Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument made from tubes, rods, bells, or other items that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are hung with a weight or surface that they can hit when the wind blows.
They are usually placed outside buildings or homes as decorations that look good and make sounds. Since the wind moves randomly and causes the chimes to make noise, wind chimes are an example of music that happens by chance. The tubes or rods may create sounds that are hard to recognize as specific notes or sounds that are easier to identify. Wind chimes that make easier-to-identify notes can sometimes create simple melodies or short musical patterns when the wind moves them.
History
Ancient Roman wind chimes, usually made of bronze, were called tintinnabula. They were hung in gardens, courtyards, and porticoes. When the wind blew, the chimes made a tinkling sound. People believed the bells could protect against harmful spirits. Sometimes, a phallus was added to the chimes. A phallus was a symbol of good fortune and a charm to protect against the evil eye. The image shows one example with a phallus that has wings and the feet of an animal. The tail of this chime is shaped like a phallus. These additions were thought to increase the chime’s protective power.
In India during the second century CE, and later in China, large pagodas became popular. Small wind bells were placed at each corner of these structures. The wind caused the clapper, also made of bronze, to move and create a pleasant ringing sound. It is said these bells were used to scare away birds and harmful spirits. Wind bells were also hung under the corners of temple, palace, and home roofs. They were not only used on pagodas. In Japan, glass wind bells called fūrin (風鈴) were made during the Edo period. Some fūrin at Mizusawa Station are part of Japan’s 100 Soundscapes. In parts of Asia, wind chimes are believed to bring good luck and are used in Feng Shui.
Wind chimes began to change around 1100 C.E. when Chinese artisans started using metal casting to make bells. A bell without a clapper, called a yong-zhong, was created by skilled workers. It was used mainly in religious ceremonies. Later, the Chinese made feng-ling (風鈴), which are similar to modern wind bells. These were hung from shrines and pagodas to protect against evil spirits and attract good ones. Today, wind chimes are common in the East and are used to help the flow of chi, or life energy.
Sounds and music
Chimes create sounds that are not always in harmony, but when hung at about 2/9 of their length (22.4%), some higher sounds are reduced, allowing the main note to be the loudest. This method is often used in high-quality wind chimes, which are also hung so the center ball hits the middle of the chime, making the main note sound the strongest. The pitch of a chime depends on its length, width, thickness, and material. There are formulas to calculate the correct length for a specific note, but small adjustments are often needed.
Most chimes use scales with five or four notes instead of the traditional Western seven-note scale. This is because these scales have fewer harsh-sounding intervals, making the chimes sound more pleasant when notes are played randomly.
In instruments like organ pipes, the pitch is mainly determined by the length of the air inside the pipe, as the sound comes from the air vibrating. The material of the pipe affects the sound's quality, but the air column controls the pitch. In wind chimes, the sound comes from the vibrations of the chime itself after being struck, so the air column does not influence the pitch.
Sound is created when the tubes or rods touch a hanging ball or disk in the center or hit each other.
Wind chimes can be used to observe wind direction if they are hung in a place where they begin to make noise.
Materials
Wind chimes can be made from materials other than metal or wood and can have shapes other than tubes or rods. Other materials used for wind chimes include glass, bamboo, shell, stone, earthenware, stoneware, beads, keys, and porcelain. Unusual items, such as silverware or cookie cutters, can also be reused to make wind chimes. The material chosen can greatly affect the sound the wind chime makes. Sounds from reused objects are harder to adjust to specific musical notes and can range from soft, tinkling noises to dull, thudding sounds. Sounds from properly sized wind chime tubes can be adjusted to match specific notes. Aluminum is often used for wind chimes because it does not absorb sound as much as other metals, allowing the chimes to produce the longest and loudest sounds.
The tone of a wind chime depends on factors such as the material used, the type of metal alloy, how the material is treated with heat, and whether it is made as a solid cylinder or a tube. If a tube is used, the thickness of its walls also affects the tone. The way the wind chime is hung can also influence the sound. The quality of the tone also depends on the material that strikes the chimes.
For clay wind chimes, the higher the temperature used to fire the clay, the brighter and more ringing the sound becomes. Earthenware clay fired at lower temperatures makes a duller sound than stoneware clay fired at higher temperatures. Stoneware wind chimes are also stronger and can better withstand strong winds without breaking or chipping.
Mathematics of tubular wind chimes
A wind chime made from a circular tube can be studied as a freely vibrating beam. The main frequency of vibration, measured in cycles per second, is calculated using the formula:
where L is the length of the tube, E is the Young's modulus (a value that depends on the material used), I is the second moment of area (a measure of how the tube's shape affects its resistance to bending), and μ is the mass per unit length of the tube.
The second moment of area (I) for a tube with inner radius r_i and outer radius r_o is calculated as:
The mass per unit length (μ) is determined by the formula:
where ρ is the density of the tube's material.
The frequency can then be expressed as:
where W is the wall thickness (W = r_o – r_i) and D is the average diameter (D = r_o + r_i). For tubes with very thin walls, the W term can be ignored. In this case, the main frequency is inversely proportional to the tube's length (L) and directly proportional to the tube's diameter (D).
During the main mode of vibration, the tube has two nodes—points where the tube does not move. These nodes are located at approximately 22.416% of the tube's length from each end. If the tube is supported (but not clamped) at these nodes, it vibrates as if it were not supported. A wind chime produces the clearest and loudest sound when it is hung from one of these node points. These points are also used in other similar instruments, such as the xylophone and glockenspiel.
Use in music
Wind chimes are used in modern music and are classified as percussion instruments. Here is a list of artists and composers who have included them in their work:
- Olivier Messiaen: Saint-François d'Assise (a set made of glass, shell, and wood chimes)
- Toshiro Mayuzumi: Bugaku (a set made of wood and glass chimes)
- Giles Swayne: Symphony No. 1 (a set of glass chimes)
- David Sitek, of the American rock band TV on the Radio, sometimes attaches a wind chime to the end of his guitar to add texture to his music.
- Koji Kondo, the main composer for the Mario video game series, used wind chimes in the theme music for the world "Vanilla Dome" in Super Mario World.
- Ivy Queen used wind chimes on the acoustic track "Ángel Caído" from the 2004 album Real.
Influence
The Japanese video game series Pokémon used the Japanese fūrin wind chimes as the inspiration for the Pokémon Chimecho. The sound that Chimecho makes in the game is similar to three high-pitched bells ringing one after another.
Mark trees are sometimes confused with wind chimes, but they are different instruments. Both have a similar basic structure, with tubes of different lengths that are designed to create a tinkling or chiming sound.
Gallery
- Wind chimes located at Leisure Valley, Chandigarh
- A Japanese Fūrin wind chime
- A collection of small wind chimes
- Wind chimes found in Nagano, Japan
- Old hard disk platters repurposed as a wind chime
- Quality chimes are hung at approximately 2/9 and struck at 1/2 length.
- Mate Ghanta bells from Nepal
- Phye Ghan (Nepali: फ्ये गँ:)