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Bells are usually made of metal, but small bells can also be made from Ceramic or Glass . Bells can be of all sizes: from tiny dress accessories to church bells literally weighing tons. CHURCH AND TEMPLE BELLS In the Western World , its most classical form is a Church Bell or town bell, which is hung within a tower and sounded by having the entire bell swung by ropes, whereupon an internal hinged tongue strikes the body of the bell (called a free-swinging bell). A set of bells, hung in a circle for Change Ringing , is knows as a Ring Of Bells . In the Eastern World , the traditional forms of bells are temple and palace bells, small ones being rung by a sharp rap with a stick, and very large ones rung by a blow from the outside by a large swinging beam. This last technique is employed world-wide for some of the largest tower-borne bells, because swinging the bell itself could damage the tower. In the Roman Catholic Church and among some High Anglican s, small hand-held bells, called Sanctus or Sacring bells, are often rung by a server at Mass when the priest holds high up first the host, and then the chalice immediately after he has said the words of consecration over them (the moment known as the Elevation ). This serves to indicate to the congregation that the bread and wine have just been transformed into the body and blood of Christ (see Transubstantiation ), or, in the less rigorous Anglican teaching, that Christ is now really present in the elements, and that what the priest is holding up for them to look at is Christ himself. Buddhist bells Japanese Buddhist bells are used in religious ceremonies. ''Suzu bells'', meaning "cool and refreshing," are the smallest bells and contain metal pellets. The next largest bell is the '' Kane Bell ''. The largest bell is the '' Furin '', or wind bell, which is a form of wind chime. BELLS AS MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Some bells are used as Musical Instrument s, such as clock chimes, Carillon s, or ensembles of bell-players, called Bell Choir s, using hand-held bells of varying tones. A "ring of bells" is a set of 4 to twelve bells or more used in Change Ringing , a particular method of ringing bells in patterns. A "peal" in changing ringing may have bells playing for several hours, playing 5,000 or more patterns without a break or repetition. Ancient Chinese bells The ancient Chinese had bronze bells called zhong (鐘) which were used as musical instruments. Some of these bells were dated from 2000 to 3600 years old. These bells can each produce two tones . These bells usually have inscriptions on them from which scholars used as references for studying ancient Chinese writings (a.k.a. qing4) but it was made of stone instead of metal. BELLMAKING The playing of bells is known as Bellringing , and such a bell produces a very loud, clear tone. If the bell is mounted as cast, it is called a "maiden bell" while "tuned bells" are worked after casting to produce a precise note. The traditional metal for these bells is a Bronze of about 20% Tin . Known as '' Bell Metal '', this alloy is also the Traditional Alloy for the finest Turkish and Chinese Cymbal s. Other materials sometimes used for large bells include Brass and Iron . The process of casting bells is called Bellmaking . BELLTOWERS Bells are also associated with Clock s, indicating the hour by ringing. Indeed, the word ''clock'' comes from the Latin word ''cloca'', meaning bell. Clock towers or bell towers can be heard over long distances which was especially important in the time when clocks were too expensive for widespread use. In the case of clock towers and grandfather clocks, a particular sequence of tones may be played to represent the hour. One common pattern is called the " Westminster Quarters ," a sixteen-note pattern named after the Palace Of Westminster which popularized it as the measure used by '' Big Ben ''. FAMOUS BELLS 's Liberty Bell ]] , by the Motorins .]] , Poland .]] in Newport, Ky]]
CHIMES A variant on the bell is the Tubular Bell or ''chimes'', composed of several metal tubes which are struck manually with hammers. In the case of wind or aeolian chimes, the tubes are blown against one another by the wind. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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