Ray's 3rd BELL Page
In the picture of the Cathedral, the central tower also houses
the 53 bell carillon - 4th largest (by weight) in North America.
This carillon is regularly played on Saturdays for a concert
enjoyed by the public.
Shown above is Dr. Edward Nassor, the Carillonneur at the
National Cathedral and also at the 51 bell Netherlands Carillon,
near the Iwo Jima Memorial, at the North end of Arlington National
Cemetary.
Carillon - National Cathedral - Washington DC
- The sound of the National Cathedral Carillon and the Change
ringers is on the CD-MS-920338 Order it at:
https://commerce.cathedral.org/exec/ms/DisplayCategory?DCategory=Music
For music, bells must be tuned.
The labor-intensive part of tuning involves:
Sounding the bell and measuring the sound
Making a lathe cut
Sounding the bell and re-measuring the sound
Repeat the three steps above
But, how does the tuner know where to make the cut?
There is a relationship between the shape of a bell and where
metal can be removed to affect the tuning of the bell. In bell
terms, these vibration frequencies are called the "partials" of the
bell. A Fourier analysis of a bell's sound reveals these
frequencies.
The International Peace Bell in Newport, KY has the spectrum
shown in the upper part of the slide above. 
The next picture better shows the scale of this big bell. It is the
World's largest free swinging bell. It weighs 33 tons.
Hear the sound of this bell.
- Recorded by Ray Adams in 2002. Non-Commercial use permitted
by Newport Millennium Monument Co.
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