The bell is one of the oldest, and certainly is the loudest of, musical instruments. The sound of a bell has the power to charm, to amaze, to warn, to frighten, and to lift the spirit. Bells are ubiquitous even in our electronic age. And yet the way in which a bell produces its sound is complex, and even such a simple question as which note a bell sounds can have surprising and unexpected answers.
This website describes investigations over many year into the sound and tuning of bells. In the early stages of research I developed a software package (Wavanal) which allows easy investigation into bell acoustics. The software is free and can be downloaded here.
In April 2008 I was awarded a PhD by The Open University based on research into the musical acoustics of bells, and in particular the note we hear when a bell is rung. The full text of the thesis and introductory articles are available on this site.
Since completing the PhD the research has continued. I have a growing collection of over 8,800 bell recordings with dates spanning 9 centuries, hundreds of founders and many countries which I use for ongoing investigations. Regular updates to this site document recent investigations.
For an introduction, including lots of bell sounds to listen to, click here.
What’s new?
- Simpson, Van Aerschodt, Lower Beeding and KilburnCanon Simpson in his first paper On Bell Tones discusses the bells at Lower Beeding. His conclusions about the way continental founders tuned their bells proves not to be correct […]
Read More… from Simpson, Van Aerschodt, Lower Beeding and Kilburn
- A history of Gillett and Johnston in bell soundsThis article investigates the changes in design of Gillett and Johnston bells from the 1870s to the 1950s, by looking at tierce tuning. […]
Read More… from A history of Gillett and Johnston in bell sounds
- Cyril Johnston’s tuning forksA detailed description of Cyril Johnston’s tuning forks, including investigation of errors in their frequencies. […]
- Two van Aerschodt carillonsDetails of two historic van Aerschodt carillons, one at Eaton Hall, Cheshire and the other at Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, USA […]
- Ewald Riepe, Naylor-Vickers and Bochumer VereinResearch published in Germany in 1972, recently drawn to my attention by Heino Strobel, shows that the technology used by Naylor Vickers to cast steel bells was invented by Bochumer Verein in Germany and licensed from them, leading to an extensive collaboration between the two companies. […]
Read More… from Ewald Riepe, Naylor-Vickers and Bochumer Verein