The Major Duty Calls: “The Tattoo”

The Tattoo is one of the Major Daily Duty Calls.

WHAT DOES THE Tattoo MEAN

The Tattoo signals for all men to be in their quarters, ready for bed. The sergeants then go round and take roll (Military Guide, 1772,I:231; Windham, 1759, 192).

A half hour after Tattoo, a guard ensures that no soldiers are out of their tents or barracks (Cuthbertson, 1776, 35-7).

When is the Tattoo Beaten

Technically, the commanding officer decided the time of this duty call.

Generally, the Tattoo was played at 8pm in winter and 9 or 10pm in the summer (Military Guide, 1772,I:231; Windham, 1759, 192).

Who Beats the Tattoo

Prior to the Tattoo, The Drummer’s Call was beaten. This summoned the drummers of the guard.

This would include the Quarter Guard musicians of each regiment, the Orderly Drummers and Fifers of each regiment, and the corps of musicians from the regiment that provided the Main Guard.

How to Perform the Tattoo

The Tattoo begins with the Signal Taps and the Three Rolls to coordinate all the musicians in camp.

When the beating begins, the musicians march around the parade ground. They march from the center to the right, then to the left, and then back to the center. For more information, see the section on The Troop: Forming the Guards.

Interpreting the Historic Music

No Fife tutor gives a clear idea of how the fife music functions. Many drum manuals explain the Tattoo sequence, but exactly how (or if) tunes fit in is unclear. Because of this, there has been a lot of debate about how to perform it.

Generally, I haven’t seen much in the way of really confident discussions of the original performance of The Tattoo, and I imagine it comes from the relatively difficult-to-understand instructions included in YDA, Ashworth, Rumrille, and Potter, as well as misleading notation of the fife music.

After some research, I believe the clearest answer is that the English were also performing tunes and airs (like the Americans) and were performing the Singlings between each line of the tune, and the doublings between tunes. The English Tattoo, often found in 18^th C. tutors, appears to be accompaniments to the drum Singlings and Doublings, not a proper tune.