Chime (bell instrument)
A chime (/ˈtʃaɪm/) or set of chimes is a carillon-like instrument, i.e. a pitched percussion instrument consisting of 22 or fewer bells. Chimes are primarily played with a keyboard, but can also be played with an Ellacombe apparatus. Chimes are often automated, in the past with mechanical drums connected to clocks and in the present with electronic action. Bellfounders often did not attempt to tune chime bells to the same precision as carillon bells. Chimes are defined as specifically having fewer than 23 bells to distinguish them from the carillon. American chimes usually have one to one and a half diatonic octaves. According to a recent count, there are over 1,300 existing chimes throughout the world. Almost all are in the Netherlands and the United States, with most of the remainder in Western European countries.
Etymology[edit]
The word chime dates back to the 14th-century Middle English word chymbe, meaning 'cymbal'. It probably originates from the Old French chimbe or directly from the Latin cymbalum. The Latin word was shortened in Old French and misinterpreted as chymbe bellen in Middle English, where the meaning shifted by the mid-16th century to "set of bells in a church or clock tower, apparatus or arrangement for striking bells".[1]
Characteristics[edit]
Construction[edit]
There are several mechanisms of action for chimes. From the 13th century, chimes were connected to a system of ropes, which is rarely seen today.[2] In the 19th century, many newly-constructed chimes were connected to a large wooden keyboard called a "chimestand."[3][2] These resemble the console of a carillon, but with much larger keys, essentially handles, which are depressed a greater distance.[3] In the 20th century, it is more common for chimes to be connected to an ivory piano keyboard with electronic action, often paired with automatic playing.[2] Chimes may alternatively be connected to and played with an Ellacombe apparatus.[4]
Chimes may also feature an automatic mechanism by which simple tunes or the Westminster Quarters are played. The mechanism on European chimes is often a playing drum, which is a large metal cylinder connected to a clock mechanism. Metal pegs are screwed onto the outside of the drum. When the clock mechanism sets the drum in motion, the pegs catch onto levers, which are connected to hammers that rest just a short distance from the outside of the bell. The hammers are briefly raised, and then fall onto the bell as the peg continues to rotate away from the lever. The pegs are arranged such that simple tunes can be programmed to play at specific quarter hours. In North America, automatic playing drum systems are not common; instead, chimes may have pneumatic systems which ring the instrument.[5]