BELL: kyrgyzstan musical instrument

A bell is a simple sound-producing piece of equipment. The bell is a percussion musical instrument and also an idiophone. The form of a bell is usually a hollow, cup-shaped sound resonator that vibrates upon being hit. The striking tool or equipment can be a tongue that is suspended within the bell, called a clapper, a separate mallet or hammer, or in small versions of the bell, a small loose orb attached within the body of the musical instrument.

Bells are normally manufactured of castmetal, but small version of the musical instrument can also be manufactured from the ceramic or glass. Bells vary in size from small dress frills to church bells that can be 5 meters tall, weighing many masses. Historically, the musical instruments were related with religious rituals, and prior to mass communiqué, the musical instrument were commonly used to call some communities together for both religious as well as secular events. Later the musical instruments were produced to honor special events or individuals and have been connected with the concepts of freedom and peace. The study of this musical instrument is known as campanology.

A set of bells that are hung in a circle for change ringing is called a ring of bells or peal of bells.

A set twenty-three of bells that are spanning at least two octaves is called a carillon.

The most primitive archaeological proof of this musical instrument dates from Third millennium BC, and is traced back to the Yangshao culture of the Neolithic China. Clapper-bells manufactured of ceramic have been seen in some archaeological sites. The ceramic bells afterward developed into the metal versions of the bells. In the West Asia, the first versions of the bells emerge in 1000 BC.

The earliest metal versions of the musical instrument, having one found in the taosi site and four of them were found in the Erlituo site, are traced back to about 2000 BC. The ancient versions of the musical instrument not only have a crucial role in manufacturing metal sound, but arguably performed a popular cultural function. With the development of other versions of the musical instrument during the Shang Dynasty, they were demoted to subservient roles.

In the western countries, the classical structure of the bell is a church bell or a town bell that can be hung within a tower. There is usually a clapper inside these musical instruments. If the bell is motionless it is sounded by jerking the inside clapper that is on the instrument or by the use of a hammer from the outside of the musical instrument. If the musical instrument is hung in such a manner that the whole bell is capable of be swung freely by jerking on a rope then the bells can be sounded by wavering the bell back and front against the stable clapper or by wavering the musical instrument against the clapper as well as moving both via an arc, then jerking the rope of the musical instrument so as to impede the bell and start moving it in the reverse way, to be struck by the clapper that is still poignant in the original trend because of its inertia.

Sometimes the clappers are constructed to have leather pads that are strapped around them to reduce the sound of the musical instrument when practicing to avoid disturbing the neighborhood.

The process of molding the bells is known as bell-founding or bell-making, and in Europe, the making of bell has been traced back to the 4th century or 5th century. The usual metal for production of these bells is a bronze that is of about 23% tin. Known as bell metal, this compound is also the original alloy for the premium Turkish cymbals as well as Chinese cymbals. Other materials that can sometimes be used for large versions of the bells include brass and iron. Steel was used during the active church-building era of mid-19th-century in  England, for its financial system over bronze, but was said not to be long-lasting and productions of this version of the musical instrument stopped in the 1870s.

Small versions of the bells were originally manufactured with the use lost wax process nevertheless large versions of the bells are mold mouth down, in a two-part mould fastened to a base-plate. The center is carved on the base-plate with the use absorbent materials like coke or brick and then shielded in loam that is well mixed with the straw and horse compost. This is specified a profile equivalent to the inside shape of the completed musical bell, and desiccated with some gentle heat. Graphite as well as whiting is applied to forge the final, smooth shell of the musical instrument. The exterior of the mould is manufactured within an open cast iron case that is bigger than the completed bell, consisting the loan mixture that is shaped, desiccated and smoothed in the similar manner as the core. The case is upturned, stifled over the core and confined to the base plate of the instrument. The confined mould is backed up, normally by being obscured in a casting pit to accept the heaviness of the metal and to permit even cooling. In past times, before road transportations of large versions of the bells was made possible, a pit might have been taunt in the grounds of the house where the musical instrument was to be mounted.