What is a carillon and where are the bells?
A carillon is a musical instrument that consists of a set of at least 23 bells that have been precisely tuned to produce the notes of a western scale. The bells are typically housed in a tower, either as part of some other building like a church, state building, or library, or as a separate structure built specifically to house the bells. There are also “portable” carillons in which the bells are held in a large frame on wheels; these carillons are usually much smaller and lighter than regular tower carillons. Someone who plays the carillon is known as a “carillonneur” or “carillonist.” The Hopeman Memorial Carillon is housed at the very top of Rush Rhees library. It consists of 50 bells which sound (in Helmholtz notation): G A# c d e – c’’’’ (the HMC is fully chromatic between e and c’’’’) The keyboard to the bells, while it resembles the layout of a piano or organ, is really two rows of wooden batons coupled with a set of pedals that control the lower octaves of the keyboard. This is
