Chime (bell instrument)
| Percussion instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Percussion |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 111.242.2 (Sets of bells or chimes) |
A carillon-like instrument with fewer than 23 bells is called a chime.
American chimes usually have one to one and a half diatonic octaves. Many chimes are automated.
The first bell chime was created in 1487. Before 1900, chime bells typically lacked dynamic variation and the inner tuning (the mathematical balance of a bell's complex sound) required to permit the use of harmony. Since then, chime bells produced in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, and America have inner tuning and can produce fully harmonized music. Some towers in England hung for full circle change ringing chime by an Ellacombe apparatus.
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