Tosca oversize bass chimes bass tubular bells

Demo of 3 inch diameter bass tubular bells specially made for the opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini.
www.mattnolancustom.com/
© 2016 Matt Nolan

[@Laurieb2851]

Holy Cow, those are beautiful! Hubby is wondering what to do once he retires. He LOVES wind chimes and I told him he could make some really beautiful ones. Yours sound like the church bells, except much better!

[@thelunaticcultist5157]

Thank you Matt, very cool!

[@geeker211]

I want to hang these in my garden as wind chimes to have fun with my rotten neighbors who have loud parties all night :D

[@me_is_hobo]

When he played the low F, I couldn't help but to sing the melody of for whom the bell tolls my metallica

[@louisc.gasper7588]

Very nicely tuned.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Thank you. That is always my aim

[@JohnLRice]

Awesome, Matt! 🙌🙌

[@igloososa]

angelic sound

[@vmr3897]

so informative, thank you

[@postmodernrecycler]

Would these have been used for the devastating Te Deum? I'm trying to remember where else in 'Tosca' these appear. Truly an epic sound for an epic opera.

[@MattNolanCustom]

I'm not sure. I must confess I know more about the instruments than the music. That sounds about right though

[@caseyfranco3959]

I believe they appear again in the third act during the instrumental parts which is near the beginning

[@nojnoj3069]

Incredible.

[@MrKmoconne]

Some pipe organs have chimes in them of fairly modest scale. I've wondered what the challenges would be (beyond cost) to make a really large scale rank of chimes? Say up to 32' in length C?

[@MattNolanCustom]

By rough calculation, a 32' long chime would need to be almost 3' in diameter and at least 3" in wall thickness. Even then, I think you would have a serious issue trying to suppress the "bell mode" vibrations (we don't want these in a tubular bell, despite their name). You might need double the wall thickness or more. Sticking with 3" for the moment, in aluminium that's a 4 ton bell. It's going to need one hell of a striker and be incredibly loud. If cost wasn't a challenge then you might be better with an actual belfry bell. The fourth quarter bell in the set that includes Big Ben is around 4 tons.

[@Jack.333]

The Thor - 712 Nylon Hammer is the best sound. Very rich and deep sounding. Very preferable. Thanks. That was cool

[@MattNolanCustom]

Thanks

[@stephensmith799]

Wow, surprise, surprise... I was expecting them to be two or three octaves lower!

[@MattNolanCustom]

Check out my blog post about making these - it explains a little about the perceived pitch of bells - www.mattnolancustomcymbals.com/blog/?p=115

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Very cool. On my phone they sound like the same pitch, though. Probably need better speakers. Also you should go ahead and make the full octave of this size!

[@MattNolanCustom]

A whole octave would be fun! But, I make these mostly for specific notes in specific pieces - Tosca, Pictures at an Exhibition, Symphonie Fantastique, etc. As this kind of bell does not have a large harmonic overtone series, you only perceive the correct pitch if you can hear the right overtones. With such low bells, small speakers can miss some of the low overtones. You are hearing the overtone in the F# which is close to the B

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

MattNolanCustom makes sense. Maybe make an octave, then commission a piece that requires the whole octave and then sell that octave to the orchestra that premiers your piece. Create the market and the instrument.

[@Bandicoot803]

1:15 - The device you're holding in your right hand is a "TASCAM DR-05 Linear PCM Recorder" ( Correct me if I'm mistaken ), I got the same model, too. It really makes a remarkably good audio recording quality if you set the bitrate at its highest ( 96kHz ) and .wav file format without appreciable loss. The tubular bells really sound great, and harmonize with each other! Doorbell, anyone?

[@MattNolanCustom]

I don't remember for sure - I had borrowed it - but I think it was an Olympus. In lieu of a lavalier mic to pick up my voice. The bells were recorded from further away, with a Zoom H4n

[@fartwrangler]

Wow. I didn't know that Puccini had made his own bells. :)

[@MattNolanCustom]

I realise that you jest, but ol' Giacomo did commission a number of bespoke instruments for his compositions, including westernised takes on Japanese bells and Chinese gongs, and even an odd hand-cranked trilling metallophone called the Fonica which didn't quite work out

[@koninete84]

What does the ring on top of each bell do?

[@MattNolanCustom]

The ring is there to provide a rounded striking surface with the curve in the horizontal plane rather than the vertical. Also, there is a cap or plug at the top which serves to alter the sound character of the bell.

[@waltertomaszewski1083]

How do you put the caps on them?

[@anything7441]

Does high polishing maybe to 800 then using a few liquid compound and rouge have any effects on harmonics or brightness ? I mean serious mirror polishing

[@MattNolanCustom]

I would say not, or barely. That kind of thing makes a difference with metal idiophones which have very high frequency content like cymbals and triangles. For tubular bells, it is not going to affect the partials. If it made any difference at all, I would expect it to be in the initial impact sound only and not in the sound that sustains

[@MrTeff999]

They sound great. I see that holes for the straps are very near the top of the tubes. I've read that the ideal location is 22.4% down from the top, which on a 10 foot long bell would be 26.88 inches. Was this considered? How did you choose the location? Finally, can you tell me why you chose aluminum instead of steel or copper?

[@MattNolanCustom]

For bells of this size and low pitch, steel has too many high overtones for my liking. Also, it starts to sound a lot like a scaffolding pole or street lamp post due to the "bell mode" vibrations which, oddly enough, we don't want in a tubular bell

[@MrTeff999]

Thank you, Matt. Followup questions if I may: what is the wall thickness of these aluminum bells? Also, I see in one of your other videos that they are capped at the top. Please tell me how you did that, and how it affects the sound. I'm planning to make a doorbell for my house and I'm considering 3" or 4" x 20' tubing. (It will be hung horizontally from my back porch and rung with an electric striker.) After watching your video that compares brass and aluminum in 1-1/2", 2" and 3" diameters, I'm wondering if 4" is an expensive idea that will leave me disappointed. I hope to achieve something note-worthy (see what I did there?). Your suggestions? Thank you.

[@MattNolanCustom]

An orchestral tubular bell and a typical doorbell chime are operating in different ways. In a doorbell chime you are hearing the fundamental tone of the tube which does indeed have nodal points around 22% from top and bottom. In an orchestral chime, you are hearing a virtual pitch illusion created by the 3rd, 4th and 5th overtones. It has a cap at the top which serves as a striking point for the mallet and also the weight of it adjusts the overtones slightly. There are lots of resources on the internet for doorbell or wind type chimes like you wish to construct. I would recommend these to you

[@lesvideoperdudeyoutube3201]

belles notes

[@donwood7700]

Fascinating that the sound level increases about three seconds after the chime has been struck!

[@shonnyno]

Hi, if I remember right, the lowest note in Tosca is E1, the first E of the piano. This bell seems a higher note right?

[@MattNolanCustom]

+Andrea Dobetti That's right. These are just 2 of the bells, not *all* of the bells. The lowest note on the score is the E1 as you say. Nobody in the world has made an E1 tubular bell. Folks have claimed E2s but I have yet to hear one or a recording of one. These bells are actually F3 and Bb3, to replace existing (but old and dying) bells in those same pitches at the Royal Opera House - where the score actually calls for F2 and Bb2. The giant size doesn't get us the lower octave, but it does get us stronger low tones in the bells versus smaller ones at the same nominal pitch.

[@shonnyno]

I warmly thank you for your explanation, much appreciated! yes I guess an E1 only with the electronic synthetizer ;)

[@shonnyno]

Sorry a question: what the weight of a E1 church bell? thanks.

[@MattNolanCustom]

+Andrea Dobetti At least 8 tonnes (8000 kilos) going by my quick search.

[@shonnyno]

Ah ok ;) (I would have imagined 400 tonnes).

[@MBulteau]

Is that an F2 or an F3? I can't tell. I assume considering the height it's an F2?

[@MattNolanCustom]

It's an F3. The thicker the are the longer they have to be for the same note, but the louder and more bass-heavy they become. There is a human psycho-acoustic effect which prevents tubular bells sounding at pitch below somewhere around C3 - you could make an F2 in theory, but in practice it would sound like a higher note.

[@MBulteau]

@@MattNolanCustom Thank you for the reply. Do you think a 3 inch aluminium Db3 is feasible? How tall would it have to be?

[@MattNolanCustom]

@@MBulteau Over 3.6m - too tall to hang vertically in my workshop, and the tuning does change slightly versus horizontal, not to mention voicing issues with a second suspension cord. Not impossible, but tricky. Here's an E3 - the lowest I can currently accommodate vertically - kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4Kch6mHasxsiqM

[@MBulteau]

@@MattNolanCustom Given a 6m tall hollow setpiece on a stage, would you then find it feasible to hang an F3 and Db3 inside and have them struck by a percussionist?

[@MattNolanCustom]

@@MBulteau without knowing the full details, physically probably yes, acoustically, who knows?

[@Dave90drums]

How long is this pipes?

[@MattNolanCustom]

The longest one is over 3 metres

[@tonyletsplay6785]

Where can you buy them

[@MattNolanCustom]

Hi Tony. Send me an email to [e-mail]

[@cheese-milk5203]

God damnit azula

[@wurly164]

Excuse me, someone is at the door

[@feriasmedievalesyafinesarg2546]

what is the length of the tube? and the diameter?thanks

[@MattNolanCustom]

Hi Angus. They are 3 inch diameter and around 3 metres in length

[@feriasmedievalesyafinesarg2546]

thanks!

[@joelmonge6655]

these the pipes spiderman used to fight venom

[@dane5678]

just think, at one time the churches trained people to ring the large bells.

[@Bandicoot803]

Quasimodo is a prime example, he sure rang 'em like crazy back in his days.

[@danielwarpaint1963]

Ally Minium....

[@FritzMcYeet]

That thing must've fallen over at least twice. Its too wobbly to *not* fall over.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Hehe. That's funny. I know it was not the most sturdy of temporary stands. It did have very wide legs though, which did not at any point come off the ground. There was just a lot of flex in the upright...

[@Aver812]

Половина импульса в шатающуюся стойку ушло+ колотить нужно было более тяжёлым молотком, этот явно не может прилично раскачать эти массивные колокола

[@MattNolanCustom]

It's just a demonstration. I make the bells. I don't make the racks. My customers use more sturdy racks. Some of them even have their own stairs and standing platform.

[@Genetherapy3232]

MF DOOM FANS BE LIKE YES!!!

[@10bendc]

Thats a dead blow hammer

[@MattNolanCustom]

You are mistaken