Bells often sound of tune, but why? Are they really out of tune? Or is something else going on? Dive into the acoustics of bells with me and we'll uncover this mystery!

0:00 Intro
0:48 Piano Harmonics
1:54 Natural Harmonic Series
3:00 Bell partials (Bell overtones)
4:37 Comparing major & minor sounds
5:42 Stacking minor thirds (diminished chord)
6:24 Conclusion

This is the first video in a series I'm planning where I dive behind the scenes of the carillon. In future videos I'm hoping to cover more on acoustics, instrument design, performance techniques, arranging and composing, practicing, instrument maintenance, and more. Let me know what you'd like to hear about in the comments below!

Incorporated carillon footage:
Bach Cello Prelude:    • Bach Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude - car...  
Ode to Joy:    • Ode to Joy, Beethoven - carillon  
Asturias (Leyenda, Albeniz):    • Asturias (Leyenda) by Isaac Albéniz, ...  
Tina Turner Tribute on bells (What's Love Got to Do With It):    • Tina Turner tribute on bells, What's ...  

Acknowledgements / reference videos:
- Those out of tune bells I referenced are from Zuidhavenpoort, NL. These are actually the oldest surviving bells from a forestroke (automatic hour melody). These are 16th century van den Gheyn bells. They're out of tune, yes, but they're amazing!    • Carillon Zuidhavenpoort Zierikzee  

- Here's an AMAZING Video comparing the harmonic series to bell partials, that dives more into the phantom fourth (related topic):    • Why Composers Love Bells  

- Natural Harmonic Series graphic, adapted from Christophe Dang Ngoc Chan (cdang), CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b..., via Wikimedia Commons

- Bell partials compared to Natural Harmonic Series graphic, adapted from John Gouwnes, Playing the Carillon, an Introductory Method

Composing for carillon? Check out my video here    • Composing for Carillon - Joey Brink -...   and accompanying article https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/composin...

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