Piper's SongbookHow to play Taps on recorder
Taps uses 4 notes on the soprano recorder: B, G, high D and low D. The first line goes D D G D G B D G B D G B D G. The same tune is used for Day Is Done and Butterfield's Lullaby.
- Notes
- 4: B, G, high D, low D
- Level
- Both hands
- Time
- 4/4, about 50 beats a minute
- Source
- Bugle call arranged by Daniel Butterfield, July 1862
Taps recorder notes with letters
Each box is one note, with its fingering underneath: filled holes are covered, a half-filled hole is half covered or pinched. Wider boxes are longer notes. A ′ mark means the higher octave, so D′ is high D. Bar lines are drawn as thin rules.
Line 1
Line 2
Letters only, for printing or copying
- D D | G D G | B D G | B D G B D G
- B G B | D′ B G | D D D | G
Sheet music
Written pitch for soprano recorder, which sounds an octave higher. Press play to hear it on a recorder sound; the slow setting plays at 60% speed.
Fingerings for the notes in Taps
Hole 0 is the thumb hole on the back. Holes 1 to 3 are for the left hand, 4 to 7 for the right. These are Baroque (English) fingerings.
How to practise it
Only four notes: low D, G, B and high D. The hard part is the big leap from low D up to B, over and over. Keep your fingers resting near their holes and use gentle air for the low D, so it speaks cleanly before each jump.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Union general Daniel Butterfield reworked an older bugle call at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862, and his bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton was the first to sound it. Within months both armies were using it. All 24 notes come from the three notes of a bugle chord.
Questions
Is Taps easy on recorder?
It is a good second or third tune. Both hands play, and the low notes need gentle air.
What notes do you need for Taps on recorder?
B, G, high D and low D. Tap a note to see its fingering on its own page.
Do these fingerings work on a German recorder?
Yes. Every note in Taps uses the same fingering on Baroque and German recorders.
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Notes checked against Frank Nordberg's Musica Viva transcription, checked against the 24-note count given by the US Department of Veterans Affairs; transposed to G. Last checked 6 October 2026.