Bells

If you have never rung them, big bells I mean, then you will never understand. They are quite simply glorious. Unlike other musical instruments, ringing bells make their sound on the move and that gives their sound a special quality not found in static instruments. Add to the fact that they do not generate a single note but several.

In ringing bells, you get many notes of differing intensity, the key ones being:

Strike – that’s the main note generated from the clapper striking the sound bow.
Hum – that’s an octave below the strike
Tierce – minor third above the strike
Nominal – 4 notes above the strike although some would argue that it is an octave above the strike
Quince – 5 notes above the strike

Older bells were not tuned to give all these notes by skimming metal off the bell. In the latter part of the 19th century, a Canon by the name of Simpson came up with this idea. People still argue about the idea, some saying it’s fine, others saying that only the strike counts.

High speed photography will show a bell contracting and expanding in different parts after the strike. I don’t care; I always think a well tuned bell sounds lovely.

And of course, they have to be made of 80% copper and 20% tin. Muck around with that proportion much and it will be disastrous.