Bell (instrument)

“ The instrument consists of five pieces: (1) the bell; (2) the bass, or long joint; (3) the double joint; (4) the wing; and (5) the crook, a small curved tube of metal which holds the mouthpiece with the double reed. The bottom of the instrument is stopped by a flattened oval cork. The pipes meet at the double joint and turn upward. The holes are pierced obliquely so as to bring them within reach of the player’s fingers. There are three holes in the wing-joint and three others in the front of the double joint, to be closed by the first three fingers of each hand. ”

“ Thirdly, upon the valves, which, when pressed by the fingers, produce notes of lower and higher pitch.
The right hand of the player is always in the bell of his instrument to prevent harsh and loud sounds and to give the tone a smooth and veiled quality.
To play the horn bouché means to stop the horn with hand, or fist. To force its tone produces a loud, brassy and even wild effect. ”

“ Two belly bridges and two wrest-plank bridges, one set for each octave, determine the vibrating length of the strings, and the belly bridge, as in other stringed instruments, is the medium through which the vibrations of the strings are communicated to the soundboard. The arrangement of pegs and wrest-pins is much the same as on the piano. ”

“ Some represent animals: as, for instance, a bat with outstretched wings; or two fishes placed side by side: others are in the shape of an ancient Chinese bell. The angular shape appears to be the oldest form and is still retained in the ornamental stones of the pien-ch’ing, which is a more modern instrument than the 39 ch’ing. The tones of the pien-ch’ing are attuned according to the Chinese intervals called lü, of which there are twelve in the compass of an octave. The same is the case with the other Chinese instruments of this class. They vary, however, in pitch. ”

“ The realism demanded by modern dramatic music taxes the resources of the orchestra to the utmost when the composer aims at reproducing on the stage the effect of church bells, as, for instance, in the Golden Legend, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Rienzi and Parsifal. ”

“ A peal, in technical language, is a performance on the bells of more than 5000 changes ; and it occupies the ringers a considerable period of time, generally more than three hours. But a touch or flourish on the bells, which is the ordinary method of notifying any joyful occurrence, is round ringing varied by changes at the option of the ringers, or according to the custom of the belfry. It is usual in the first instance to set the bells ; that is, to throw every bell, with its mouth upward, in a stationary position in the frame. ”

“ To tune a series of bells properly, the fundamental tone of each bell must be brought into true octave with its nominal, and the whole series of bells, thus rectified, put into tune with each other. The “hum-note” of each, which is the tone of the whole mass of metal, should also be in tune with the others. If flatter than the nominal, it cannot be sharpened ”

“ Bells are struck in three ways,— (1) with a hammer on the outside, let off either by a tambour or revolving drum, similar in appearance to the prickly cylinder of a musical box, which drum can be fitted with tunes or chimes by musical nuts or spikes, and altered at will; (2) the bell can also be struck by hand, as in the common stand of small bells to be seen occasionally in the London streets, the player having a hammer in each hand; or (3) the clapper may strike the bell internally, either being pulled by a rope, the bell being stationary, or by the bell swinging to and fro. ”

“ Musical hand bells are the most handy for the practice of time, place, and position, and should accompany every ring of church bells anywhere and everywhere for this purpose, so much may be practised upon them in the quiet and comfort of a home fireside. But in ringing rounds on the bells of the church in the tower, every bell must be set at the start, and should be brought round to the hand stroke, as shown in the cut on page 15. ”

“ The quality of a bell depends not only on the casting and the fineness and mixture of metals, but upon the due proportion of metal to the calibre of the bell. The larger the bell the lower the tone; but if we try to make a large E bell with metal only enough for a smaller F bell, the E bell will be puny and poor. It has been calculated that for a peal of bells to give the pure chord of the ground tone or key-note, third, fifth, and octave, the diameters are required to be as thirty, twenty-four, twenty, fifteen, and the weights as eighty, forty-one, twenty-four, and ten. ”

“ The eyepiece of a telescope is merely an instrument for magnifying the image produced by the objective or mirror. If one looks through a telescope without its eyepiece, drawing the eye back from the focus to its ordinary distance of distinct vision, the image is clearly seen as if suspended in air, or it can be received on a bit of ground glass. ”

“ Some specimens (of which we give engravings) are singularly grotesque in shape, representing caricatures of the human face and figure, birds, beasts, and flowers. Some were provided at the top with a finger-hole which, when closed, altered the pitch of the sound, so that two different tones were producible on the instrument. Others had a little ball of baked clay lying loose inside the air-chamber. When the instrument was blown the current of air set the ball in a vibrating motion, thereby causing a shrill and whirring sound. ”

“ You will find that the string tuned to the pitch of your voice will start vibrating while all the others remain quiet. You can even go farther and try the experiment of uttering several different pitches, if you want to, and the corresponding strings will give back your notes, each one singling out its own particular vibration from the air. Now the results reached in these experiments with the piano strings meant a great deal more to Alexander Graham Bell than they would have meant to you or to me. ”

“ In the old system, which has been largely superseded by pneumatic and still more by electric bells, the bells themselves are of the ordinary conical shape and are provided with clappers hung loosely inside them. Being supported on springs they continue to swing, and therefore to give out sound as the clapper knocks against the sides, for some time after they have been set in motion by means of the strings or wires by which each is connected to a bell-pull in the rooms. ”

“ Where Stringed Instruments Came From We have seen the stringed instrument developed from the bow when primitive man winged his arrow in the hunt, and heard its twang. Later desiring fuller tone, the sounding board grew, when early peoples sank bow-like instruments and reeds into a gourd which increased and reflected the sound as the metal reflector behind a light intensifies it.
308Strings to produce sound, must be rubbed, like the bow drawn across violin strings, plucked as the mandolin or the harp is plucked, or struck with a hammer as was the dulcimer. ”

“ There are no points of absolute rest in a vibrating bell, for the nodes of the higher tones are not those of the fundamental one. But it is easy to show that the various parts of the sound-bow, when the fundamental tone is predominant, vibrate with very different degrees of intensity. Suspending a little ball of sealing-wax a, Fig. 78 (next page) , by a string, and allowing it to rest gently against the interior surface of an inverted bell, it is tossed to and fro when the bell is thrown into vibration. ”

“ Where nights, otherwise of the best seeing quality, are generally windless or with breezes so slight that the tube does not quiver a telescope in the open, however protected between times, works perfectly well.
In other regions the clearest nights are apt to be those of a steady gentle wind producing great uniformity of conditions at the expense of occasional vibration of the instrument and of discomfort to the observer. Hence one finds all sorts of practice, varied too, by the inevitable question of expense. ”

“ Then we have a musician 100 with a small stringed instrument resembling the nablum (see p. 86) . The next musician, also represented as a royal personage, plays on a small species of harp. Then follows a crowned musician playing the viol which he holds in almost precisely the same manner as the violin is held. Again, another, likewise crowned, plays upon a harp, using with the right hand a plectrum and with the left hand merely his fingers. The last two performers, apparently a gentleman and a gentlewoman, are engaged in striking the tintinnabulum—​a set of bells in a frame. ”

“ Indeed, we have now scarcely a musical instrument which can be called beautiful. The old lutes, spinets, viols, dulcimers, &c., are not only elegant in shape but are also often tastefully ornamented with carvings, designs in marquetry, and painting.
The player on the viola da gamba, shown in the next engraving, is a reduced copy of an illustration in “The Division Violist,” London, 1659. It shows exactly how the frets were regulated, and how the bow was held. The most popular instruments played with a bow, at that time, were the treble-viol, the tenor-viol, and the bass-viol. ”

“ Lest any of our readers, however, should not understand what chiming is, it consists of swinging the bell to and fro by the rope, so that it moves like the pendulum of a clock, and comes in contact with the clapper, which remains nearly stationary inside, owing to its weight and the loose manner of suspending it. ”

“ The accuracy of such details is essential, otherwise those mellow sounds for which many of the old bells are noted would be absent. It is true that the rich mellowness and musical notes so noticeable in some peals are due to some extent to age, the exact influence of which is not fully understood. The bellfounder has always regarded his work from a lofty standard, and has recorded the accomplishment of any great work by the inscriptions he has caused to be cast upon the surface of the bell. ”

“ If economy must be enforced it is much wiser to try to pick up a used instrument of first class manufacture than to chance a new one at a low price. Now and then a maker of very ordinary repute may turn out a good instrument, but the fact is one to be proved—not assumed. Age and use do not seriously deteriorate a telescope if it has been given proper care. Some of Fraunhofer’s are still doing good service after a century, and occasionally an instrument from one of the great makers comes into the market at a real bargain. ”

“ The [198] sound is clear, deep, and sonorous, nothing at all like the dull and thick tone of the ordinary double–bass. The fingering is done by means of mechanism connected with keys at the lower end of the finger–board, which the performer, standing on a stool, easily reaches with the left hand, while with the right he draws a big bow across the strings. The use of this instrument must be reserved for the grander effects of harmony. It is like the sub–bass of the organ. ”

“ An artist is at this moment engaged at the instrument, but you hear no sound. I place this violin upon the end of the rod; the violin becomes instantly musical—not, however, with the vibrations of its own strings, but with those of the piano. I remove the violin: the sound ceases. I put in its place a guitar, and the music revives. For the violin and guitar I substitute this plain wooden tray: it is also rendered musical. Here, finally, is a harp, against the sound-board of which I cause the end of the deal rod to press: every note of the piano is reproduced before you. ”

“ Tap it strongly above the rim where the clapper strikes, and the quint, the tierce, and the octave will now sound simultaneously, yielding the consonant or key-note of the bell.
If the tierce is too sharp the bell's note (i.e., the consonant) wavers between a tone and a half-tone above it; if the tierce is flat the note wavers between a tone and a half-tone below it; in either case the bell is said to be “false.” A sharp tierce can be flattened by filing away the inside of the bell just where the tierce is struck; but if the bell when cast is found to have a flat tierce there is no remedy. ”

“ The bowing of a violinist is what breath is to a singer and what touch is to a pianist. The beauty and delicacy of tone and the astonishing effects of scattering showers [41] of notes about are all the work of the loose wrist, strong and flexible arm and yielding fingers that hold the bow and draw it across the strings.
INSTRUMENT-MAKER’S WORKSHOP
Eighteenth Century
The rich, velvety, smooth and peaceful legato; the detached or short, sharp strokes; the hammered; the jumping; and the harp-like effects, the arpeggios (or open chords) swinging back and forth, are all accomplished by the bow. ”

“ Instruments of concussion and percussion, like drums and cymbals, and also wind instruments of shell or horn, and rude forms of bagpipes, are inventions of most savage races; but the production of even the most elementary form of stringed instrument is a distinct advance, showing an understanding, however faint, of the use of vibration in developing and strengthening an original note. ”

“ Paul Hentzner a German, who visited England in the year 1598, records in his journal: “The people are vastly fond of great noises that fill the ear, such as the firing of cannon, drums, and the ringing of bells; so that in London it is common for a number of them that have got a glass in their heads to go up into some belfry, and ring the bells for hours together for the sake of exercise.” This may be exaggeration,—not unusual with travellers. It is, however, a fact that bell-ringing has been a favourite amusement with Englishmen for centuries. ”