Tubular bell

Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal, typically brass, tube, 1¼–1½ inches in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Tubular bells are typically found in chromatic sets of 1½ octaves with a range from C5 to F6. Two-octave sets that extend to F4 do exist, but they are extremely heavy and not commonly used.

Tubular bells are typically struck with a rawhide- or plastic-headed hammer. The bell is struck at the top, necessitating the use of a chair or raised platform (for shorter players). They are commonly used to mimic the sound of heavy and impractical church bells in programmatic classical music pieces such as Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Sousa's "The Liberty Bell March" and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Mike Oldfield used tubular bells to similar effect in his 1973 debut album, Tubular Bells, the title song of which was used as part of the score for The Exorcist.

Bar chimes or chime trees are used for percussive effects. They consist of many small chimes mounted on a bar where they can be struck jointly or swiped up or down.

Another type of chime is the wind chime or aeolian chime, which is a set of chimes hung outdoors so that the bells strike one another when blown by the wind.

The tubes used provide a relatively pure tone as compared with other kinds of chimes which use solid rods of metal. Examples of the latter include bar chimes, typically used, like a triangle, to provide an accent.