A bell plate is a percussion instrument consisting of a flat and fairly thick sheet of metal, producing a sound similar to a

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. 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. The strike may be m ...

. They are most often used in

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

and theater music.Blades, James, Percussion Instruments and their History, (Westport, CT: Bold Strummer, 1992), 393, 401.Baines, Anthony, The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 34-35.

History

Bell plates were first developed and implemented as percussion instruments in

ancient Asia The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. See History of the Mi ...

, but did not enter into Western music until the late 19th century. This instrument then became popular, particularly in theater music, in the early 20th century.

Construction

Bell plates are made of sheets of

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength 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 ...

, ranging in size from and (bronze) to and (aluminium). While normal bell plates are suspended from a pair of holes in the corners (going through a

node In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics * Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines ...

so as not to influence its sound), the variation of the bell plate known as the Burma bell, a distinctively shaped bell plate, is often mounted using a single hole, allowing it to spin when struck, producing

Doppler effect The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...

s. The range of the instrument typically covers 4 octaves in the form of a C-major scale, totaling 29 total plates. However, different sets may contain different combinations of plates according to the needs of the owner. The plates are typically suspended from a semicircular frame and are occasionally fitted with resonators to enhance volume and the sounding of low partials.Peinkofer, Karl; Tannigel, Fritz. Handbook of Percussion Instruments (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 67-69.

Playing techniques

Bell plates can be played while suspended from a stand or while held in one hand of the performer depending on the number of different plates needed for a specific performance. If only one plate is needed, then the performer will simply hold that specific plate with one hand and strike it with the other. This plate can be kept on a table covered with a towel or carpet square while not being played. If the performance requires several plates to be played in succession, then the plates should be suspended from a stand. The player then strikes the plates with a wooden, hard plastic, or metal mallet which can be covered in varying thicknesses of felt to create a variety of sounds. A softer mallet, which has a thicker felt covering, can achieve a greater sounding of the fundamental pitch of the plate, while a harder mallet with a thinner covering of felt will produce stronger overtones and possibly overshadow the fundamental pitch of the plate. The sound can also be manipulated by striking different areas of the plate. Greater volume can be achieved by striking the center of the lower or upper third of the instrument, and a clearer pitch can be produced by striking the plate at the center or near the bottom edge. The bell plates may be dampened with the player's hand or with the mallet to quicken or immediately cut off the decay of the sound after striking.

Works

The following works feature bell plates: * Puccini, ''Tosca'' (1900) (plates used: E, F, B♭, F) * Verdi, ''Il Trovator'' (1853) (plates used: death knell in E♭) * Pfitzner, ''Palestrina'' (1917) (plates used: F♯, G, C, E) * Pfitzner, ''Von deutscher Seele'' (two low bell plates of any pitch) * Strauss, ''Also sprach Zaruthustra'' (1896) (plates used: E) * Strauss, ''Friedenstag'' (1938) (plates used: C, E♭, A, E♭, G) * Mahler, ''Symphony No. 9'' (1909) (plates used: F♯, A, B) * Janáček, ''Out of a Death House'' (1927) * Webern, ''Six Pieces for Orchestra'', Op. 6 (1909–10, revised 1928) (low bells of unspecified pitch) * Boulez, ''pli selon pli'' (1957-1960) * Schönberg, ''Die glűckliche Hand'', Op. 18 (1910-1913) (tremolo on a low bell as a sound effect) * Tamburo, ''Plays Metal'' (2020) (B Major Pentatonic Plates in Just Intonation)

Makers

* Alexander Zhikharev * Matt Nolan Custom * UFIP *

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Switzerland, Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian language, Estonian and Finnish language, ...

Zildjian The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the com ...

* Maurice Davies

References

External links

Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra. Bell plates notated on pg. 16

Bell plate played on YouTube

Pierre Boulez - Pli selon pli, view of Bell Plates in orchestral setting at 0:58, hear bell plates at 1:37
{{Percussion Percussion idiophones Percussion instruments played with specialised beaters Musical instruments played with drum sticks Asian percussion instruments Pitched percussion instruments