Parts of a typical tower bell hung for swinging:1. Bell yoke or headstock,2. canons,3. crown,4. shoulder,5. waist,6. sound bow,7. lip,8. mouth,9. clapper,10. bead line
Abell is adirectly struck idiophonepercussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strongstrike tone, with its sides forming an efficientresonator. The strike may be made by an internal "clapper" or "uvula", an external hammer, or—in small bells—by a small loose sphere enclosed within the body of the bell (jingle bell).
Bells are usually cast frombell metal (a type ofbronze) for its resonant properties, but can also be made from other hard materials. This depends on the function. Some small bells such as ornamental bells or cowbells can be made from cast or pressed metal, glass or ceramic, but large bells such as a church, clock and tower bells are normally cast from bell metal.
Bells intended to be heard over a wide area can range from a single bell hung in a turret orbell-gable, to a musical ensemble such as an Englishring of bells, acarillon or a Russianzvon which are tuned to a common scale and installed in abell tower. Many public or institutional buildings house bells, most commonly asclock bells to sound the hours and quarters.
Historically, bells have been associated with religious rites, and are still used to call communities together for religious services.[1] Later, bells were made to commemorate important events or people and have been associated with the concepts of peace and freedom. The study of bells is calledcampanology.[2]
The earliest archaeological evidence of bells dates from the 3rd millennium BCE, and is traced to theYangshao culture ofNeolithic China.[6]Clapper-bells made of pottery have been found in several archaeological sites.[7] The pottery bells later developed into metal bells. In West Asia, the first bells appear in 1000 BCE.[6] The earliest metal bells, with one found in theTaosi site and four in theErlitou site, are dated to about 2000 BCE.[8] With the emergence of other kinds of bells during theShang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1050 BCE), they were relegated to subservient functions; at Shang andZhou sites, they are also found as part of the horse-and-chariot gear and as collar-bells of dogs.[9] By the 13th century BCE, bells weighing over 150 kilograms (330 pounds) were being cast in China. After 1000 CE, iron became the most commonly used metal for bells instead of bronze. The earliest dated iron bell was manufactured in 1079, found inHubei Province.[10]
Bells west of China did not reach the same size until the 2nd millennium CE. Assyrian bells dated to the 7th century BCE were around 4 inches high. Roman bells dated to the 1st and 2nd century CE were around 8 inches high.[11] Thebook of Exodus in theBible notes that small gold bells were worn as ornaments on the hem of the robe of thehigh priest inJerusalem.[12] Among theancient Greeks, handbells were used in camps and garrisons and by patrols that went around to visit sentinels.[13] Among the Romans, the hour of bathing was announced by a bell. They also used them in the home, as an ornament and emblem, and bells were placed around the necks of cattle and sheep so they could be found if they strayed. As late as the 10th century CE, European bells were no higher than 2 feet in height.[11]
Static bells struck bysolenoid-operated hammers in a bell-gableMechanism of a bell hung for English full-circle ringing. The bell can swing through a full circle in alternate directions.English full-circle bells shown in the "down" position, in which they are normally left between ringing sessionsEnglish full-circle bells shown in the "up" position
In thewestern world, the common form of bell is achurch bell or town bell, which is hung within a tower or bell cote. Such bells are either fixed in a static position ("hung dead") or mounted on a beam (the "headstock") so they can swing to and fro. Bells that are hung dead are normally sounded by hitting the sound bow with a hammer or occasionally by pulling an internal clapper against the bell.
A bell can be swung in a small arc with a rope and lever or higher with a rope and wheel. As it swings higher, the sound projects outward instead of downward. Larger bells may be swung using electric motors. In some places, such as theSalzburg Cathedral, the clapper is held against the sound bow with an electric clasp as the bell swings up. The clasp would release the clapper to provide a cleaner start to ringing. To silence the bell, the clasp catches and locks the clapper back in place.[14]
Bells hung forfull circle ringing are swung through just over a complete circle from mouth uppermost. Astay (the wooden pole seen sticking up when the bells are down) engages a mechanism to allow the bell to rest just past its balance point. The rope is attached to one side of a wheel so that a different amount of rope is wound on and off as it swings to and fro. The bells are controlled by ringers (one to a bell) in a chamber below, who rotate the bell through a full circle and back, and control the speed of oscillation when the bell is mouth upwards at the balance-point when little effort is required.
Swinging bells are sounded by an internal clapper. The clapper may have a longer period of swing than the bell. In this case, the bell will catch up with the clapper and if rung to or near full circle will carry the clapper up on the bell's trailing side. Alternatively, the clapper may have a shorter period and catch up with the bell's leading side, travel up with the bell, and come to rest on the downhill side. This latter method is used in English style full circle ringing.
Occasionally the clappers have leather pads (calledmuffles) strapped around them to quieten the bells when practice ringing to avoid annoying the neighbourhood. Also at funerals,half-muffles are often used to give a full open sound on one round, and a muffled sound on the alternate round for a distinctive, mournful effect. This was done at theFuneral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.
Acarillon, which is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, is tuned so that the bells can be played serially to produce a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A traditional carillon is played by striking a baton keyboard with the fists, and by pressing the keys of a pedal keyboard with the feet. The keys mechanically activate levers and wires that connect to metal clappers that strike the inside of the bells, allowing the performer to vary the intensity of the note according to the force applied to the key.
In theEastern world, the traditional forms of bells are temple and palace bells, small ones being rung by a sharp rap with a stick, and very large ones rung by a blow from the outside by a large swinging beam. (See images of the great bell ofMii-dera below.)
The striking technique is employed worldwide for some of the largest tower-borne bells because swinging the bells themselves could damage their towers.
In theRoman Catholic Church and among some HighLutherans andAnglicans, small hand-held bells, calledSanctus orsacring bells,[15] are often rung by a server at Mass when the priest holds high up first the host and then the chalice immediately after he has said the words of consecration over them (the moment known as theElevation). This serves to indicate to the congregation that the bread and wine have just been transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ (seetransubstantiation), or, in the alternativeReformation teaching, that Christ is now bodily present in the elements, and that what the priest is holding up for them to look at is Christ himself (seeconsubstantiation).
InRussian Orthodox bell ringing, the entire bell never moves, only the clapper. A complex system of ropes is developed and used uniquely for every bell tower. Some ropes (the smaller ones) are played by hand, the bigger ropes are played by foot.
JapaneseShintoist andBuddhist bells are used in religious ceremonies.Suzui, a homophone meaning both "cool" and "refreshing", are spherical bells which contain metal pellets that produce sound from the inside. The hemispherical bell is theKane bell, which is struck on the outside. Large suspended temple bells are known asbonshō. (See alsoja:鈴,ja:梵鐘).
Jain,Hindu andBuddhist bells, called"Ghanta" (IAST: Ghaṇṭā) in Sanskrit, are used in religious ceremonies. See alsosinging bowls. A bell hangs at the gate of manyHindu temples and is rung at the moment one enters the temple.[16]
The process of casting bells is calledbellfounding, and in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century.[17] The traditional metal for these bells is abronze of about 23%tin.[18] Known asbell metal, this alloy is also thetraditional alloy for the finest Turkish and Chinesecymbals. Other materials sometimes used for large bells includebrass andiron. Steel was tried during the busy church-building period of mid-19th-century England, because it was more economical than bronze, but was found not to be durable and manufacture ceased in the 1870s.[19]
Small bells were originally made with thelost wax process but large bells are cast mouth downwards by filling the air space in a two-part mould with molten metal. Such a mould has an outer section clamped to a base-plate on which an inner core has been constructed.[20]
The core is built on the base-plate using porous materials such ascoke or brick and then covered inloam well mixed with straw and horse manure. This is given a profile corresponding to the inside shape of the finished bell and dried with gentle heat.Graphite andwhiting are applied to form the final, smooth surface.
The outside of the mould is made within a perforated cast-iron case, larger than the finished bell, containing the loam mixture which is shaped, dried and smoothed in the same way as the core. The case is inverted (mouth down), lowered over the core and clamped to the base plate. The clamped mould is supported, usually by being buried in acasting pit to bear the weight of metal and to allow even cooling.[21]
Historically, before rail or road transport of large bells was possible, a "bell pit" was often dug in the grounds of the building where the bell was to be installed. Molten bell metal is poured into the mould through a box lined withfoundry sand. The founder would bring his casting tools to the site, and a furnace would be built next to the pit.
The principal harmonics of theErfurt bell (1497)[22] typical of a harmonically-tuned bell:[a] strike note is E, with hum note an octave below, minor third, fifth, nominal above, and major third and perfect fifth in the second octave
Spectrum of the tenor bell ofWinchester Cathedral as analyzed byJonathan Harvey usingFFT[b] "The bell produces a secondary pitch (f') which lies outside that 'inharmonic series though it is clearly audible when the bell is struck, 'to curiously thrilling and disturbing effect.'"[23]Play approximationⓘ The strike tone ismiddle C, the hum tone an octave below.
Large bells are generally around 80% copper and 20% tin (bell metal), which has been found empirically to give the most pleasant tone. However, the tone of a bell is mostly due to its shape. A bell is regarded as having a good tone when it is "in tune with itself".[24] In western bell founding, this is known as "harmonic tuning" of a bell, which results in the bell's strongest harmonics being in harmony with each other and the strike note. This produces the brightest and purest sound, which is the attractive sound of a good bell. Much effort has been expended over the centuries to find the shape which will produce the harmonically tuned bell.
The accompanying musical staves show the series of harmonics which are generated when a bell is struck. TheErfurt bell is notable that it although it is an old bell, it is harmonically tuned, but was not typical of its time.Pieter and François Hemony in the 17th century reliably cast many bells for carillons of unequalled quality of tuning for the time, but after their death, their guarded trade secrets were lost, and not until the 19th century were bells of comparable tuning quality cast. It was only in modern times that repeatable harmonic tuning using a known scientific basis was achieved. The main partials (or harmonics) of a well-tuned bell are:
hum note (an octave below the named note)
strike tone (also called tap note or named note)
tierce (a minor third above named note)
quint (a fifth above named note)
nominal (an octave above named note)
Further, less-audible, harmonics include the major third and a perfect fifth in the second octave above the named note.
This quest by various founders over centuries of bell founding has resulted in the development of an optimum profile for casting each size of a bell to give true harmonic tuning. Although bells are cast to accurate patterns, variations in casting mean that a final tuning is necessary as the shape of the bell is critical in producing the desired strike note and associated harmonics. Tuning is undertaken by clamping the bell on a large rotating table and using a cutting tool to remove metal. This is an iterative process in which metal is removed from certain parts of the bell to change certain harmonics. This process was made possible historically by the use of tuning forks to find sympathetic resonance on specific parts of a bell for the harmonic being tuned, but today electronicstrobe tuners are normally used. To tune the strike note, the nominal or the strike note are tuned; the effect is usually the same because the nominal is one of the main partials that determines the tone of the strike note.[25] The thickness of a church bell at its thickest part, called the "sound bow", is usually one thirteenth its diameter. If the bell is mounted as cast, it is called a "maiden bell".[26][27]
The traditional harmonically tuned bell has a minor third as a main harmonic. On the theory that western music in major keys may sound better on bells with a major third as a harmonic, production of bells with major thirds was attempted in the 1980s. Scientists at the Technical University in Eindhoven, using computer modelling, produced bell profiles which were cast by the Eijsbouts Bellfoundry in the Netherlands.[26] They were described as resembling old Coke bottles[28] in that they had a bulge around the middle;[29] In 1999 a design without the bulge was announced.[30] However, the major bell concept has found little favour; most bells cast today are almost universally minor third bells.
Bells are also associated withclocks, indicating the hour by the striking of bells. Indeed, the wordclock comes from theLatin wordCloca, meaningbell. Bells in clock towers orbell towers can be heard over long distances, which was especially important in the time when clocks were too expensive for widespread ownership.
In the case of clock towers and grandfather clocks, a particular sequence of tones may be played to distinguish between the hour, half-hour, quarter-hour, or other intervals. One common pattern is called "Westminster Quarters," a sixteen-note pattern named after thePalace of Westminster which popularized it as the measure used byBig Ben.
TheGreat Bell of Dhammazedi (1484) may have been the largest bell ever made. It was lost in a river inBurma after being removed from a temple by thePortuguese in 1608. It is reported to have weighed about 300 tonnes (330 tons).
TheTsar Bell by theMotorin Bellfounders is the largest bell still in existence. It weighs 160 tonnes (180 tons), but it was never rung and broke in 1737. It is on display inMoscow, Russia, inside theKremlin.
The GreatMingun Bell is the largest functioning bell. It is located inMingun,Burma, and weighs 90 tonnes (100 tons).
The Gotenba Bell is the largest functioning swinging bell, weighing 79,900 pounds (36,200 kg). It is located in a tourist resort inGotenba, Japan. Hung in a freestanding frame, it is rung by hand. It was cast byEijsbouts in 2006.
TheWorld Peace Bell was the largest functioning swinging bell until 2006.[citation needed] It is located inNewport, Kentucky,United States, and was cast by thePaccard Foundry ofFrance. The bell itself weighs 66,000 pounds (30,000 kg); with clapper and supports. The total weight which swings when the bell is rung is 89,390 pounds (40,550 kg).
TheBell of King Seongdeok is the largest extant bell inKorea. The full Korean name means "Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok the Great." It was also known as the Bell of Bongdeoksa Temple, where it was first housed. The bell weighs about 25 tons and was originally cast in 771 CE. It is now stored in the National Museum of Gyeongju.
TheSt. Petersglocke, in thelocal dialect ofCologne also calleddä Dicke Pitter ("fat Peter",Colognian pronunciation:[ˌdekəˈpitˑɐ]), is a bell inGermany'sCologne Cathedral. It weighs 24 tons and was cast in 1922. It is the largest functioning free-swinging bell in the world that swings from its top. (The Gotenba Bell and theWorld Peace Bell swing around theircenter of gravity, which is more like turning than swinging. So, depending on the point of view, the St. Petersglocke may be considered the largest free-swinging bell in the world.)
The South West tower ofSt Paul's Cathedral inLondon,England, housesGreat Paul, the second largest bell at 16.5 tons in the British Isles. One can hear Great Paul booming out over Ludgate Hill at 1300 every day.
Big Ben is the fourth-largest bell in the British Isles, after The Olympic Bell (used at the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games), Great Paul (St Paul's Cathedral, City of London) and Great George (Liverpool Cathedral). Big Ben is the hour bell of the Great Clock in theElizabeth Tower (formerly called the Clock Tower) at thePalace of Westminster, the Houses ofParliament.
TheDom Tower in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, houses the Salvator, weighing 8.2 tons and cast in 1505 by Geert van Wou.
Great Tom is the bell that hangs inTom Tower (designed byChristopher Wren) ofChrist Church,Oxford. It was cast in 1680 and weighs over 6 tons. Great Tom is still rung 101 times at 21:05 every night to signify the 101 original scholars of the college.
TheLutine Bell is theship's bell of the wreckedHMSLutine, weighs 106 pounds (48 kg) and bears the inscription "ST. JEAN – 1779". It rests in theLloyd's of London Underwriting Room, where it used to be struck when news of an overdue ship arrived—once for the loss of a ship (i.e., bad news, last in 1979), and twice for her return (i.e., good news, last in 1989).
The ancient Chinese bronze chime bells calledbianzhong orzhong / zeng (鐘) were used as polyphonic musical instruments and some have been dated at between 2000 and 3600 years old. Tuned bells have been created and used for musical performance in many cultures butZhong are unique among all other types of cast bells in several respects and they rank among the highest achievements of Chinese bronze casting technology. However, the remarkable secret of their design and the method of casting—known only to the Chinese in antiquity—was lost in later generations and was not fully rediscovered and understood until the 20th century.
In 1978 a complete ceremonial set of 65Zhong bells was found in a near-perfect state of preservation during the excavation of thetomb ofMarquis Yi, ruler ofZeng, one of theWarring States. Their special shape gives them the ability to producetwo different musical tones, depending on where they are struck. The interval between these notes on each bell is either amajor orminor third, equivalent to a distance of four or five notes on a piano.[33]
The bells of Marquis Yi—which were still fully playable after almost 2500 years—cover a range of slightly less than five octaves but thanks to their dual-tone capability, the set can sound a complete 12-tone scale—predating the development of the European 12-tone system by some 2000 years—and can play melodies indiatonic andpentatonic scales.[34]
Another related ancient Chinese musical instrument is calledqing (磬pinyin qìng) but it was made of stone instead of metal.
In more recent times, the top of bells in China was usually decorated with a small dragon, known aspulao; the figure of the dragon served as a hook for hanging the bell.
This copper bell was made by pre-Columbian North American natives.
Konguro'o is a small bell which, like theDjalaajyn, was first used for utilitarian purposes and only later for artistic ones. Konguro'o rang when moving to new places. They were fastened to the horse harnesses and created a very specific "smart" sound background. Konguro'o also hung on the neck of the leader goat, which the sheep herd followed. This led to the association in folk memory between the distinctive sound of konguro'o and the nomadic way of life.
To make this instrument,Kyrgyz foremen used copper, bronze, iron and brass. They also decorated it with artistic carving and covered it with silver. Sizes of the instruments might vary within certain limits, what depended on its function. Every bell had its own timbre.
A variant on the bell is thetubular bell. Several of these metal tubes which are struck manually with hammers, form an instrument namedtubular bells orchimes. In the case of wind or aeolian chimes, the tubes are blown against one another by the wind.
Theskrabalai is a traditional folk instrument in Lithuania which consists of wooden bells of various sizes hanging in several vertical rows with one or two wooden or metal small clappers hanging inside them. It is played with two wooden sticks. When the skrabalai is moved a clapper knocks at the wall of the trough. The pitch of the sound depends on the size of the wooden trough. The instrument developed from woodencowbells that shepherds would tie to cows' necks.
Whereas the church and temple bells called tomass or religious service, bells were used onfarms for more secular signalling. The greater farms inScandinavia usually had a small bell-tower resting on the top of thebarn. The bell was used to call the workers from the field at the end of the day's work.
In Scotland, up until the nineteenth century, it was the tradition to ring adead bell, a form of handbell, at the death of an individual and at the funeral.[35]
This bell is calledMii-dera no Bansho (三井寺の晩鐘), the evening bell atMii-dera, aBuddhisttemple inOtsu, which is nearLake Biwa inShiga Prefecture,Japan. This image shows the hanging wooden beam positioned to strike the outer side of the resonating surface.
^Fuller-Maitland 1910, p. 615 notes the strike note shown on C.Hemony appears to be the first to propose this tuning.
^Roads 1992, p. 92 states "a clearly audible, slow-decaying partial at 347 Hz with a beating component in it. It is a resultant of the various F harmonic series partials that can be clearly seen in the spectrum (5, [6], 7, 9, 11, 13, 17, etc.) beside the C-related partials".
Cubberly, William H. (1989). "Metals". In Bakerjian, Ramon (ed.).Tool and manufacturing engineers handbook. Dearborn, MI: Society of Manufacturing Engineers.ISBN978-0-87263-351-3.
Downes, Michael (2009).Jonathan Harvey : Song offerings and White as jasmine. Farnham, England: Burlington, VT Ashgate.ISBN978-0-7546-6022-4.OCLC319321762.
Willis, Stephen Charles.Bells through the Ages: from the Percival Price Collection =Les Cloches à travers les siècles: provenant du fonds Percival Price. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1986. 34 p., ill. with b&w photos.N.B.: Prepared on the occasion of an exhibition of the same title, based on the collection of bell and carillon related material and documentation, of former DominionCarillonneur (of Canadian Parliament, Ottawa), Percival Price, held at the National Library of Canada (as then named), 12 May to 14 Sept. 1986; some copies come with the guide to the taped dubbings of the recordings played as background music to the displays, as technically prepared by Gilles Saint-Laurent and listed by Stephen Charles Willis, both of the library's Music Division; English and French texts respectively divided into upper and lower portions of each page.ISBN0-662-54295-9
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