How are carillons made?

A carillon is a complex machine made of bells, a keyboard, wires, beams, and many other mechanical parts.

Carillon bells are made using bell bronze, a copper-tin alloy known for being durable and recyclable. After designing the exact sizes and shapes on computer software, bell founders build custom molds for each bell using bricks, sand, clay, and wax. They pour molten bell bronze into the molds and let them cool over several days.

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No bell sounds perfect right out of the mold, so bell founders must tune them. There are 5 tones (often called overtones or partials) to work with: the hum tone, the prime, the tierce, the quint, and the nominal. When properly tuned together, they form a minor chord, which gives a bell its signature sound. The tones can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the bell. So, bell founders make carillon bells slightly thicker than normal, and using a lathe, they carefully shave metal off the bells' undersides to tune them.

The five main tones of a tuned bell form a minor chord, which is why bells have their signature sound

After a bell leaves the foundry, it will sound the same for hundreds of years. Their sound will only degrade if they crack or break, are melted from fires, or are dissolved in acid rain.

Over the years, many foundries have supplied bells to North American buyers. Those currently active include B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry (Ruther Glen, Virginia), Meeks, Watson and Company (Georgetown, Ohio), the Verdin Company (Cincinnati, Ohio), John Taylor & Company (Loughborough, England), Paccard (Sevrier, France) and Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry (Asten, Netherlands).

Carillons are custom-made for the buyer, so the bell founder also builds the keyboard, the beams to hang the bells, and everything in between. Players will quickly notice the differences between carillon keyboards. There are a few standards in the world, including the GCNA standard, the North European standard, and the World Carillon Federation standards. Some carillons have keyboards that are unique, not conforming to any standard.

No two carillons end up looking the same. They may be installed deep within the walls of an ornate bell tower or instead hang out in the open on a rooftop. However, some elements are very similar. For example, playing cabins are often near the hanging bells. For the benefit of the carillon community, the GCNA produced a helpful tower design and construction booklet.

All things considered, each carillon is one of a kind with a unique story.