A bell
/ˈbɛl/ () is a
directly struck idiophone percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong
strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient
resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a reso ...
. The strike may be made by an internal "clapper" or "uvula", an external hammer, or—in small bells—by a small loose sphere enclosed within the body of the bell (
jingle bell).
Bells are usually cast from
bell metal (a type of
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
) for its resonant properties, but can also be made from other hard materials. This depends on the function. Some small bells such as ornamental bells or cowbells can be made from cast or pressed metal, glass or ceramic, but large bells such as a church, clock and tower bells are normally cast from bell metal.
Bells intended to be heard over a wide area can range from a single bell hung in a turret or
bell-gable
The bell gable (, , ) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are ...
, to a musical ensemble such as an English
ring of bells
A "ring of bells" is the name bell ringers give to a set of bells hung for English full circle ringing. The term "peal of bells" is often used, though peal also refers to a change ringing performance of more than about 5,000 changes.
By r ...
, a
carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
or a Russian
zvon which are tuned to a common scale and installed in a
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
. Many public or institutional buildings house bells, most commonly as
clock bells to sound the hours and quarters.
Historically, bells have been associated with religious rites, and are still used to call communities together for religious services. Later, bells were made to commemorate important events or people and have been associated with the concepts of peace and freedom. The study of bells is called
campanology
Campanology (/kæmpəˈnɒlədʒi/) is both the scientific and artistic study of bells, encompassing their design, tuning, and the methods by which they are rung. It delves into the technology behind bell casting and tuning, as well as the rich ...
.
Etymology

''Bell'' is a word common to the
Low German
Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
dialects, cognate with
Middle Low German
Middle Low German is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented in writing since about 1225–34 (). During the Hanseatic period (from about 1300 to about 1600), Mid ...
and
Dutch but not appearing among the other
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...
except the
Icelandic which was a loanword from
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
.
It is popularly but not certainly
related to the former sense of ''to bell'' (, 'to roar, to make a loud noise') which gave rise to ''
bellow''.
History
The earliest archaeological evidence of bells dates from the 3rd millennium BCE, and is traced to the
Yangshao culture
The Yangshao culture ( zh, c=仰韶文化, p=Yǎngsháo wénhuà) was a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the middle reaches of the Yellow River in China from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The Yangshao culture saw social and ...
of
Neolithic China
This is a list of Neolithic cultures of China that have been unearthed by archaeologists. They are sorted in chronological order from earliest to latest and are followed by a schematic visualization of these cultures.
It would seem that the defi ...
.
Clapper-bells made of pottery have been found in several archaeological sites. The pottery bells later developed into metal bells. In West Asia, the first bells appear in 1000 BCE. The earliest metal bells, with one found in the
Taosi site and four in the
Erlitou site, are dated to about 2000 BCE. With the emergence of other kinds of bells during the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
(), they were relegated to subservient functions; at Shang and
Zhou sites, they are also found as part of the horse-and-chariot gear and as collar-bells of dogs. By the 13th century BCE, bells weighing over were being cast in China. After 1000 CE, iron became the most commonly used metal for bells instead of bronze. The earliest dated iron bell was manufactured in 1079, found in
Hubei Province
Hubei is a province in Central China. It has the seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major politi ...
.
Bells west of China did not reach the same size until the 2nd millennium CE. Assyrian bells dated to the 7th century BCE were around 4 inches high. Roman bells dated to the 1st and 2nd century CE were around 8 inches high. The
book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...
in the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
notes that small gold bells were worn as ornaments on the hem of the robe of the
high priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
Among the
ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...
, handbells were used in camps and garrisons and by patrols that went around to visit sentinels. Among the Romans, the hour of bathing was announced by a bell. They also used them in the home, as an ornament and emblem, and bells were placed around the necks of cattle and sheep so they could be found if they strayed. As late as the 10th century CE, European bells were no higher than 2 feet in height.
Styles of ringing

In the
western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
, the common form of bell is a
church bell
A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship, but are also rung o ...
or town bell, which is hung within a tower or bell cote. Such bells are either fixed in a static position ("hung dead") or mounted on a beam (the "headstock") so they can swing to and fro. Bells that are hung dead are normally sounded by hitting the sound bow with a hammer or occasionally by pulling an internal clapper against the bell.
A bell can be swung in a small arc with a rope and lever or higher with a rope and wheel. As it swings higher, the sound projects outward instead of downward. Larger bells may be swung using electric motors. In some places, such as the
Salzburg Cathedral, the clapper is held against the sound bow with an electric clasp as the bell swings up. The clasp would release the clapper to provide a cleaner start to ringing. To silence the bell, the clasp catches and locks the clapper back in place.
Bells hung for
full circle ringing are swung through just over a complete circle from mouth uppermost. A stay (the wooden pole seen sticking up when the bells are down) engages a mechanism to allow the bell to rest just past its balance point. The rope is attached to one side of a wheel so that a different amount of rope is wound on and off as it swings to and fro. The bells are controlled by ringers (one to a bell) in a chamber below, who rotate the bell through a full circle and back, and control the speed of oscillation when the bell is mouth upwards at the balance-point when little effort is required.
Swinging bells are sounded by an internal clapper. The clapper may have a longer period of swing than the bell. In this case, the bell will catch up with the clapper and if rung to or near full circle will carry the clapper up on the bell's trailing side. Alternatively, the clapper may have a shorter period and catch up with the bell's leading side, travel up with the bell, and come to rest on the downhill side. This latter method is used in English style full circle ringing.
Occasionally the clappers have leather pads (called ''muffles'') strapped around them to quieten the bells when practice ringing to avoid annoying the neighbourhood. Also at funerals, ''half-muffles'' are often used to give a full open sound on one round, and a muffled sound on the alternate round for a distinctive, mournful effect. This was done at the
Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, started on Saturday 6 September 1997 at 9:08am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey started tolling to signal the departure of the cortège from Kensington Palace. Diana's coffin was ...
in 1997.
A
carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
, which is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, is tuned so that the bells can be played serially to produce a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A traditional carillon is played by striking a baton keyboard with the fists, and by pressing the keys of a pedal keyboard with the feet. The keys mechanically activate levers and wires that connect to metal clappers that strike the inside of the bells, allowing the performer to vary the intensity of the note according to the force applied to the key.
Church and temple bells
In the
Eastern world
The Eastern world, also known as the East or historically the Orient, is an umbrella term for various cultures or social structures, nations and philosophical systems, which vary depending on the context. It most often includes Asia, the ...
, the traditional forms of bells are temple and palace bells, small ones being rung by a sharp rap with a stick, and very large ones rung by a blow from the outside by a large swinging beam. (See images of the great bell of
Mii-dera below.)
The striking technique is employed worldwide for some of the largest tower-borne bells because swinging the bells themselves could damage their towers.
In the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and among some High
Lutherans
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
and
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
s, small hand-held bells, called
Sanctus
The ''Sanctus'' (, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' (, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition and parts of it are sometimes called "Benedictus". ''Tersanctus'' (Latin: "Thr ...
or
sacring bells, are often rung by a server at Mass when the priest holds high up first the host and then the chalice immediately after he has said the words of consecration over them (the moment known as the
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
). This serves to indicate to the congregation that the bread and wine have just been transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ (see
transubstantiation
Transubstantiation (; Greek language, Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of sacramental bread, bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and ...
), or, in the alternative
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
teaching, that Christ is now bodily present in the elements, and that what the priest is holding up for them to look at is Christ himself (see
consubstantiation
Consubstantiation is a Christian theological doctrine that (like transubstantiation) describes the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It holds that during the sacrament, the substance of the body and blood of Christ are present along ...
).
In
Russian Orthodox bell ringing, the entire bell never moves, only the clapper. A complex system of ropes is developed and used uniquely for every bell tower. Some ropes (the smaller ones) are played by hand, the bigger ropes are played by foot.
Bells in Japanese religion
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese
Shinto
, also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...
ist and
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
bells are used in religious ceremonies. ''
Suzui'', a homophone meaning both "cool" and "refreshing", are spherical bells which contain metal pellets that produce sound from the inside. The hemispherical bell is the ''
Kane'' bell, which is struck on the outside. Large suspended temple bells are known as ''
bonshō
, also known as or are large bell (instrument), bells found in Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather than containing a clapper, are struck fr ...
''. (See also
:ja:鈴,
:ja:梵鐘).
Bells in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism
Jain,
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
and
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
bells, called ''"
Ghanta
Ghanta (Sanskrit: घण्टा, IAST: ghaṇṭā; Tibetan: drilbu) is the Sanskrit term for a ritual bell used in Hindu religious practices. The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. Hindu temples generally h ...
"'' (IAST: Ghaṇṭā) in Sanskrit, are used in religious ceremonies. See also
singing bowls. A bell hangs at the gate of many
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
s and is rung at the moment one enters the temple.
File:RyoanJi-Kane.jpg, Japanese temple bell of the Ryōanji Temple, Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
File:Bell Simoda 1856.jpg, "Bell house at Shimoda" in Japan
File:Big bell. Rewalsar.jpg, Buddhist bell, Rewalsar, India
File:Bell Patan Durbar Square Mangal Bazaar Patan Lalitpur Nepal Rajesh Dhungana (3).jpg, Bell of Taleju Bhawani temple ( Patan Durbar Square, Nepal
Bellfounding
The process of casting bells is called
bellfounding
Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by cast ...
, and in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century. The traditional metal for these bells is a
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
of about 23%
tin
Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
. Known as ''
bell metal'', this alloy is also the
traditional alloy for the finest Turkish and Chinese
cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s. Other materials sometimes used for large bells include
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
and
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
. Steel was tried during the busy church-building period of mid-19th-century England, because it was more economical than bronze, but was found not to be durable and manufacture ceased in the 1870s.
Casting
Small bells were originally made with the
lost wax process but large bells are cast mouth downwards by filling the air space in a two-part mould with molten metal. Such a mould has an outer section clamped to a base-plate on which an inner core has been constructed.
The core is built on the base-plate using porous materials such as
coke or brick and then covered in
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
well mixed with straw and horse manure. This is given a profile corresponding to the inside shape of the finished bell and dried with gentle heat.
Graphite
Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
and
whiting are applied to form the final, smooth surface.
The outside of the mould is made within a perforated cast-iron case, larger than the finished bell, containing the loam mixture which is shaped, dried and smoothed in the same way as the core. The case is inverted (mouth down), lowered over the core and clamped to the base plate. The clamped mould is supported, usually by being buried in a ''casting pit'' to bear the weight of metal and to allow even cooling.
Historically, before rail or road transport of large bells was possible, a "bell pit" was often dug in the grounds of the building where the bell was to be installed. Molten bell metal is poured into the mould through a box lined with
foundry sand. The founder would bring his casting tools to the site, and a furnace would be built next to the pit.
Bell tuning

Large bells are generally around 80% copper and 20% tin (
bell metal), which has been found empirically to give the most pleasant tone. However, the tone of a bell is mostly due to its shape. A bell is regarded as having a good tone when it is "in tune with itself". In western bell founding, this is known as "harmonic tuning" of a bell, which results in the bell's strongest harmonics being in harmony with each other and the strike note. This produces the brightest and purest sound, which is the attractive sound of a good bell. Much effort has been expended over the centuries to find the shape which will produce the harmonically tuned bell.
The accompanying musical staves show the series of harmonics which are generated when a bell is struck. The
Erfurt bell is notable that it although it is an old bell, it is harmonically tuned, but was not typical of its time.
Pieter and François Hemony in the 17th century reliably cast many bells for carillons of unequalled quality of tuning for the time, but after their death, their guarded trade secrets were lost, and not until the 19th century were bells of comparable tuning quality cast. It was only in modern times that repeatable harmonic tuning using a known scientific basis was achieved. The main partials (or harmonics) of a well-tuned bell are:
* hum note (an octave below the named note)
* strike tone (also called tap note or named note)
* tierce (a minor third above named note)
* quint (a fifth above named note)
* nominal (an octave above named note)
Further, less-audible, harmonics include the major third and a perfect fifth in the second octave above the named note.
This quest by various founders over centuries of bell founding has resulted in the development of an optimum profile for casting each size of a bell to give true harmonic tuning. Although bells are cast to accurate patterns, variations in casting mean that a final tuning is necessary as the shape of the bell is critical in producing the desired strike note and associated harmonics. Tuning is undertaken by clamping the bell on a large rotating table and using a cutting tool to remove metal. This is an iterative process in which metal is removed from certain parts of the bell to change certain harmonics. This process was made possible historically by the use of tuning forks to find sympathetic resonance on specific parts of a bell for the harmonic being tuned, but today electronic
strobe tuners are normally used. To tune the strike note, the nominal or the strike note are tuned; the effect is usually the same because the nominal is one of the main partials that determines the tone of the strike note. The thickness of a church bell at its thickest part, called the "sound bow", is usually one thirteenth its diameter. If the bell is mounted as cast, it is called a "maiden bell".
Major third bell
The traditional harmonically tuned bell has a minor third as a main harmonic. On the theory that western music in major keys may sound better on bells with a major third as a harmonic, production of bells with major thirds was attempted in the 1980s. Scientists at the Technical University in Eindhoven, using computer modelling, produced bell profiles which were cast by the Eijsbouts Bellfoundry in the Netherlands. They were described as resembling old Coke bottles in that they had a bulge around the middle;
In 1999 a design without the bulge was announced. However, the major bell concept has found little favour; most bells cast today are almost universally minor third bells.
Use in clock chimes

Bells are also associated with
clock
A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, a ...
s, indicating the hour by the striking of bells. Indeed, the word ''clock'' comes from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word ''Cloca'', meaning ''bell''. Bells in clock towers or
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
s can be heard over long distances, which was especially important in the time when clocks were too expensive for widespread ownership.
In the case of clock towers and grandfather clocks, a particular sequence of tones may be played to distinguish between the hour, half-hour, quarter-hour, or other intervals. One common pattern is called "
Westminster Quarters", a sixteen-note pattern named after the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
which popularized it as the measure used by
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...
.
Notable bells


*The
Great Bell of Dhammazedi (1484) may have been the largest bell ever made. It was lost in a river in
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
after being removed from a temple by the
Portuguese in 1608. It is reported to have weighed about .
*The
Tsar Bell by the
Motorin Bellfounders is the largest bell still in existence. It weighs , but it was never rung and broke in 1737. It is on display in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Russia, inside the
Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
.
*The Great
Mingun Bell is the largest functioning bell. It is located in
Mingun,
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
, and weighs .
* The Gotenba Bell is the largest functioning swinging bell, weighing . It is located in a tourist resort in
Gotenba, Japan. Hung in a freestanding frame, it is rung by hand. It was cast by
Eijsbouts in 2006.
*The
World Peace Bell was the largest functioning swinging bell until 2006. It is located in
Newport, Kentucky,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and was cast by the
Paccard Foundry of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The bell itself weighs ; with clapper and supports. The total weight which swings when the bell is rung is .
*The largest Bell of the
People's Salvation Cathedral
The People's Salvation Cathedral (; ''People's Liberation Cathedral'' is an alternative translation of the name), also known as the National Cathedral (), is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest, Romania, to serve as the ...
is the largest free-swinging church bell in the world, surpassing the
Petersglocke of
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
. Weighing more than 25 tons, it was cast by the
Grassmayr Bell Foundry on the 11th of November 2016 and has a height of 3,130 mm, thickness of 273 mm.
*The
Bell of King Seongdeok is the largest extant bell in
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
. The full Korean name means "Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok the Great". It was also known as the Bell of Bongdeoksa Temple, where it was first housed. The bell weighs about 25 tons and was originally cast in 771 CE. It is now stored in the National Museum of Gyeongju.
*
Pummerin in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
's
Stephansdom is the most famous bell in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and the fifth largest in the world.
*The
St. Petersglocke, in the Colognian dialect, local dialect of Cologne also called ' ("Fat Peter"), is a bell in Germany's
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
. It weighs 24 tons and was cast in 1922. It is the largest functioning free-swinging bell in the world that swings from its top. (The Gotenba Bell and the World Peace Bell swing around their center of gravity, which is more like turning than swinging. So, depending on the point of view, the St. Petersglocke may be considered the largest free-swinging bell in the world.)
*Maria Dolens, the bell for the Fallen in Rovereto, Italy, weighs 22.6 tons.
*The South West tower of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England, houses Great Paul, the second largest bell at 16.5 tons in the British Isles. One can hear Great Paul booming out over Ludgate Hill at 1300 every day.
* The Olympic Bell, commissioned and cast for the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 London Olympic Games, is the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the world.
*Big Ben is the fourth-largest bell in the British Isles, after The Olympic Bell (used at the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games), Great Paul (St Paul's Cathedral, City of London) and Great George (Liverpool Cathedral). Big Ben is the hour bell of the Great Clock in the Elizabeth Tower (formerly called the Clock Tower) at the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
, the Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament.
*The Dom Tower in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, houses the Salvator, weighing 8.2 tons and cast in 1505 by Geert van Wou.
*Great Tom (bell), Great Tom is the bell that hangs in Tom Tower (designed by Christopher Wren) of Christ Church, Oxford. It was cast in 1680 and weighs over 6 tons. Great Tom is still rung 101 times at 21:05 every night to signify the 101 original scholars of the college.
*The Liberty Bell is a
United States, American bell of great historic significance, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It previously hung in Independence Hall.
*Sigismund (bell), Sigismund is a 12 tonne bell in the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland, cast in 1520. It is rung only on very significant national occasions.
*The Maria Gloriosa in Erfurt Cathedral, Germany, was cast by Geert van Wou in 1497, weighs more than 12,500 kg (13 tons) and is the world's largest medieval free-swinging bell.
*The Lutine Bell is the ship's bell of the wrecked French frigate Lutine (1779), HMS ''Lutine'', weighs and bears the inscription "ST. JEAN – 1779". It rests in the Lloyd's of London Underwriting Room, where it used to be struck when news of an overdue ship arrived—once for the loss of a ship (i.e., bad news, last in 1979), and twice for her return (i.e., good news, last in 1989).
*The tenor (heaviest bell) of the Liverpool Cathedral#Bells, change-ringing peal at Liverpool Cathedral is the heaviest bell hung for Change ringing, full-circle ringing.
Usage as musical instruments

Some bells are used as musical instruments, such as
carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
s, (clock) chime (bell instrument), chimes, agogô, or ensembles of bell-players, called bell choirs, using hand-held bells of varying tones. A "ring of bells" is a set of four to twelve or more bells used in change ringing, a particular method of ringing bells in patterns. A peal in changing ringing may have bells playing for several hours, playing 5,000 or more patterns without a break or repetition. They have also been used in many kinds of popular music, such as in AC/DC's "Hells Bells (song), Hells Bells" and Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica song), For Whom the Bell Tolls".
Ancient Chinese bells

The ancient Chinese bronze chime bells called bianzhong o
zhong / zeng(鐘) were used as polyphonic musical instruments and some have been dated at between 2000 and 3600 years old. Tuned bells have been created and used for musical performance in many cultures but ''Zhong'' are unique among all other types of cast bells in several respects and they rank among the highest achievements of Chinese bronze casting technology. However, the remarkable secret of their design and the method of casting—known only to the Chinese in antiquity—was lost in later generations and was not fully rediscovered and understood until the 20th century.
In 1978 a complete ceremonial set of 65 ''Zhong'' bells was found in a near-perfect state of preservation during the excavation of th
of Marquis Yi, ruler of State of Zeng, Zeng, one of the Warring States. Their special shape gives them the ability to produc
two different musical tones depending on where they are struck. The interval between these notes on each bell is either a major third, major or minor third, equivalent to a distance of four or five notes on a piano.
The bells of Marquis Yi—which were still fully playable after almost 2500 years—cover a range of slightly less than five octaves but thanks to their dual-tone capability, the set can sound a complete 12-tone scale—predating the development of the European 12-tone system by some 2000 years—and can play melodies in diatonic and pentatonic scales.
Another related ancient Chinese musical instrument is called Bianqing, qing
磬pinyin qìng) but it was made of stone instead of metal.
In more recent times, the top of bells in China was usually decorated with a small dragon, known as ''pulao (dragon), pulao''; the figure of the dragon served as a hook for hanging the bell.
Konguro'o
Konguro'o is a small bell which, like the Djalaajyn, was first used for utilitarian purposes and only later for artistic ones. Konguro'o rang when moving to new places. They were fastened to the horse harnesses and created a very specific "smart" sound background. Konguro'o also hung on the neck of the leader goat, which the sheep herd followed. This led to the association in folk memory between the distinctive sound of konguro'o and the nomadic way of life.
To make this instrument, Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz foremen used copper, bronze, iron and brass. They also decorated it with artistic carving and covered it with silver. Sizes of the instruments might vary within certain limits, what depended on its function. Every bell had its own timbre.
Chimes
A variant on the bell is the tubular bell. Several of these metal tubes which are struck manually with hammers, form an instrument named ''tubular bells'' or ''chimes''. In the case of wind or aeolian chimes, the tubes are blown against one another by the wind.
Skrabalai
The skrabalai is a traditional folk instrument in Lithuania which consists of wooden bells of various sizes hanging in several vertical rows with one or two wooden or metal small clappers hanging inside them. It is played with two wooden sticks. When the skrabalai is moved a clapper knocks at the wall of the trough. The pitch of the sound depends on the size of the wooden trough. The instrument developed from wooden cowbells that shepherds would tie to cows' necks.
Farm bells
Whereas the church and temple bells called to mass (liturgy), mass or religious service, bells were used on farms for more secular signalling. The greater farms in Scandinavia usually had a small bell-tower resting on the top of the barn. The bell was used to call the workers from the field at the end of the day's work.

In folk tradition, it is recorded that each church and possibly several farms had their specific rhymes connected to the sound of the specific bells. An example is the Pete Seeger and Idris Davies song "The Bells of Rhymney".
Dead bell
In Scotland, up until the nineteenth century, it was the tradition to ring a dead bell, a form of handbell, at the death of an individual and at the funeral.
Bell study and ringing organizations
Numerous organizations promote the ringing, study, music, collection, preservation and restoration of bells, including:
*American Bell Association International, The American Bell Association International (United States with foreign chapters)
*Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (worldwide) – promotes English style full circle change ringing
*The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (Canada, Mexico, United States)
Gallery
File:Temple bell and clapper. Banna-ji. Ashikaga, Togichi.jpg, Temple bell and clapper. Banna-ji. Japan.
Image:Bell, Mingun, Myanmar.jpg, Mingun Bell weighs 55,555 viss, or 90 tonnes.
Image:Libertybell alone small.jpg, Philadelphia's Liberty Bell.
Image:ZygmuntDzwon.JPG, The Sigismund (bell), Zygmunt (Sigismund) Bell (from 1520) in Kraków, Poland.
Image:WorldPeaceBell-Kentucky.jpg, The World Peace Bell in Kentucky.
Image:Jingyun Bell.JPG, Bronze jingyun bell cast in the year 711 AD, Xi'an.
Image:Wuhanbells.jpg, Chinese bells from the ancient Warring States, Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan, China.
Image:StUlrichGlocken13.JPG, St. Ulrich, Memmingen
File:Yongle Bell 01.jpg, Yongle Bell
File:Changchun-Temple-TaiQingDian-Bell-0306.jpg, A bell in Chang Chun Temple, Wuhan, hanging on its ''pulao (dragon), pulao''
File:St Cuileain Bell.JPG, Bell Shrine of St. Cuileáin, St Cuileain's Bell from Ireland, 7th-8th Century AD (British Museum)
File:PK - Bell with Saints Peter, Paul, John, and Thomas - Walters 5479 - View B.jpg, Bronze bell from the second half of the fourteenth century, depicting Saints Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist, and Thomas.
File:Glendale-Fire Bell-1912.jpg, Fire Bell, Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, Arizona.
File:Chikanobu The Giant Bell.jpg, The bell as depicted in fine art: This triptych depicts Benkei carrying the giant bell of Mii-dera Buddhist temple up Hei-zan Mountain. – Chikanobu Toyohara, .
File:Miidera-no-bansho-M2075.jpg, This bell is called ''Mii-dera no Bansho'' (三井寺の晩鐘), the evening bell at Mii-dera, a Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
temple in Ōtsu, Shiga, Otsu, which is near Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. This image shows the hanging wooden beam positioned to strike the outer side of the resonating surface.
See also
* American Bell Association International
* Bellhop
* Bicycle bell
* Bermuda carriage bell
* Cat bell
* Cowbell
* Doorbell
* Division bell
* Electric bell
* Electronic tuners, used to tune bells
* Glockenspiel
* Handbell
* National Bell Festival
* John Taylor & Co, John Taylor Bellfounders
* School bell
* Ship's bell
* Suzu (bell), Suzu
* Train bell
* Veronese bellringing art
* Whitechapel Bell Foundry
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Fadul, Jose A. ''Fadul's Encyclopedia of Bells''. 2015. Lulu Press.
* James Murdoch (Scottish journalist), Murdoch, James. (1903)
''A History of Japan.''London: Paul, Trech, Trubner. [re-issued by Routledge, London, 1996.
* Richard Ponsonby-Fane, Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
*Spencer, Ann ''"And round me rings": bell tales and folklore''. Toronto: Tundra, 2003
*
* Willis, Stephen Charles. ''Bells through the Ages: from the Percival Price Collection'' = ''Les Cloches à travers les siècles: provenant du fonds Percival Price''. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1986. 34 p., ill. with b&w photos. ''N.B''.: Prepared on the occasion of an exhibition of the same title, based on the collection of bell and carillon related material and documentation, of former Dominion Carillonneur (of Canadian Parliament, Ottawa), Percival Price, held at the National Library of Canada (as then named), 12 May to 14 Sept. 1986; some copies come with the guide to the taped dubbings of the recordings played as background music to the displays, as technically prepared by Gilles Saint-Laurent and listed by Stephen Charles Willis, both of the library's Music Division; English and French texts respectively divided into upper and lower portions of each page.
External links
What Do Bells Symbolize SpirituallyBell recordings of the Basque Country* [https://washingtonringingsociety.org/galleries/animations Animation of English Full-circle ringing]
Videos of the London Olympic bell being cast, tuned and installed.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell (Instrument)
Articles containing video clips
Asian percussion instruments
Bells (percussion),
Campanology
Chinese inventions
European percussion instruments
Hand percussion
Idiophones struck directly
Kyrgyz musical instruments
Percussion instruments used as both pitched and unpitched