Chimes

A set of chimes is a pitched percussion idiophone instrument consisting of 22 or fewer cast bronze bells, similar to a carillon (from medieval Latin Cymbala, meaning "bells"). They range from two to twenty bells. Although the Voorslag (automatic clock chimes) of the Netherlands and Belgian can reach as high as three octaves. One of the principal purposes of the bell chime is to announce the upcoming hour striking of a church or town hall tower clock. It may occasionally play at the half, quarter, and even eighth hour. 

Origin of Chimes

Sequences of miniature beehive-shaped bells numbered 4 to 15 were introduced into Western monasteries in the 9th century. Western chime bells, like Chinese ones, were mounted horizontally and struck with mallets. The instrument was famous as a Cymbala. The history and the carillon's histories were identical until they arrived in North America. Chimes with 10 to 20 bells became popular in France and Great Britain in the late 18th century. By the mid-19th century, they were similarly popular in the United States.

In North America, the chime was the predecessor to the carillon. The early chime market in North America consisted of the Meneely bell foundries, both located on the Hudson River in upstate New York; McShane in Baltimore, Maryland; Van Duzen in Cincinnati, Ohio; Jones in Troy, New York; and Stuckstede in St. Louis, Missouri. The Meneely foundries dominated the market; before both ceased operations in the 1950s, they cast over 65,000 bells. 

Bell Bronze

Bell bronze is used to make chime bells. It generates a sound that contains overtones or partial tones that are not always harmonically related. The bell shape needs a proper modification to develop a beautiful, harmonically related series of tones. However, no effort was made to tune the bells for chimes. The chime varies from the carillon. It has a narrower range and may not have a full 12-note (chromatic) scale.

Moreover, until the twentieth century, its bells lacked an inner tuning or a set mathematical connection of partials (component tones of a bell's complex sound) to allow harmony and dynamic variation. On the other hand, automatic clock chimes generate completely harmonized music of significant complexity in Belgium and the Netherlands. Also, their bells have an inner tuning.

The clock-chiming mechanism has always consisted of a drum pegged to trip the levers that acted as bell hammers. They are rotated by a hanging weight and operated by the clockworks. The "Westminster Quarters" (formerly "Cambridge Quarters") is the most famous chime music in English-speaking countries. It combines four notes: E–D–C–G. It was Composed in 1793 at Cambridge University to use with the new clock at Great St. Mary's Church. Its later employment in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London (1859) gave rise to its current moniker. Other noteworthy chime songs include "Bells of Aberdovey," "Turn Again, Whittington," and "Holsworthy Tune."