The instant the sun sinks into Barnegat Bay, the trumpet music begins.

The familiar, mournful notes of taps float gently over Beach Haven Gardens, a bustling vacation spot bounded by water towers on the southern end of Long Beach Island, N.J.

Bikers stop biking. Walkers stop walking. Grillers stop grilling. Teenagers en route to Wawa look up from their phones. When the song is over, listeners applaud or sound their appreciation on conch shells.

Taps is as much a part of the soundtrack of this Jersey Shore neighborhood as the squawk of sea gulls and the roar of waves. But many residents aren’t exactly sure where the song is coming from. Despite sparse tree coverage, it can be hard to spot the musician in a thicket of telephone wires, patio umbrellas and roof decks.

“One day I was walking back from the beach and this couple asked, ‘Do you know who plays taps?’” said John Hersh, a retired teacher who could pass for the younger brother of John McCain. Mr. Hersh said he replied, “Well, it’s me. I play taps.”

Sitting in his living room with an American flag waving behind him on a recent morning, Mr. Hersh seemed tickled by the enthusiasm for his evening ritual.

“It has become a tradition,” he said. “It’s a way of bringing people together.”