Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal, typically brass, tube, 30–38 mm (1¼–1½ inches) in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Tubular bells are typically hung vertically in chromatic sets of 1½ octaves with a range from C4 (middle C) to F5. Two-octave sets that extend to F3 do exist, but they are extremely heavy and less commonly used. A standard set of brass tubular bells can be seen here. A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ... A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds between metal atoms. ... For other uses, see Brass (disambiguation). ... The chromatic scale is the scale that contains all twelve pitches of the Western tempered scale. ... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency. ... In Western music, the expression middle C refers to the note C or Do located exactly between the two staves of the grand staff, quoted as C4 in note-octave notation (also known as scientific pitch notation). ...

A set of tubular bells

Tubular bells are typically struck on the top edge of the tube with a rawhide- or plastic-headed hammer. Often, a sustain pedal will be attached to allow extended ringing of the bells. They are commonly used to mimic the sound of heavy and impractical church bells in programmatic classical music pieces such as Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Sousa's "Liberty Bell" March and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The bands of the Indian Army use these bells when playing the Hymn Abide With Me. Tubular bells are used in popular music, as well. Mike Oldfield's 1973 debut album was named Tubular Bells, after the use of the instrument for the climax of side one. He also used them extensively in subsequent albums, but by Tubular Bells III, they were sampled. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1944 × 2592 pixel, file size: 199 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1944 × 2592 pixel, file size: 199 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to tanning and thus is much lighter in color than treated animal hides. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A claw hammer For other uses, see Hammer (disambiguation). ... Sustain pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. ... Church bell from Saleby, Västergötland, Sweden containing an inscription from 1228 in the Runic alphabet A church bell is a bell which is rung in a (especially Christian) church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding... Program music is music intended to musically represent, or accompany, an extra-musical theme, constrasting with absolute music. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... Hector Louis Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer best known for the Symphonie fantastique, first performed in 1830, and for his Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem) of 1837, with its tremendous resources that include four antiphonal brass choirs. ... Symphonie Fantastique (Fantastic Symphony) Opus 14, is a symphony written by French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. ... The Liberty Bell is an American military march composed by famous bandmaster John Philip Sousa in 1893, and is considered one of his finest works. ... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильич Чайкoвский, Pëtr Il’ič ÄŒajkovskij;  )[1] (7 May [O.S. 25 April] 1840 – 6 November [O.S. 25 October] 1893), was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Abide With Me is a well-known Christian hymn composed by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847, though the lyrics are usually sung to William Henry Monks melody Eventide rather than Lytes original music. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... Michael Gordon Oldfield (born May 15, 1953 in Reading, England) is a multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music and more recently dance. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Tubular Bells III is a 1998 music album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Tubular bells have been popularized in western culture by the song Carol of the Bells. Carol of the Bells (also known as the Ukrainian Bell Carol) was adapted from Shchedryk by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. ...

The tubes used provide a purer tone than solid cylindrical chimes, such as those on a mark tree. A mark tree (also known as a chime tree or set of bar chimes) is a percussion instrument used primarily for musical color. ...

See also

• Chime (disambiguation)
• Wind chimes
• Mark tree

For the musical instrument, see tubular bell. ... A set of small wind chimes Japanese wind chime called Fūrin (風鈴) Wind chimes or Aeolian chimes are often hollow or solid metal or wooden tubes which are usually hung outside of a building and are intended to be played by the wind, which causes the chimes to strike each... A mark tree (also known as a chime tree or set of bar chimes) is a percussion instrument used primarily for musical color. ...

External links

• History of tubular bells - Vienna Symphonic Library