitude as I played. Grandad in WWI and father in Korea at Chozen. Some gave all. -
My wife took a pic as I played.
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I'll be using my 2-piston DEG G bugle.
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My video seems to be above the max size for this site to upload, but it is available on the Quinn the Eskimo Facebook page, and shared with the event website. I was lucky that it stopped raining just long enough!
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@flugelgirl said in Taps Across America:
My video seems to be above the max size for this site to upload, but it is available on the Quinn the Eskimo Facebook page, and shared with the event website. I was lucky that it stopped raining just long enough!
That's what I wished I had sounded like.
