Welcome to
TapsBugler.com
WELCOME, and thank you for taking the time to visit www.tapsbugler.com!

On this site you will find much information on the bugle call Taps, the history of bugles,
and the role of bugles and buglers throughout American history.  There is a section on
Taps Performance Guidelines for those who are interested in sounding Taps for
funerals and ceremonies, and a section on
Getting Started on the Bugle, for those who
are new to this subject and looking for resources.   You will also find
personal stories of
buglers and links to other Taps and bugle-related sites on the Internet.

New information and photos will be posted from time to time, so I encourage you to
bookmark this site and return periodically to check out any new material.  And if you
have bugle stories or photos you wish to share, please contact me at
jvmusic@erols.com.
I have tried to correctly attribute information and cite the sources of the material posted here.  If you believe there is
any problem with the accuracy of the information on this site, please let me know and I will correct it as soon as
possible.  An excellent bibliography for my Taps research can be found at the end of my booklet,
Twenty Four Notes
That Tap Deep Emotions: The story of America's most famous bugle call
.

All the information on this site is copyrighted, all rights reserved.  If you wish to use any of it, please
contact me for permission
, which I will usually grant.  The bottom line is that it is important to me to get the correct
information out about Taps and help enlighten people about the history of bugles in the United States.  To this end I
am willing to make this material available on the Internet.

If you also feel it is important to spread this information, you can help support my efforts in one of several ways:

One, you could send bugle-related material to me for inclusion on this site.  Such material could be photographs,
letters, books or music.

Two, you could engage me to speak at your local Civil War Roundtable, library or community center.  This is
something I've done many times, visiting as far north as West Point, NY and as far west as Erie, PA.

Three, if you are interested in even more information than you will find here, please visit my sister website
www.jvmusic.net, where you may purchase my booklet Twenty Four Notes That Tap Deep Emotions, along with
CDs of Civil War music performed by The Federal City Brass Band and Helen Beedle;
A Pictorial History of
Civil War Era Musical Instruments & Military Bands
, Mark Elrod's fantastic book on Civil War brass instruments;
20 Bugle Calls of the US Armed Forces, a collection of the most commonly used modern bugle calls; and
music I have arranged for brass ensemble, including many pieces from the Civil War era.

Four, you can make a donation (any amount, large or small) via PayPal.  
A portion of all donations will go towards the Taps 150 event in 2012,
commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the origin of Taps.

When I first developed an interest in the bugle and began my research I found that the manuals, books, and other
published information on the subject were soon exhausted.  Outside of encyclopedias and music dictionaries, there
was not much written on the history or use of the bugle in the United States military.  Oh sure, there were articles
written on the subject (most dealing with the origin of Taps) but there was no one authority on the bugle.  I have spent
the past twenty years doing research and developing the material that is posted on this site and published in my
booklet.  My information on Taps has appeared in many newspapers across the country and on many websites.  I
have appeared in a History Channel segment about the origins of Taps and in many TV stories that pop up around
Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  Now you need only to do a Google.com search with the words "Taps," and "Jari,"
and you get many hits that will lead to me.

Many historians have guided me along in my quest to uncover information on bugles.  Three who come to mind, and
to whom I owe a huge debt, are Jack Carter, Mark Elrod, and Randy Rach.  There are many other collectors and
historians to whom I have been much indebted for their expertise and advice.  I have also gained much information
from the many re-enactors who portray Civil War field musicians.  It is through these living historians' eyes that I've
been able to understand how the bugle was used in battle, camp life, and ceremony during the Civil War.  Thanks
are in order to all the many buglers, both military and civilian, that have helped me with this and of course to the
many historians with whom I have had the pleasure to work.  I also want to thank my lovely wife and webmaster
Heather Faust for all of her hard work, without which none of this could be possible.

I hope you enjoy this site and will come back and visit us again.  Please contact me with your feedback and
comments at
jvmusic@erols.com.

Jari Villanueva