A bell is a musical instrument that belongs to the percussion group. Bells are sometimes said to be pendant bells. The bells look quite different from how a person who is far from the world of musical performers imagines them. It is a series of metal plates, tuned in a chromatic scale.
Instructions
Step 1
Bells have a light ringing timbre when played quietly (piano), and when played loudly (forte), the timbre becomes bright and even brilliant. Bells usually range from note to third octave from note to fifth, but there are instruments with a wider range. Bells have been used in the symphony orchestra since the 19th century. Notes for them are recorded one octave lower than they actually sound.
Step 2
Two types of bells can be used as an orchestral instrument: simple bells and keyboard bells. Simple bells are metal plates arranged in two rows, mounted on a wooden frame. The placement of the records can be compared to the keys of a piano: they are arranged in the same way. There are also keyboard bells, where the plate is struck with the help of a special hammer, individual for each plate. The body of these bells is a bit like a small piano or celesta. From a technical point of view, more can be achieved with keyboard bells, as the beat frequency can vary greatly. But in terms of timbre, it is usually simple bells that sound cleaner, without a case and keys.
Step 3
For sound production, special metal hammers are usually used, but in some cases, to give the timbre a softness, wooden ones are used. Bells are not used very often in works, as a rule, if they want to emphasize the special purity or magic of the moment with their melodic sound. For example, Rimsky-Korsakov uses bells in the opera The Golden Cockerel where he wants to show how magical the events are. Glinka introduces the bells in the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila in the part called Chernomor's March with the same purpose to emphasize the fantastic nature of the events.
Step 4
One of the most widespread types of bells is the triangle. It can be found much more often than regular bells. The triangle is suspended on a special thread or string, and the blow is performed using a special stick, usually made of the same material as the triangle itself. There are also bells that have their own tongue. Then the orchestra uses a bunch of five bells, they are ordered from large to small and strung on a common string.
Step 5
Bells should not be confused with bells, although this is often done. Bells are percussion instruments, each of them is a cylindrical tube hollow inside. Usually a set contains 8 to 12 bells. As a rule, bells are made from chrome plated steel or nickel plated brass. In order to extract the blow, you need a special wooden hammer. The bell is a rather massive instrument, its height is about 2 m.
