Carillon

Bells are rung in sequences, sometimes complex ones, in many cultures of the world, but the true carillon, a set of tuned bells mounted inside a tower, often a clock tower, dates back only to the late sixteenth century. The first carillons were made in the Netherlands, which remained a center for carillon manufacturing. Carillon bells are controlled by a set of levers and pedals mounted in a frame in a configuration similar to that of an organ, but considerable force is necessary to sound the bells, the largest of which weigh more than 10 tons. Playing a traditional carillon is thus quite a physical undertaking, but on modern instruments the player is often aided by electric power. The number of carillons in existence has never been large, primarily because the casting of such large bells at an accurate pitch is a specialized skill that very few makers have mastered at any given time. The first course of college-level carillon performance studies, and still one of the few available, was introduced at the University of Michigan in 1939.

Percussion Instruments