Chime Design & Build- Say IT With Chimes!

DIY Plans, Videos, Files and How to Handbook

Tubular Bell Chimes Design Handbook 5.2 Meg, PDF The Handbook duplicates the website. Take it with you as a reference when you build the chime set, also included in the combo pack below.

Chime Build Combo Pack Zip, 12 Meg, Includes the Handbook, 13-calculators, support disk patterns, sail patterns and chime emulation software.

How to Build Wind Chimes – DIY Plans 1.5 Meg, PDF, A great sounding set of wind chimes can be built for about $40 depending on the chime set size you select. Choose from four height selections ranging from 36 to 75 inches (900-1900 mm). Add your creative touch by altering the material and style used for the top support disk, striker and wind sail.

DIY Happy Birthday - Chime Set 1.5 Meg, PDF, Surprise that special person or occasion with a song played on a set of chimes you've built. For about $30, materials are available from your local home improvement store. Keep the chime set for the next party/occasion or convert them into a set of hanging wind chimes. See YouTube example here by Keith Fields

How to make wind chimes video using information from this website
by Steve Ramsey at Woodworking for Mere Mortals

The calculators require one of the following programs to view and execute:
For PC's, MS Excel^TM

Viewer Download it Here (Zip file)
I use the free version of Docs to Go for mobile work: Androids etc. Docs To Go
For iPhone Docs To Go in the Apple store

Calculators are for: Aluminum, Brass, Copper, Cast Iron, Steel (EMT), Stainless Steel and Titanium

All Musical Notes DIY Chime Tube Calculator (A4=440) (Zip) (Most common) Inches Version Millimeters Version
(Use this to select notes for base A4= 440Hz) MS Excel^TM

Special Music Scales
All Musical Notes DIY Chime Tube Calculator (A4=432) (Zip) Inches Version Millimeters Version
(Use this to select notes for base A4=432Hz)

All Musical Notes DIY Chime Tube Calculator (A4=444) (Zip) Inches Version Millimeters Version
(Use this to select notes for base A4=444Hz)

Support, Striker and Sail Patterns
Wind Chime Support Disk and Striker Patterns 5.8Meg PDF, includes location markers for single point or dual point chime hang, 3-point or 4-point support disk hang, tube sizes from 1/2 inch to 2 inch, size for both a circular and a star striker, and generic patterns.

Wind Chime Designer Software by Greg Phillips. A well designed freeware called Wind Chime Designer V2.0, 1997-2006-2020, will emulate a chime for notes between A2 (110 Hz) thru B8 (7,902 Hz) in 82 different scales. It will help you determine what notes sound pleasant on a chime and what scale to use.

Wind Chime Designer Instructions PDF Remember -the loudspeaker connected to your computer has the ability to produce the low notes from C2 to C4 but a chime may not radiate those sounds.

Caution, these values allow you to get close to the desired note (typically within 1%) but if you desire an exact note, cut slightly long and grind to the final length, but not usually required for wind chimes. Manufacturing dimensional tolerances may cause slight inaccuracies in the actual results, not to mention the effects of poor material handling along with slight variations in material properties and impurities. If in doubt, cut slightly long and grind to final values. You can measure some of the frequencies (not all) for note verification using software programs listed here.

Do not use these calculations for an orchestra or a musical setting unless you are certain they use A=440 Hz. An orchestra or symphony may brighten slightly and will typically tune for A=442, 43 or 44 The above chart uses A = 440 Hz. Most symphony grade instruments are shipped with A=442 Hz. While orchestra grade chimes typically do not go below the C5 octave, they are not tuned for the fundamental frequency, which is the basis for all the calculators on this website. Instead, they tune for the overtones and depend on the brain's fuzzy logic to perceive the correct note. An orchestra chime that is tuned for C5 will typically be cut for a length around C2 and then hand tuned to become a perceived note of C5.

Chime calculator cell phone app by site visitor Andrew Hughes, Android Version

Online chime calculator by site visitor Larry Snyder
- Suggests a 'cut list' and cost estimate for the number of raw tubes to be purchased.
- Offers a Support Disk pattern based on the number of chimes desired.
- Allows for selecting various frequencies of "A4."
- Presents the Solfeggio "Healing" Frequencies.
- Has macros for auto-selection of Major and Natural Minor scales.
- Shows only the 'interesting stuff' when printed.

What's the difference between a pipe and a tube; the way it’s measured and its applied use. Pipes are passageways while tubes are for structural builds like hand railing, bicycles and lawn chairs. For the purpose of tubular bell chimes we consider them the same. The important parameters are the outside diameter, the inside diameter and the type of metal.

On the other hand, a rod is a solid metal cylinder that can produce a very different sound compared to a tube. The DIY calculators on this website can predict the resonant frequency for a tube or a circular rod and their hang point location. If you want to design and build a chime set using rods rather than tubes all you have to do is set the inside diameter to zero and enter the outside diameter and type of metal into the DIY calculator.

If you are trying to decide between using a tube or a rod as the chime element, one important difference is the sustain time of the musical note. Typically a rod will have a much longer sustain time and in some environments this maybe desirable but annoying in others.

Another difference between tubes and rods is their length for a given note. A rod is shorter than a tube to strike the same note for the same metal. For example, a 1 inch steel rod for middle C, (C4) is 26 1/4 inch while it is 32 7/8 inch for a 1 inch steel EMT tube. In addition to smooth surface metal rods, I have tested steel rebar and the sound was awesome. Because of the hardness, rebar exhibited a wonderful sustain time which helped to hold on to the overtones. I did not test the accuracy of the DIY calculator but I suspect it will be close. I would suggest selecting your notes based on steel, and while the notes probably will not be completely accurate, the ratio among the notes should remain the same.

Two additional issues to consider are the weight and loudness difference. Rods typically have a relative small diameter offering a smaller radiating surface producing a quieter chime, but on occasion the longer sustain time can offset the reduced loudness and sound quite acceptable.

1. Select the number of chimes (typically 3 to 10) for your set and the musical notes. It is helpful to understand the limitations for effective note selection as discussed in the section on the bell-like chime. Keep in mind the physical size for the set. Whether you use pre-calculated dimensions or a DIY calculator, observe the length for the longest chime as a guide for overall size. Remember to include extra length for the wind sail that hangs below the chimes. Read this caution.

3. Cut each chime to the length provided by the pre-calculated table or the DIY calculator. Best to cut slightly long (about 1/8”) to allow for smoothing and de-burring the ends to final dimensions.

4. Smooth the ends to remove sharp edges and to provide a professional appearance. Place an old towel or cloth on a table to protect the chime from scratches. Roll the chime back and forth as you file or sand the ends smooth. Slightly chamfer or round the outer edge.

6. Deburr the support holes in preparation for your support line. Using a drill bit larger than the hole, place the bit on the outside of the hole and rotate by hand. This is generally enough to chamfer the outside hole.

Deburr the inside support hole. First, using a round or half-round file, remove the burr from inside the tube. Finish the task by using a section of coat hanger wire with a small bend approximately 105 degrees at the far end, as shown right. Place the wire in a drill and insert the bent end thru the hole. As you rotate the wire, lightly pull back on the drill and the bent wire will bend over any inside burr.

Thanks to Dennis Offner for a tip about deburring. An alternate approach for deburring could be the deburring tools available from the Cogsdill Tool Company. They manufactures several types of deburring tools that deburr the outside then collapse to pass through the hole and then expand to deburr the back side of the hole. Using an electric drill, a set of chime tubes can be deburred in just a few minutes.

8. Select the top support disk cutout pattern for your specific tubing size and number of chimes in the set. Download the support disk and striker patterns from the website and just print the page specific to your tubing size and number of chimes in the set. You may need to print two copies, one for the support pattern and hole locations, and one for the striker pattern. To assist the wind striking all chimes use a fishing spinner for support. This allows the wind to slightly rotate the chime set. (Thanks to Terry for the suggestion.)

10. Select and print a pattern for the wind sail from selections in Patterns for Wind Sails/Catchers available on the website, or design your own design.

11. Weather protect the top support disk or ring, the striker and the sail with a UV protective finish. Decorate the chime tube as desired. A few suggestions here.

12. Select the line, cord or chain for supporting both the chime tube and the top support disk.

13. Select the style for hanging the chime tubes, i.e. top aligned, center aligned or bottom aligned. Bottom aligned is best because it allows the striker to easily contact the bottom edge of all chimes, the ideal strike location. Top aligned may have a more aesthetic appeal and on occasion some like center alignment.

15. Attach the support line or chain to the chime using a simple jig you can make. You can use an appropriately sized darning needle for threading line through the top support holes and tubes during assembly.

17. Hang the striker according to the alignment diagram and avoid striking exact dead center for any chime. All three locations work well when you keep the striker away from the center dead zone for the first overtone. Don't worry about killing the first overtone with center placement. The first overtone dead zone is very narrow and easily overcome with a slightly off-center strike.

A safe choice by many wind chime suppliers has been the pentatonic scale (C D E G A). An enhancement to that scale can be the C9 Chord (C E G B^b and D) which has a wider note separation for a good sound both close in and at a distance from the chime.

You can also select a chord to you liking to maximize the useable tubing in standard hardware store lengths. See this website to view all the piano chords www.pianochord.org, Thanks to site visitor Lewis for this suggestion.

With that in mind, we have DIY calculators for all musical notes or for specific scales such as the pentatonic or the C9 Chord. You select the metal and the tubing size (ID and OD) and the calculator will provide the correct length and hang point for each note.

The longer the chime the lower the notes will sound. So if a specific tuning like Westminster traditionally begins in the C3 octave, like B3-E4-F#4-G#4, feel free to begin an octave lower, like C2, which would look like this, B2-E3-F#3-G#3.

Walking Chimes are chimes mounted on a stationary support, typically in a straight line, allowing the walker to strike each chime in sequence thus playing a song.

Space the chimes so when the player walks at a steady pace it plays the song. Each word and dash represents a beat. You can use any length for the beat but it must be consistent. You could begin with one beat = 12 inches and modify from there.

For instance: “Joy” counts as one beat, so you will measure six lengths from where you hang the “joy” bell (Joy plus five beats) and then hang the “to” bell. Measure one length from “to” to “the” and from “the” to “world” since there are no beat between these words. Measure eight lengths from “world” to “all” (world plus 7 more beats) and so. The beats at the end are only if you want to make it in the round.

Site visitor Carol Raedy graciously provided the following note patterns for each song.

Joy(E5) _ _ _ _ _ to(D5) the(C5) world(C5) _ _ _ _ _ _ _
All(G5) _ _ _ _ the(E5) boys(F5) and(D5) girls(E5) _ _ now(C5) _ _ _ _
Joy(E5) _ to(G5) the(G5) fish((A5) es(E5)
in(D5) the(C5) deep(Eb5) blue(D5) _ sea(C5) _ _ _
And(G4) joy(E5) _ _ to(C5) you(D5) and(D5) _ me(C5) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Make(C5) _ new(G4) _ friends(C5) _ _
but(D5) keep(E5) (G5) the(F5) (E5) old(E5) _ (D5) _
One(G5) _ is(G5) _ sil(G5) ver(A5)
and(G5) the(F5) oth(E5) _ er’s(D5) _ gold(C5) _ _ _

For(A5) _ auld(G5) _ _ (E5) lang(E5) _ (C5) _ syne(D5) _ _ my(C5) dear(D5) _
For(A5) _ auld(G5) _ _ (E5) lang(E5) _ (G5) _ syne(A5) _ _ _ _ _
We’ll(A5) _ take(G5) _ _ a(E5) cup(E5) _ o’(C5) _ Kind(D5) _ _ness(C5) yet(D5) _
For(E5) the(D5) sake(C5) _ _ of(A4) auld(A4) _ lang(G4) _ syne _ _ _ _ _

If the musical scale doesn't seem logical to you, you're right, it's not logical to most of us non musicians. An octave is from C to the key just prior to the next C, which would be B. Below is a graphical diagram that may help clarify this.

Another Must Read Caution: Ending your project with a successful and pleasing sound is important and setting the right expectations will allow that to happen. Selecting musical notes for a chime is NOT like selecting notes on a piano or other string instrument, or reed instrument. When you strike C2 on a piano that is indeed what you hear but Not true for a chime cut for C2.

Tuning implies exactness and exact tuning cannot happen when you do not hear the fundamental note for the chime. When a piano key for C2 (65.4 Hz) is struck, you will indeed hear that note, 65.4 Hz. When a C2 chime is struck you will NOT hear 65.2 Hz. In fact. you will not hear the first overtone at 180 Hz and can barely hear the second overtone at 352 Hz. Most prominent will be the third overtone at 582 Hz which, on a piano, sounds like D5, but is not D5 because the mixing for all the overtones produces a completely new sound. The new sound is melodious, it sounds wonderful, but what note is it?

Tuning charts on this site list dimensions for notes ranging from C1 to C9, that imply exactness, which you now understand can not happen with a chime when you can't hear the fundamental note. Read more about the missing fundamental here. Why this happens is discussed in the section "The Science of Chiming".

For example, an orchestra grade chime that is physically cut for C2 will actually sound about like C5. To see a visual representation for what a chime is apt to sound like, see this chart. On the other hand, will the strike note for a chime sound pleasing and bell-like? Yes, absolutely, because of the large complement of overtones, even though the fundamental is missing. Selections from about C2 to C4 sound the most bell-like but will not adequately radiate the fundamental tone.

Unfortunately this effect complicates note selection if you are trying to strike exact notes lower than about C5. Above C5 the strike note will actually be the fundamental and you can expect to hear the selected note, but less bell-like than the C2 to C4 range. In fact, for that reason, orchestra grade chimes typically only cover 1 ½ octaves beginning at C5 and extend to about G6.

Thanks to a site visitor for providing this excellent emulation program from 1996 by Syntrillium. They are now defunct and we believe the software is considered "freeware". The zip file contains the main program, the registration codes and a help file. Unzip the download and run the wind_chimes_1.01_syntrillium.exe file. The program is quite intuitive, full featured and should be easy to operate. To begin I would suggest you set-up the program as follows: Number of Chimes "5", Transpose to "0", Scale to "New Pentatonic", Base Note "C-4", "Center Pendulum". Remember, the loudspeaker connected to your computer has the ability to play the low notes from C2 to C4 but a chime may not radiate those sounds. The program was originally designed to run on DOS 6 using Windows 95, and runs with Windows NT, W2000, W XP and W7 thru W10.

Chime Emulation Software by Greg Phillips. A well designed freeware called Wind Chime Designer V2.0, 1997-2006-2020, will emulate a chime for notes between A2 (110 Hz) thru B8 (7,902 Hz) in 82 different scales. It will help you determine what notes sound pleasant on a chime and what scale to use.

If your browser blocks his website try downloading if directly from HERE. (Zip file)

Strike a note or strike a chord?
Over the years much effort by many well-intentioned people has been placed on exactly what is the best chord for a set of wind chimes? While a musical chord can be pleasing to the ear, the effort to simultaneously strike all the notes in a chord using the traditional circular shaped striker/clapper has been a waste of time. The striker only contacts one, maybe two chimes simultaneously.

This whole concept of sequencing and giving chime sets a name like Corinthian Bells, Winchester or Pentatonic is a marketing exercise to sell more chime sets. They do not play in sequence and the listener will likely never identify what the random sounds from a chime set really represent. They're just notes. Selling chimes with an advertised famous sequence is marketing and advertising on steroids.

The good news is that with some of our innovative striker designs we can now almost strike a chord. More on this in the striker section. Also, if you dedicate a striker to each chime tube (internal or external to the chime) that configuration can ring several chimes at nearly the same time and approximate a chord.

When using the traditional round striker it is much better to select notes that have a fair amount of separation allowing the ear to easily discern a variety of notes. Often a traditional choice has been the pentatonic scale (C D E G and A.) This choice can sound pleasant close to the chime set but not so good at a distance. The C9 chord (C E G B^b and D) can be used to widen the note separations for a five-chime set. The problem at a distance is the ear has difficulty discerning the closely spaced notes of the pentatonic scale.

Caution at a distance I often hear the comment, "I have a set of chimes on my deck and they sound great. However, I was over to my neighbor’s the other day and the chimes did not sound so good. In fact, they sounded out of tune. Why is this?" The answer lies in the conditions that make up the notes for the chime. As mentioned in the science section, a chime note is a combination of the fundamental strike frequency and the many overtones. Some of the overtones attenuate more rapidly than others at a distance. The original combination of strike frequency and overtones are not the same at a distance. Remember, not always does the fundamental frequency contribute to the note and not always are there many overtones for a given note.

The actual note depends on exactly where in the musical scale the chime is operating. When you have a chime that contains a larger number of overtones that are located in the higher frequencies, and mostly missing the fundamental, you can get this distance effect. High frequency sounds attenuate more quickly in the atmosphere than do the lower frequencies. At a distance you are not hearing the same sound you hear close in. Some of the high frequency sounds can be greatly attenuated or missing. The chime can sound completely different under these conditions. Typically this occurs when you select notes in the lower part of the scale.

If your interest is making the chimes sound good at a distance of say 80-100 feet or more, consider increasing the diameter of the tubing from the traditional sizes ranging from half inch thru two inches, up to at least 3 inch or more; 4 to 6 inches are better. A set of chimes designed for the C2 to the C3 octave have good acoustic radiation properties close to the set but not so good far away because of this distance effect. Additional information later on this page HERE.

Quieting the chime set: Chimes can easily become annoying so maintaining a subtle sound is important, particularly in high winds. Softening the striker often helps in addition the use of the keeper-striker. Typical striker materials are a rubber hockey puck or other soft rubber coverings found in the plumbing section of the local hardware store. Here are a couple examples. The first example uses plastic aquarium tubing to cover the inside diameter of the keeper striker. The second uses a 3 inch and a 4 inch section cut from of a PVC plug for 3 or 4 inch PVC pipe.

Another solution from site visitor Troy is to drill holes at the top and bottom nodes. Hang tubes so the bottom nodes line-up. Thread string through the nodes with spacer between tubes. He used 4 mm poly garden water tubes he had on hand. Other spacers and line would also work.

Also, you can thread a 50# monofilament fishing line or weed trimmer line around the outside tips of the star to keep the tubes from escaping and mixed up. Drill a small horizontal hole at the tips for the monofilament line.

Building Big! Whether you want a set of large chimes used in the sound healing and therapy arts, or you because of the anticipated lower frequency sounds, similar to a large diameter gong, or because you have a commission for an artistic display in a public location, building big may not accomplish all your goals. Certainly, a set of long, large diameter chimes as shown to the right (built by Chris from Wisconsin) will sound awesome, but a few words of caution before you head in that direction.

Since you read the caution statement above about the missing fundamental and the issues with the small radiation surface area for a chime tube, you can better understand how the insensitivity of the human ear at low frequencies contributes to our inability to adequately hear the low notes, mostly below about C4. I am often contacted from the website when someone wants to Build Big. After completion of their large chime set they write to say, "My new chime set sounds wonderful, but not as low as I expected."

Beginning with the right expectations will help you move successfully along the design path. Large diameter long chime sets are definitely worth the effort. Be mindful of annoying nearby neighbors since this sound travels far.

Most often the chime designer considers cost, weight and aesthetics. Your budget may not approve the cost of copper and aluminum may be more favorable than steel because of weight. Chimes from EMT (electrical conduit) are galvanized and resist rust but not the support hole or the ends. Rust could be an issue long term for EMT. For the purposes of chime design use the steel selection in the calculator if you're EMT (thin wall conduit)..

Good source for tubing: Speedy Metals by the inch and no minimums for Aluminum, Brass, Copper, Cast Iron, Steel, and Stainless Steel, or Titanium Joe for titanium by the foot.

What metal sounds best? After the issues above are properly considered we can move to the question of what metal sounds best for a tubular chime? The short answer is the thicker the wall and the larger the diameter, the better they sound, not necessarily the type of metal. However, what sounds best is a personal choice and I have not found a good answer for everyone. Some like a deep rich sound and other like the tinkle tinkle sound. Copper chimes have a different timbre than steel chimes. The best I can advise is to visit a chime shop and test-drive a few chimes of different metals and different sizes.

When selecting tubing size and you're undecided between two sizes, select the tubing with more mass. More mass will produce a better sustain time. This selection may be the chime with a thicker wall or a larger diameter. On small diameter chimes (about 1/2 to 1 1/4 inch) do not use tubing with an unusually thick wall. When the wall thickness is large compared to the diameter, the extra stiffness can actually inhibit sustain time. Always test the sound of tubing before deciding, particularly if you are evaluating several sizes. Support the tube at the 22.4% location using a string, and strike with something like a heel of a hard rubber shoe or a wood mallet.

You may hear someone say they like aluminum best or copper best. To better understand the difference in metals let’s properly build two 5-tube sets of chimes using the C9 chord beginning with the C2 octave. One set from aluminum, 2” OD with a 1/8” wall thickness, and the other set from steel, 2” OD with a 1/8” wall thickness. While each set will have different calculated lengths, they will both strike the same fundamental note, but sound completely differently. Why is that?

On occasion you may hear someone say they like aluminum chimes best. That likely occurs because the lower modulus of elasticity for aluminum requires less strike energy for resonant activation and for a given input of strike energy. The aluminum chime can be louder and have an increased sustain time. However, the difference among metals does not make one metal good and another bad. There are no bad sounding chimes when the notes are properly selected, tubes are properly tuned and properly mounted. It's impossible to have a set of chimes for the same note range made from aluminum sound the same as a set made from steel or any other metal, because of their difference in density and elasticity.

If you want the smallest possible chime set for a given note range use brass. Opposite to brass, EMT will provide the largest physical set for a given note range. For example, see the table below organized smallest to largest for middle C (C4).

POOR QUALITY TWO INCH ALUMINUM TUBING CAUSES TWO FUNDAMENTALS

Not all tubing is created equal: Be aware that some tubing may produce a beating effect when struck (the wah-wah effect). Two closely spaced frequencies will interact to produce a third frequency. This is often due to variations in the cross section of the tubing caused by variations and inconsistencies in the manufacturing process. The elasticity and the density of the tubing will be different, depending on where the tube is struck. The tube can produce two closely spaced frequencies and these two frequencies will produce the beating effect. Some people enjoy this effect and others may find it annoying. If you want to avoid this wah-wah effect, make sure you acquire high quality tubing – or test a small piece before buying in bulk. While some tubing may be considered poor quality for musical requirements, it can be excellent for structural needs. The problem with tubing that exhibits this effect is that it makes precise tuning more difficult.. Listen HERE (mp3) to the beating sound for the tube shown to the right.

If you know the exact material density and modulus of elasticity, enter those parameters into the DIY Calculator on the data page, when using the DIY calculator.

I want to emphasize that good tuning will certainly help to accurately produce the appropriate overtones for the selected note, particularly for the higher note ranges.

About Tubing Dimensions:
Aluminum and brass tubing tend to exactly follow their stated ID and OD dimensions while copper tubing does not. Wall thickness for copper pipe varies with the pipe schedule. The four common schedules are named K (thick-walled), L (medium-walled), M (thin-wall), and DWV (drain/waste/vent - non-pressurized).

The printing on the pipe is color coded for identification; K is Green, L is Blue, M is Red, and DWV is Yellow.

Both type M and type L copper can be found in the plumbing section of home improvement stores like Menards^®, Home Depot^®, Lowe's^® and Ace Hardware^®.

Pre-calculated tube lengths for some common metals used in chimes are in the table below.
If you desire a size different than the pre-calculated tables, use the DIY Excel Calculator.

Angle-Cut Tubing: A 45° cut at the bottom or top of the tube can add a nice aesthetic touch; however, the tuning for each chime tube will change considerably from the 90° cut value. The shorter the chime the more the tuning will change. For example, here are the changes for a 5-chime set made from 2 inch OD aluminum with a wall of .115 inch. The set was originally cut for the pentatonic scale (CDEGA) beginning at C6 using 90° cut tubing. After a 45° cut at the bottom end of each tube, the tuning increased from about 5% to 9% depending on length. Unfortunately, the rate of change was not linear, but a value specific to each length of tubing. Tuning increase was C6 =+5.5%, D =+6.6%, E =+7.5%, G =+7.6% and A=+8.8%. Your notes may change more or less than these.

Additional testing was performed for a number of different diameters and different lengths using aluminum, copper and steel tubing. The results were very consistent. Short thin-walled tubing of any diameter changed the most and long thick-walled tubing of any diameter changed the least. Short tubing (around 20 inches) could increase the tuning by as much as 9 to 10%. Long tubing (35 to 40 inches or more) could change as little as 2%. It was impossible to predict the change other than the trend stated above for short vs. long. This was not surprising because shorting a tube will naturally increase the note frequency.

If you want to maintain exact tuning using a 45° cut, cut the tube longer than the value suggested by the DIY calculator or the pre-calculated tables, and trim to final value using your favorite tuning method. If exact tuning is not required or important, cut the tubing to the suggested length by the calculator to pre-calculated chart, and trim the end at 45°.

If you are attempting to create exact notes for an orchestra setting, exact tuning is required and the use of an electronic tuning device or a good tuning ear is necessary. On the other hand, if you desire a good sounding set of chimes but do not need orchestra accuracy, then carefully cut and finish to the length suggested by the pre-calculated table or the DIY calculators listed above.

Frequency measurement: Measuring the exact frequency and musical note of the chime is challenging at best. Read the caution about chromatic tuners below!

There are a host of apps for Chromatic Tuners available for an iPhone, iPad or Android. Site visitor Mathew George uses “gStrings” on his Android, pictured right.

I use the $.99 app “insTuner” on an iPad that includes an FFT spectrum analyzer in addition to freeware Audacity® on a Laptop described below.. A few scrap pieces of wood to make two U-brackets, rubber bands and you're in business. Mark the support nodes 22.4% from each end for locating the rubber bands.

If you have just a few measurements to make, a quick and easy support suggestion is a string with slipknot positioned at the 22.4% node, pictured right with the iPad.

Caution: It can be challenging and often impossible for a chromatic tuner to measure a chime note correctly. Non linearity of the human ear and a chime's non-harmonic overtones are two reasons.

Chromatic tuners listen and display sound as it is being produced on a linear basis for both amplitude and frequency, but our brain process the same information using fuzzy logic. Why is this a problem?

Unfortunately, the human ear is no doubt the most non-linear and narrowband sound listening device we know of. Similar to other percussion instruments, chimes do not produce fundamental frequencies and pure harmonic frequencies like string instruments, wind tubes and reed instruments, for which chromatic tuners are intended.

Instead, there are numerous non-harmonic overtones present which (depending on their individual frequency and amplitude) can be predominant to a tuner or analyzer, but make little or no difference to the human ear. A chromatic tuner may display the predominant amplitude and frequency, but that may not be what the ear actually perceives. Because of the brain's "fuzzy logic" characteristic, the many overtones associated with a particular chime fundamental frequency, combine to produce a musical note the brain recognizes, but may not be recognized by a chromatic tuner.

It is difficult to provide an exact recommendation when to use the tuner to measure a chime's note, but in general, I find most any note below C4 difficult to measure and on occasion below C5. Long, low frequencies tubes, mostly measure incorrectly because of the "missing fundamental effect" and the preponderance of high amplitude overtones. Thick-walled tank chimes/bells can measure with surprising accuracy because of a single pure tone above C4 that is not cluttered with unimportant sidebands. However, thin-walled tank chimes/bells seem not to do as well and they may be impossible to measure accurately.

In addition, poor quality tubing exhibiting dual fundamentals, will cause the chromatic tuner to constantly switch between the two fundamentals, both of which are incorrect. If you are not displaying the note you expected, try moving the chime further away from the tuner to help minimize unimportant frequencies.

If you get a good steady reading that is not what you expected, the tuner is listening to a predominant overtone, so just ignore that measurement. Using the values for length provided by the tables and DIY calculators on this page will get you very close to the exact note. If the tuner cannot make a believable measurement, use the calculated length for the chime.

A good software solution for FFT spectrum analysis measurement is the freeware program Audacity® used on a Laptop pictured right.

A few additional software sources are listed below. Most any computer microphone will work. In fact, I have used the microphone on a headset used for Skype and it works quite well.

To eliminate the annoying background noise when using a microphone, use an accelerometer. I have good success supporting the chime horizontally at one node by a rubber band and at the other node by a thin wire looped around the chime and attached to an accelerometer.

Audacity® Laptop freeware, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.
Good for fundamental and overtone frequency measurements.

Tune Lab Pro version 4 Laptop freeware good for fundamental and overtone frequency measurements. At a cost, available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Windows laptops, Windows Mobile Pocket PCs, Smartphones, and the Android.

Chime support: The ideal chime support location to allow for a lengthy sustain time is positioned at either of two locations; at the fundamental frequency node located 22.42% from either end, or at the very end using a string or cable threaded through an end cap.

If sustain time is not a requirement (which makes a tubular chime, a bell sounding chime) such as for orchestra chimes pictured to the right, then support can be through horizontal holes near the end of the tube. A chime supported in this manner reduces most of the sustain time. I do NOT recommend this method of support to achieve a great sounding set of chimes.

You may see commercial wind chimes supported in this manner, but they cannot support the tradition bell-like sound that you may be expecting. Incorrect support ranks as the number one mistake made by some commercial chimes sets on the internet and in stores. They will produce a strike note but lack the rich resonant bell-like sound that results from proper support.

The first support method for a bell-like sustain time uses the traditional fundamental Tubular Chime Support Hole Location

frequency node which is 22.42% from either end. See the Transverse vibration mode diagram at the right.

An important objective for a bell-like chime is to preserve the resonance of the chime as long as possible. Accurate placement for the support holes helps to assure the high quality (Q) or hang-time or sustain time for the chime. A hole size of 1/16 inch can be drilled directly on the location mark but for larger holes, try to place the top of the hole so it aligns with the location mark.

If you're curious about other support locations, it is possible to support the chime at the first, second or third overtone node, but not recommended. All charts and calculations on this page are for the support line to be located at the fundamental frequency node which is 22.42 % from either end and is the optimum location.

If you happen to have a background in both mechanical vibration and acoustic vibration, it is easy to confuse overtones and harmonics. Overtones = Harmonics -1, or Harmonics = Overtones + 1. This acoustic harmonic relationship has no connection to the radio frequency definition of harmonics.

While making this nice steel 10-chime set, site visitor David, made a good video demonstrating how to locate the hang-point node using the chime's natural vibration nodes, and a small pile of sand. See his video here www.youtu.be/e7o7hf1AOl4

An alternate inverted “V” support can be the wire arm from a binder clip shown on the right. Remove the wire arms from the clip, stretch them out a little, and position in place using needle nose pliers, wiggle the arm until the tips pop out of the holes. Be sure to attach your hanger line first. The arms tend to be self centering. The binder clips are available in different sizes so you can match the clip to the diameter of the pipe. The wire diameter increases with the size of the clip so make sure to check before you drill the pipes. (Submitted by site visitor Tom, Thanks)

Another option is the stainless-steel butterfly V-clip used in pool poles and tent poles as shown here. There are plastic versions and stainless-steel versions, both are on Amazon. Search for keywords ( Kayak Paddle Spring Clips Tent Pole Clips Push Button Spring Snap Clip Locking Tube Pin). The stainless-steel clip can be made to work on tubing sizes up to a 2-inch diameter. Not sure how small a diameter tubing will work but I suspect ¾ inch might be the smallest. Submitted by site visitor Ed. Thanks Ed!

Another alternate support was submitted by Bud (Thanks): I place a copper wire into a copper pipe and threaded it thru one of the hanging holes, then solder it to the pipe (then cut and grind the excess flat with the tube), and the same for the other hanging hole. Now I have 2 copper wires coming out the inside top of the pipe. I chuck them up to a drill motor and twist, being careful not to kink the wire. Twisting will center the wires in the tube and leave a good looking single wire coming out the center of the pipe. This also would work with steel tubing. This seems to work okay and it looks cool with the twisted wire.

End Cap, the second support location is when the chime tube is supported by a cable or cord through a hole in an end cap. It is important to understand that the end cap lowers the fundamental frequency and some associated overtones from values calculated by the DIY calculator or Pre-calculated charts. For 1/2 inch copper tubing type L, the fundamental is lowered by about 3% to 6% from calculated values on this page. For 3/4 inch type L copper tubing the fundamental is lowered by about 11% to 12%. The good news is that the end cap noticeably increases the duration for the first overtone and the chime has a much more bell-like sound. Look at these two spectral waterfall displays and specifically compare the hang time of the 1st overtone for each. You will notice a considerable increase in sustain time for the end cap supported tube.

Caution: be certain to solder the end caps in place. An unsoldered or loose fitting end cap will completely kill the resonance. An end cap must contact the entire circumference at the end of the chime to function properly.

Wind Chime Support Disk and Striker Patterns PDF are available in the document to the left. The patterns are for tubing sizes from ½” to 2” in ¼” increments, and for chime sets for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 chimes. Generic layout patterns are also included

You may wish to calculate you own dimensions for the top support disk using the support disk calculator. You decide the chime diameter (CD), the striker radius (SR) and the clearance between the striker and the chime tube (D). The calculator provides the correct location for placing the chimes on radius (R) and the spacing between the chimes (C2C), and the diameter of the support disk (TSDR). Locations (S) are the points for the support line. Instructions for use are included with the calculator.

Also included is a location calculator for points on a circle. Uses include automatic calculations for locating chimes on a radius, and points used to draw a multisided polygon such as a star striker or support disk arranged as a star, a pentagon, a hexagon or an octagon etc. An easy lookup table is provided for locating 3 to 8 points.

Rather than using a protractor to layout the angles for the shape of your polygon, select the number of points and the radius (R) for those points, and the calculator provides you with the distance between points. Adjust a compass to the distance (L) and walk the compass around the circle to locate the points.

If you want to avoid using the above calculator, an easy work-around is to select an appropriate generic pattern from the Support disk and striker patterns document and scribe the accurate location for support holes using the pattern.

Orchestra chimes, of course, need a human to strike the chime and a rawhide-covered rubber mallet works well. A rawhide-covered baseball or softball can work well for wind chimes, but only in an extremely high wind environment where there is ample strike energy from the sail. An orchestra chime is struck with gusto, but a wind chime often has little strike energy. Typically there is little strike energy from normal winds so preserving and applying that energy is the challenge. Design considerations below include single or multiple strikers, the shape, weight, material, suspension, motion, and strike location.

An important consideration for a bell-like chime is the location for the Strike Zone.
The optimum location is at the very end of the tubular chime because this location will assure that all possible overtones are energized to the maximum. This should not be surprising since orchestra chimes are struck at the end. An easy solution to assuring the strike occurs at the very end of the chime is to use bottom alignment and a tapered striker as shown in striker suggestions.

Often you will see the center selected as the strike location for a tubular bell wind chime, perhaps for aesthetic reasons. When the exact center of the chime is struck the odd numbered overtones can fail to energize, and the resulting sound can be very clunky even though the even numbered overtones were well energized. While I recommend striking the end of the chime, there are good aesthetic reasons to align the chimes for a center alignment or a top alignment. The ideal strike zone is about 1 inch from the end, or about an inch below the center, line as pictured below. All three locations work okay when you keep the striker away from dead center, which is a dead zone for the first overtone. Don't worry much about killing the first overtone with center placement. The first overtone dead zone is very narrow and easily overcome with a slightly off-center strike.

The Striker Shape is most often circular because the chimes are located in circle. An alternate shape is the circular traveling radial striker which can be effective for striking a musical chord. The radial striker most often takes the shape of an open star or a closed star, like the keeper-striker pictured here. The striker has a tendency to rotate CW and CCW as it bounces to and from each chime. A circular striker will typically contact one or maybe two chimes simultaneously. However, the star shaped striker can synchronously contact most all the chimes. The loudness of the chimes struck with a star striker is somewhat reduced compared to the circular striker because the strike energy has been distributed among the various chimes.

Transparent Closed Star Keeper-Striker: Site visitor and chime set builder, Dennis Wagner, devised a nifty method to gain the advantage of a keeper-striker, yet maintain a clean and transparent look. Dennis drilled 3/64 inch holes at the star tips and threaded 50# test monofilament fishing line (1/32 inch) thru each hole to form a firm but transparent circular keeper.

Striker Weight: A heavy striker for large chimes and a lighter weight striker for smaller chimes, is mostly true. Depending on your typical wind there may be occasions when you need a light weight striker for large chimes. Near the seashore, winds can be rather strong and you may need to soften the strike with a light weight striker or switch to a rawhide-covered baseball or softball. Considerable strike energy can be achieved by using an oak disk machined to a knife-edge and loaded with a 1oz weight. See striker suggestions below.

Striker Distance from Chimes: It is difficult to predict the optimum distance from the edge of the striker to the chime for a new design and often requires experimentation. Additional factors effecting overall performance are striker weight, wind sail size, sail weight and average wind conditions in the area. I generally begin with a 1-inch separation and begin testing. Then maybe change the separation and/or the sail size. Don't hesitate to abandon your original striker or sail and try a different separation or a different wind sail. Your effort will be rewarded when you hit that magic combination. Often, I will try about three strikers and two or three sails before finding the perfect combination.

Striker Material: The choice of material depends somewhat on the note selection. If there is good movement from the wind sail, then a circular disk striker (soft sided but heavy) can be used for the larger diameter chimes (say above 2 inches), particularly for lower frequency chimes. Some choices are a hockey puck, redwood, red cedar, treated lumber or a 1/4 inch nylon cutting board.

Bullet Nose Edge: If you want a rounded over edge for the circular wood striker and don't have access to a router then you can easily accomplish that task with a drill press or hand drill. Mount the striker in a drill press via a center bolt and then spin it at a high speed to sand it round and round over the edge. You could use a hand drill but it's a little more awkward.

Note: when drilling a center hole in the hockey puck, the drill bit wants to grab and force its way through the rubber and may drill off-center. My experience is to slow down the drill and secure the puck to a surface so it can’t move, then drill very slowly. A drill press woks best but again, secure the puck.

If the wind is quite strong and gusty, you may need to soften the striker even further by using a rawhide-covered baseball/softball. The rawhide helps to produce a very mellow strike in a strong wind. Smaller diameter higher frequency chimes benefit from a harder wood like white oak, teak or Osage-orange aka hedge-apple. Be sure to coat the striker with a UV resistant coating.

On the other hand, a well performing star-striker should be from a relatively hard material, yet light weight, allowing for a quick response to circular movements. The loudness of chimes struck with a star striker is reduced, compared to the circular striker, because the strike energy has been distributed among the various chimes, and a harder material is required for a strong strike. 1/8 inch soft aluminum, sheet plastic or a 1/4 inch nylon cutting board works well to accomplish both goals.

Keep it Clean: A dirty strike can energize a host of unwanted spurious sideband frequencies as demonstrated by the steel striker in the blue spectrum display below. A most melodious bell sound is achieved with a softer strike that energizes overtones without spurious sidebands, as shown in the purple spectrum display below.

Both strikers produced equal loudness for the fundamental while the steel striker did a better job of energizing overtones (louder) but at the expense of unwanted dirty sidebands. The wood striker (hard maple) produced a most melodious bell sound while the metal strike was harsh and annoying.

The Conceal and Carry Chime hides a lead or steel striker on the inside the chime for large diameters chimes, mostly above two inches as pictured left and right. This technique is seldom used unless the chime set is large or becomes annoying, caused by the traditional disk striker in high winds. Because the distance is insufficient for the striker to gain momentum and strike with gusto, the inside striker could be a good solution to quieting chimes in high winds. If you're looking for a muted sound from a large set, maybe 4 inches and above, this technique is useful. The striker can be a steel ball or a lead weight, normally used as a sinker for fishing, and can be any of the following: a cannon ball sinker, a bell sinker, a bank sinker or an egg sinker. Wrap the sinker with about two layers of black electrical tape to prevent the harsh sound from a metal strike yet still provide a strong but muted strike. Support for the striker string or line from can be from the same point you use to support the chime tube.

Striker Motion: I happen to live in a wooded area with little wind and have struggled to achieve good strike energy from low winds. With that in

mind, I set out to improve the low wind performance of the striker.

The objective is to maximize striker movement with little input energy from the sail. The easy solution was to resonant the support line that supports both the striker and the sail using the second mode bending principle. This resonance will help to amplify and sustain the motion of the striker with little input energy from the sail. Even though the sail moves in the wind, it will act as an anchor for the resonant movement of the striker.

You can easily recognize this movement by using both hands to hold a string vertically and have a second person pluck the center of the string. The natural resonance of the string will cause the center to vibrate. If you position the striker at the exact center between the top and the sail you can achieve this resonance.

It is difficult to provide an exact ratio between the weight of the striker and the weight of the sail. Depending on the actual weight for both the ratios can be quite different. In general, when you attempt to resonant the striker line, I suggest the striker not exceed the weight of the sail and ideally the striker should be about 1/2 the weight of the sail. I realize that if you use a CD as the sail a lighter weight striker can be difficult to achieve. A heavy striker is difficult to resonant regardless of the weight for the sail. Once you have a striker you like then a little experimenting with the sail maybe required to achieve good resonance.

On the other hand, for medium to high winds and for a non-resonant mounting, the wind catcher/sail should have a weight less than 25% of the striker.

When resonance is working well you will notice as the sail comes to rest, the striker will continue to bounce off the chimes for a few more strikes, an indication the striker is dissipating the stored energy from resonance. See this Resonant Striker VIDEO WMV, for a demo. Notice the large movement of the striker compared with little movement from the sail.

Striker Suspension: A small 1/16-inch brass tube about 5 inches long thru the center of the striker allows for the suspension line to be threaded and used as an axle for the disk. This helps keep the disk horizontal during rapid and sudden movements from high winds. A stiff wire, like coat hanger wire, can be used as an axle as shown below in striker suggestions. Site visitor Rickey Absher purchased small aluminum tubing from Amazon. There was sufficient tubing to make four axels. See picture for details.

Suggestion: a turnbuckle is often used to support the top support disk and as an axle for the striker. Over time the turnbuckle can become unscrewed from wind movement. Place a locking substance on the threads to prevent twisting, such as Loctite or equivalent.

Thanks to a site visitor who used lamp repair pipe nipples into a 3/8" hole with lamp hoops to hold the the hanger support and the clapper/striker. The parts are available in the big box stores and elsewhere. You might consider using some thread lock to keep them secure. See pictures

Wind Sails / Catchers: The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails. by William Arthur Ward.

The objective of the wind sail/catcher is to cause the striker to randomly contact all the chime tubes. Traditional wind sails generally work well and can be configured with a variety of materials, sizes and shapes as shown in the document on the right. Patterns for Wind Sails/Catchers 1.5 Meg, PDF

My dissatisfaction with the traditional wind sail is that single-direction winds have a tendency to cause the sail to swing like a pendulum. That arrangement will swing the sail both to and from the direction of the wind, not allowing the striker to contact adjacent chimes. That affect sounds much like a dingdong, dingdong as the striker hits only two chimes.

As you may know, wind close to the ground can behave differently than winds aloft, and often does not blow horizontally as intuition would suggest. Instead, it is a multidirectional force with an ample amount of wind shear.

To better understand wind turbulence mixed with single-direction winds watch this 60 second video, Bi-Directional Wind Vane VIDEO (WMV, 3.2Meg) showing a bi-directional wind vane mounted on my deck. You probably noticed the swirling motion mixed with single-direction winds and the random uphill and downhill movement (pitch and yaw). Perhaps we can exploit this force to make a better wind sail. Let's take advantage of this turbulence to create a striker movement that is somewhat rotational in nature and does a better job of striking all the chimes.

If you want to build a bi-directional wind vane here is a concept drawing displayed in 3D-PDF.

The metal components are soldered together and the vertical support post is rounded at the top. I used thin sheet aluminum for the tail and 1/4 inch copper tubing for the vertical support sleeve and the horizontal pivoting sleeve. The horizontal rod is 1/4 inch and Gorilla Glue is used to bond the parts not held with solder.

The first of several solutions to better capture wind turbulence can be quite simple. Mount the sail at 45° to the horizontal so as to catch the pitch and yaw forces, as pictured on the right. Thread the support line through two small holes next to the center of an old CD disk and tie the knot slightly off-center to create the 45° slope. You may need to glue the line in place for the long term.

A second solution is to hang the sail perfectly horizontal. Counter intuitive, I agree, but depending on your particular type of wind it can work surprising well, particularly if the chime set is hung from a high deck or beyond the first story of the building and the wind is particularly turbulent.

Site visitor (David) writes to offer an alternate method for tilting the sail. Place the support line in the hole of the CD and tie to the line an object larger than the hole such as a shot piece of dowel rod or colorful section of cloth. Now you have a tilted sail and a sun sail, all-in-one. See picture at left. Thanks David.

Single support line allows chimes set to rotate with the wind

A third solution is to make sure the top support disk can easily rotate in a circular direction. Hang the top support disk not from a fixed ring or hook but from a single support line as pictured to the right. The very nature of the wind will catch enough of the chimes to rotate the entire set allowing the pendulum motion of the sail to strike more of the chimes.

A fourth solution can be the radial traveling star striker described above. The very nature of the star striker is to quickly rotate CW and CCW from any input motion of the sail, even from straight line winds, and this motion will easily avoid the dingdong sound.

Need More Dingdong? At this point you are most likely saying “WHAT” more dingdong? We just got done solving the dingdong and now you want more! Yes, there is a condition when excessive pendulum movement of the sail is useful and not sufficiently supplied by the tradition wind sail. With the development of the keeper-striker or the radial-striker, both of which are very effective in striking a musical chord, there is a need for a robust movement of the striker. The radial striker produces a more muted sound because the strike energy is simultaneously distributed among all the chimes by moving in a circular motion. Thus the need for a more robust strike.

Jerk, Jolt, Surge and Lurch: We often describe the motion of an object in terms of displacement, velocity, or acceleration. However, an additional motion description is the rate of change of acceleration, although seldom used. The unit of measurement is often termed jerk but is also known as jolt, surge, or lurch . Jerk supplies the sudden and rapid motion from the wind sail to the rotary keeper-striker.

Introducing Orthogonal Sailing: We have developed a special wind sail to solve the need for more jerk. As mention above, a normal wind sail will mostly swing to and from the direction of the wind; however, the orthogonal sail has the unique ability to fly aggressively at right angles to the wind direction. If the wind is from the North the sail will fly East and West. Construction details are in the Handbook and available here. See the video below for the Orthogonal Wind Sail in action.

No Sailing Today: Long and large diameter chimes present a considerable surface area to the wind and can move sufficiently to cause a good strike without the need for a wind sail. In addition, the large diameter striker, often associated with a large chime set, can capture adequate wind for a good strike. Depending on the distance between the striker and the chime tube, not all chime sets require a sail. Pictured right are closely spaced chimes that easily contact the striker with low to moderate winds. Because of the short distance between the striker and the chime tube, the strike is not robust but adequate.

The best solution for you will depend on your type of wind. You may need to try a few different sails for success.

Windless Chimes On occasion there may be times when you want a set of chimes in a windless environment, or even outdoors in a low wind environment like a heavily wood area. Using an electromagnet to repel a high intensity magnet at the end of the striker rod can provide you with endless possibilities. Typically named chaos engine, this arrangement can produce a random movement for the striker. Powered by either 120 VAC or a 12 VDC solar charged battery, the electromagnet is controlled by a circuit board with an adjustable strike rate. You can design your individual set of windless chimes using components purchased from Roger Sonntag at Sonntag Creations formerly Newton's Flying Magnets. Below is a short video demonstrating some of the possibilities. Contact: sonntagcreations@gmail.com Ph: 585-615-4236

Out of service compressed gas/air cylinders, scuba diving tanks or fire extinguishers are often cut and used as a chime or bell. Based on physical measurements can we pre-determine a musical note for these tanks? To the best of my research I do not find a mathematical method for calculating a musical note for these tanks. Both the neck-end and the base-end seriously alter the vibration performance of the cylinder rendering existing formulas useless.

However, once the tank has been cut to your desired length it is easy work to determine the fundamental frequency using an analysis program like Audacity®, a free, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.

Do not use any formula, table or chart on this website to
predict tanks musical performance.

The frequency spectrum does not always follow the traditional overtone pattern for a chime tube and can include a host of additional overtones normally associated with the bell-like sound. See the spectrum diagram to the right.

Energizing all the overtones and avoiding the harsh sound when using a metal striker can be a challenge. A golf ball or baseball can work well but requires a robust strike to properly energize the overtones. I have not had good success using a wood striker unless it's a really robust strike not typically possible with a normal wind sail

Tank Length Matters or Maybe Not? A most perplexing situation can exist for some tank lengths. We tested five sets of tank chimes, sets A, B, C, D, and E pictured to the right. All chimes for sets D and E sounded distinctly different and each had a different height, and a different fundamental frequency and overtone structure; however, not true for sets A, B, and C.

In comparison, each chime in set A sounded exactly the same and had nearly identical fundamental frequencies and nearly identical overtones, but represented three different lengths. The same was true for sets B and C. There was a slight difference in timbre among the bells, but a considerable difference in length for each set.

Set B has both a neck-end and a base-end chime from a compressed-gas cylinder. While both chimes strike almost exactly the same fundamental frequency (295 Hz vs. 290 Hz), they are of different lengths and have a slightly different timbre but sound mostly the same. Tank B was more melodious than tank A but not a lot The difference in overtone structure is pictured to the right.

I investigated circular mode resonance which is a function of just material type, OD and wall thickness, and not length, as a possible explanation for this effect. Unfortunately the circular mode resonance was considerably lower than the observed resonance and offered no correlation to the actual measurements. The calculated vs. observed resonances were as follows: Calculated circular mode resonance were Set A = 35.4 Hz vs. 133 Hz; Set B= 29.7 Hz vs. 290 Hz; Set C= 71.7 Hz vs. 354 Hz. The formula was provided by Chuck from Chuck's Chimes and is: F = (T/(2*D^2))*SQRT(E/Density) where F = frequency, E = modulus of elasticity, D = mean diameter, and T = wall thickness.

I remain a bit perplexed on exactly why length appears to have little effect on the fundamental frequency and the overtones structure above some critical length point. Clearly this was not a rigorous scientific test, but enough to cause concern and points to need for further investigation.

Pictured below are a couple of tank chime examples from site visitor Grey Yahn from Pennsylvania.

If you're new to cutting metal and looking for an easy method, I use an abrasive metal cutting saw blade in a radial arm saw and it works equally well with a cut-off saw, aka chop-saw.

The blade pictured left is under $5.00 at Home Depot. Make certain to use a cutting disk designed for the type of metal you plan to use. Using the wrong type of abrasive disk can cause a dangerous explosion The traditional tubing cutter or hacksaw works well also. Definitely use safety glasses.

Safety Caution: All these tanks are highly regulated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), by Transport Canada (TC) and others. Make certain the tank is safe for handling, is completely empty (fill with water and empty to assure all gases are exhausted), and is safe for cutting. Wear all recommended safety equipment including eye protection, hearing protection and respiratory protection. The tanks are heavy and can be dangerous when handling, use extreme caution.

The chime tube can be stained, dyed, anodized or painted. A light weight coating of spray lacquer, spray polyurethane, spray paint, a powder coat or a crackle/hammered/textured finish (pictured right) can be used without a noticeable reduction in the sustain time. However, avoid thick heavy coats of latex as they seriously reduce the sustain time and can kill the resonance.

Patina finish on steel: Site visitor and artist, Roger Deweese, has successfully applied a metal dye to produce some amazing patina finishes for his tank bell chimes. Read here about the procedure Roger employed.

The Aged Copper Patina Look : a site visitor sent me a procedure to artificially age copper to provide the patina appearance. The procedure works well and pictured to the left are the satisfactory results. I have included the procedure here for your reference. Be patient with this procedure , it can take several days to complete but the results are terrific.

You will need two commonly available chemicals to complete this process. The first is a rust remover that contains phosphoric acid. A couple of sources are Naval Jelly® or Rust Killer™. Secondly, a toilet bowl cleaner that contains either hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. Some choices are Zep® Inc. Toilet Bowl Cleaner, The Works® Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Misty® Bolex 23 Percent Hydrochloric Acid Bowl Cleaner and LIME-A-WAY® Toilet Bowl Cleaner. Read the content labels carefully and look for any brand of rust remover that contains phosphoric acid and a toilet bowl cleaner that has either hydrochloric or sulfuric acid in your local store.

Sparkling Copper: An easy way to obtain the sparkling copper look is to sand the surface of the copper chime using an orbital sander with about 150 grit sand paper. This will completely expose fresh copper and leave behind orbital scratches on the surface. Coat the sanded chime with a clear spray lacquer or a spray polyurethane to preserve the new copper look. See picture to the right.

The Science of Chiming

What is a Tubular Bell Chime?
Tubular chimes date to prehistoric times for a number of cultures, back nearly 5,000 years. Tubular bells chimes were developed in the 1880's when using regular bells in an orchestra setting became impractical. Tubular bells closely imitate church bells and the practice of using a resonant tube as a bell soon flourished and became the traditional orchestra bell.

Traditional church bells or tubular bells can be characterized by their strike note. That bell-like strike note can be expanded to include the overtone structure, sustain time and loudness. That sounds simple enough, but imbedded in that explanation are two definitions. The first definition is when a chime, properly designed and constructed, can imitate a bell, and the second definition is that a chime may not imitate a bell. Our objectives is to assist you to achieve the most bell-like sound as possible.

Compared to a string or brass musical instrument, designing a tubular bell chime presents a unique challenge not experienced elsewhere. Although unique, building a great set of tubular bells can be easily understood and implemented. Ending your project with a successful and pleasing sound is important and setting the right expectations will allow that to happen. The information below may help you to better set realistic expectations.

Loudness limits: One of the largest differences between a chime and other musical instruments is loudness. Loudness depends on the physical size of the chime i.e. the radiating surface area. Compared to a string instrument where a sounding board is used to amplify the vibration of the string, or compared to a brass instrument that is fitted with a flared tube to amplify the loudness, a chime has no amplifying assistance, other than the inherent surface area of the chime tube. Overall, this loudness limitation for a typically sized chime-set will provide serious limitations for the available range of effective note selection.

On the other hand, if you move up from a typical chime-set, into the really large mega chimes, then good loudness is easily achieved. For example, shown left is a large chime-set from Sandra Bilotto.

An exception is when the resonant frequency of the tube matches the air column resonance for the tube, as described by Chuck from Chuck's Chimes. Assistance from the energized air column adds a small amount of loudness.

The second limitation for loudness from a tubular chime depends on the location of the selected note compared to the natural sensitivity of the human ear. You can view the loudness sensitivity range vs. frequency of the ear by viewing the Fletcher/Munson Equal Loudness Curves. The ear has more sensitivity in the range from about 300 Hz to about 4 KHz, than at other frequencies and helps to explain why we can not always hear all the overtones, even if they are present. This loudness limitation will have a direct affect on what notes work best for a chime.

Proportional dimensions: Increasing the chime diameter increases the radiating surface area and contributes to a louder chime but at a cost. The increased diameter greatly increases the length requirement for a specific note, which is not necessarily bad; it just makes the chime set longer as the chime diameter is increased. See the graph to the right for musical note C4

On the other hand, increasing the wall thickness has the opposite effect as an increase in diameter. As the wall thickness increases there is a small decrease in the length requirement for any specific note. In addition there will be an increase in the sustain time from the increased mass. See the graph to the right.

Increasing the outside diameter while keeping the length and wall thickness constant will cause a substantial increase in the resonant frequency.

The strike note vs. the sustaining note: The perceived musical note from a chime, when first struck, is not simply the fundamental chime tube frequency but the addition from a host of overtone notes. Unfortunately, the strike note (which can have a very pleasing sound) has a short life or a short sustain time caused by the rapid attenuation of the overtones. The sustaining vibration (several seconds) will be the fundamental strike frequency that may or may not be audible. Note selection will be decided by whether you are interested in hearing just the strike note or perhaps more interested in hearing the sustaining note. For example, a chime used in an orchestra setting is typically a rapid sequence of notes with the strike note as the predominate sound, and little if any time is allowed for the sustaining note. On the other hand, a tubular bell wind chime is often characterized by the long sustain time of a note.

TRANSVERSE VIBRATION MODES FOR A TUBE OR BAR WHEN BOTH ENDS ARE FREE TO VIBRATE The overtone structure for a chime is not an integer harmonic as in string instruments but instead, non-harmonic as in other percussion instruments. When the chime is supported at the fundamental frequency node, see diagram at the right, the higher partials are dampened but the fundamental strike frequency remains. Overtones exist and in a perfect metal where the density and the elasticity are constant, have theoretical multiples of the fundamental multiplied by X 2.76, X 5.40, X 8.93, X 13.34, X 18.64 and X 31.87.

However, in the real world of metal tubing, when metal does not have a consistent density or elasticity, the multiples will drift from the theoretical values either up or down by as much as +2% to -8% or more.

If we could hear the complete compliment of all overtones for each note of a chime tube, it would be a most wonderful bell-like sound. Unfortunately, not all the fundamental tones and/or all the overtones can be adequately radiated as an auditable sound by the chime tube for all possible lengths of a chime. This condition also limits the available range of notes that have a bell-like sound.

For example, a chime cut for C2 (65.4 Hz), the fundamental frequency is audibly absent (aka the missing fundamental) along with little audible contribution from the first overtone (180.5 Hz). The remaining overtones combine to produce a perceived musical note. The perceived note does not coincide with any specific overtone and is difficult to measure without a frequency spectrum analyzer or perhaps a good musical ear. The good news is that the brain processes the information present in the overtones to calculate the fundamental frequency, using fuzzy logic.

Also see this page by Sarah Tulga, Sound Science, on the physics of metallic tubing and chimes.

You can see from the waterfall display at the right (click to expand) that a chime cut for 272.5 Hz (near C₄^#), has two characteristics. The first characteristic is the sound when the chime is first struck, the Strike Note. It comprises both the fundamental and the first four overtones, and has that traditional chime sound for a short period of time.

The 1st overtone contributes for about two seconds and rapidly deteriorates. The remaining sound is solely the fundamental strike frequency. Note the long sustain time for the fundamental, pictured to the left of the photo.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th overtones are present and contribute to the strike note but attenuate quickly. They have little contribution to the lingering perceived sound, aka sustain time or hang-time

In contrast to the above example, the sound for a chime cut at fundamental C6 (1046.5 Hz) and above is mostly the fundamental and the overtones are audibly absent or mostly absent.

In addition to the many overtones that may be present for a chime, we have the difficulty of knowing which overtones are prominent for each note, because of the ear's sensitivity as represented by The equal loudness curves. As you might suspect, the loudness of a particular overtone changes as we move up the scale. For a typical ear sensitivity range of 300 Hz to 3 KHz, see the data a udible fundamental and overtones for wind chime notes as a simple example for the range of audible overtones. Obviously this is not the entire audible range of the ear, but is presented as a simple example of the limited ability of the ear to hear all the frequencies generated by the overtone structure. In particular, the range of C2 to C3 contain a large number of audible overtones while the range of C5 to C7 contains very few. The note range from C2 thru C4 produce the most melodious sounds, most bell-like, and are easy to build. Precise tuning is not required unless the set is for an orchestra setting.

The missing fundamental is when the brain uses "fuzzy logic" to processes the information present in the overtones to calculate the missing fundamental frequency.

To gain a better understanding of the perceived note, I examined a set of orchestra grade chimes manufactured by a major UK manufacture. The set was 1 1/2 inch chrome plated brass with a wall thickness of .0625 inches and ranged 1½ octaves from C5 (523.30 Hz) to G6 (1568.00 Hz). The length of C5 was 62 5/8 inches. The fundamental frequency for this length is around 65 Hz, about C2^# , yet the perceived note is C5 at 523 Hz. The fundamental strike frequency of 65 Hz and the first overtone at 179.4 Hz (65 x 2.76 = 179.4 Hz) are audibly absent, aka the missing fundamental. In fact, even the second overtone at 351 Hz will not be strong in loudness. The remaining overtones (mechanical vibration modes) combined to produce what the ear hears acoustically, which is C5 at 523 Hz, yet there is not a specific fundamental or overtone at that exact frequency.

I spoke with the people at a major USA chime manufacture (symphony grade) and confirmed that indeed the process of tuning an orchestra grade chime is a complex process and understandably a closely held trade secret. The process involves accounting for all frequencies from the fundamental (whether present or missing) through the many overtones, by the use of math calculations, acoustic measurements, and the careful grinding of the chime to achieve the correct length for the desired note.

An orchestra chime is not supported by the classical wind chime method using a string through the chime at the first frequency node 22.4%, but instead, is fitted with an end cap that contains a small top hole through which a steel cable supports the chime. From testing I find that the end cap not only enhances the bell-like sound, by increasing the duration of the first overtone, but it also lowers the fundamental frequency by about 4% to 12 % from calculated values, depending on tube material and diameter. More on this at Chime tube mechanical support.

Many researchers have spent time investigating the missing fundamental and the perceived note' from a chime. A few good sources are: Hyper Physics. Fuzzy logic and the subjective pitch by Dr. John Askil (no longer available) and Wikipedia.

The Bell-Like Chime

Using the above characteristics for a chime, I found a limited set of notes that will produce a bell-like sound from a tubular chime. Using the musical scale as a reference, they fall into three categories as follows:

The 1^st chime category (most bell-like) has a note range from about C2 to the C4 octave. The fundamental strike frequency is present but audibly absent, the missing fundamental, and there are a host of well pronounced overtones. Often the first overtone can also be inaudible. The perceived sound is not the fundamental strike frequency and not the overtones, but an imaginary note created by the combination of the overtones. To the ear this is a very melodious sound and clearly a bell-like sounding chime. The larger physical size of this chime for this note range causes the loudness to be quite adequate, and easily supports radiation for the many overtones. Note in the spectrum displays below, as we move up the musical scale the overtone contribution becomes less and less.

The 2^ndchime category (almost bell-like) has a note range from about C4 through to about the C6 octave. The fundamental strike frequency is mostly audible and some overtones contribute to the perceived sound. The perceived note is not the fundamental strike frequency and not the overtones, but a combination of both that produce a perceived musical note. The sound can be acceptable but may not be the sound you are looking for. This has an almost bell-like sound and can sound fairly good, but not particularly melodious. The loudness is acceptable but not great.

The 3^rd chime category (non bell-like) has a note range from about C6 through the C8 octave. Not unlike other percussion instruments this category is characterized by an audible fundamental strike frequency (a noticeable pure tone) with overtones mostly absent. Overtones have minimal contribution to the perceived musical note. This note range may not be particularly pleasing to the ear but should not be ignored as a pure tone, and is definitely a non-bell sounding chime. In addition, the loudness is typically low caused by the short length of the chime causing a low radiating surface for the higher notes. The rapid attenuation of high frequencies in the environment causes this note range to quickly diminish at a distance.

Calculations

Skip the math? If your looking for DIY calculations or pre-calculated dimensions, go here.

I am not aware of calculations for a tube closed at one end. i.e. a chime with an end cap.

This math is for a tube open at both ends.

The bending natural frequency for a tube open at both ends is predicted by Euler's equation where:

w = (B X L)² x √ (E X I/(rho X l4))

w - frequency radian per second - for frequency in cycles per second (Hz), f = w/(2 x π)
E - modulus of elasticity
I - area moment of inertia = π x d³ x t/8 for a thin wall round tube
d - mean diameter
t - wall thickness
rho = mass per unit length = Area x mass per unit volume = π x d x t x density
L - length of tube

w= (B x L)² x (d/I²) x √ (1/8) x √ (E/density)

(B x L)² - Constants based on the boundary conditions for a wind chime (Free-Free Beam)
(B x L)²= 22.373 for the first natural frequency.
(B x l)²= 61.7 for the second natural frequency.
(B x L)²= 121 for the third natural frequency.
(B x L)²= 199.859 for the fourth natural frequency.

To get the units correct you must multiply the values inside the square root by gravity (g).
g = 386.4 in/sec² for these units.

For a given material then the frequency of a thin wall tube reduces to:
f = constant x d / l²

The reduced formula is:
Area Moment of Inertia = π x (OD^⁴- ID^⁴)/64
Area = π x (OD^²- ID^²)/4
K = √((Elasticity x Moment x Gravity)/(Area x Density))

Length (inches) = √(22.42 x K/(2 x π x f))

If you want additional math on the subject here is a paper by Tom Irvine

Conclusions:

Clearly there is more to a chime than I had anticipated and I am sure I have not learned all that there is to know about the physics of a chime. This was originally a Christmas present for my daughters and not a focused research project. I am convinced that it is not necessary to hand tune a set of bell-like chimes designed for musical notes from fundamental C2 through C4 because the formula achieved the desired frequency well within 1 Hz. Tuning to achieve an accuracy closer than 1 Hz was a waste of time. However, for a fundamental note from C5 and up, good tuning is required. Good physical measurements are important to achieve the calculated accuracy.

My favorite design has changed over the years and is currently an end cap supported chime with the striker contacting the tube at the very bottom of the chime using either a tapered striker or a star striker, and having the wind rotate the chime set using a single line support for the support disk. Unfortunately, I know of no formula for calculating the length of a chime tube with an end cap. I begin with a length from standard calculations on this page and then tune by trimming off the length. End caps lower the frequency by as much as 8% to 15%, which requires removal of material to raise the tuning back to the correct vale. Yes, it's a lot of work if you want exact tuning for a tapered end!

On occasion I have added an end cap to the calculated value for an open end tube in order to gain a more bell-like sound, but not adjusted the length to regain accurate tuning. For the most part, it has been difficult to acoustically tell the difference between the un-tuned chime set with an end caps and a set of tuned chimes without end caps. Perhaps I have been lucky or maybe the natural shift caused by the end cap is consistent for all five tubes, and they remain mostly in tune.

Your particular type of wind (single-direction or turbulent) and wind speed will determine the best choice for both the wind sail and for the chime striker. Rotating the chime-set works well to solve the dingdong sound caused from low velocity single directions winds.

Another phenomena we observed, but did not have time to investigate, was the simultaneous production of sound from the natural bending mode of the chime coinciding with the resonance of the air column for the tube. The good news is that another engineer, Chuck at Chuck's Chimes, has done an excellent job detailing this effect. I suggest you give this a look-see. He has excellent information and calculations to accomplish this special effect. https://sites.google.com/site/chuckchimes/home

FAQs

FAQs:

01. I want low bass sounding chimes?	02. Designing for low or high wind speed?	03. Chimes for extremely high winds?
04. Can I multiply the answer by two?	05. Best line to re-string a chime set?	06. Should I begin at C3 or C5?
07. Chakra healing chimes?	08. Can I use nickel-silver tubing?	09. Can I mix sizes and metals?
10. Why the chime set sounds better with the striker an inch below center?	11. Support for a Mark tree chime set?	12. Why is the longer tube higher pitched than the shorter tube?
13. Will a powder coat, anodize or paint affect the tone quality?	14. Can I use anodized aluminum and is it expensive?	15. Do you have a Phone App to calculate chime lengths?
16. Precise location for drilling the hang point?	17. Does the hole size for hang point matter?	18. Why are chimes not chiming?
19. Mounting pins source, size and securing?	20. How to keep the support line in the middle?	21.Is there a rigid mounting recommendation?
22. How to attach the line around the pin?	23. How to measure for a tapered striker?	24. What is best striker shape and weight?
25. Will the support pin affect the sound?	26. Can you make chimes from sticks of coral?	27. Shouldn’t smaller pipes produce a higher pitch?
28. Can you quiet the waw-wau effect?	29. Water or oil based polyurethane spray?	30. Best material for a wind sail?
31. Striker escapes to outside and tangles?	32. Will a washer welded to the end work?	33. Can I use tapered tubing?
34. Convert schedule to gauge measurement?	35. How to make chamfered ends?	36. Can I use square tubing?
37. Will bamboo work with the calculator?	38. Adjusting the number of chimes in a set?	39. Do you license you patterns and information for commercial use?
40. How to support a gas cylinder chime?

01. Question: I want deep bass chimes that are resonate. This is the most often asked question.
I saw somewhere on the site a casual comment about a chime not hitting C2. Did I misunderstand? I want to buy some 2 inch EMT and tune them in a Hirajoshi scale at C2 E F# G and B. But, that's $75 worth of EMT I'll be hacking up. Do you think it will work? I just want a really deep bass set of chimes and I am hoping 2 inch EMT of 66 to 9 inches (using your EMT table) will get me something deep and resonant. Any advice?

Answer: An excellent question and you read correctly. The chime will produce the C2 note at 65.4 Hz, no problem, but the ear will not hear it? To hear 65.4 Hz we need to move a lot of air, thus the need for woofers used in sound systems. If you place your ear about an inche from the long tube "Surprise" you hear the 65.4 Hz, it’s actually there. But, back up two feet and you won’t hear it.

What you actually hear is a chime note missing both the fundamental (65.4 Hz) and the first overtone (180 Hz). You hear the remaining overtones.

So what to do? You can still make the long tubes cut for the C2 octave. The larger size will enhance the overtones (second overtone, 353 Hz and up) and you will hear lower notes than without lusing ong tubes, but it will not be the actual C2 note. If you happen to have a small public address amplifier and microphone, place the microphone about an inch from the tube. Again C2 is actually there, but it needs amplification to be audible. ^Back to FAQs^

02. Question: We don't often have a lot of wind here so a design that doesn't need a lot of wind is important. Somebody gave me a cheap little metal commercial set and it basically never made any sound because there is rarely a stiff breeze. What are your thoughts about this?
Answer: The force from the wind is cube law, meaning a doubling of wind speed produces nine times more force acting on the chime. So little changes in the design can have a big effect on the sound. The best wind sail is one that works with your wind. If you live inland in a sheltered area with low winds you want a light weight sail (probably thin aluminum sheet and large enough to adequately capture small winds, maybe 6-10 inches in diameter). If you live lakeside or by the sea shore with strong gusty winds then a heavier and smaller diameter sail is best (use ¼ to ½ inch treated lumber, engineered lumber or a plastic/nylon cutting board). ^Back to FAQs^

The best approach is experimentation. Every special design I’ve done for myself or artist has never been a standard design. As such, I may need to build several prototypes where we change the spacing between the striker and the chime, the size and the weight of the wind sail. At first look, chimes seems incredibly simple, but the trick is implementation. ^Back to FAQs^

03. Question: Chimes for extremely high winds:
When I say extreme, I mean regularly 150 km/hr (92 MPH) and occasionally up to 225 km/hr (140 MPH).
My solution is two fold; first, place the chime set on the opposite side building from where the high winds originate. However, on that side we still get 60 MPH winds several times a year. Secondly, use very heavy pipe. I found some rusty 2 inch pipe with 1/8 inch walls and cut a set for C4. Unfortunately, it wasn't long enough for a C3, which I wanted. Problem: It's so heavy that it's tough to get much volume out of it, but it will resonates for ever.
Do I want a hard strike with a hockey puck? I also want to add in a 'star' type of thing to add some light tones and to contain the striker inside the chimes.

Answer: Yes, with a heavy pipe you need a robust strike as you suggest. If a hockey puck is inadequate, try a scrap piece of treated lumber. If that is inadequate try hard maple or oak. Also, the size of the wind sail is important here. Try different sizes until you achieve the sound you want.

A star striker should work well in those high winds to assist in keeping everything aligned, but in extreme winds they will probably escape the star. You may need to thread a 50# fishing line or weed trimmer line around the outside tips of the star to keep the tubes from escaping and getting mixed up. Drill a small horizontal hole at the tips for the monofilament line. See picture to the right. ^Back to FAQs^

04. Question: I wanted to make a rod based wind chime twice as big as the pre-calculated numbers, could I multiply the pre-calculated numbers by two (to get double the length) and still have the same tones as the pre-calculated numbers describe, only a bit deeper?
Answer: No, but you're almost there. The relationship is not linear so multiplication will not work, but there is an easy way to do this.
Use the Ratio Calculator. Say for example, you have a one inch steel rod and you want to go lower than the calculator will allow, i.e. below 32.7 Hz.

Using the calculator enter the type of metal and the rod outside diameter OD, one inch steel.
From there you will notice the lowest is 32.7 Hz with a length of 74 3/16 inches.

Use the next tab at the bottom of the page named "Tubing or Rod Length Ratio Calculator." See chart to the right.

Enter what you know, i.e. 74 3/16 inches or 74.19 and the frequency 32.7 Hz.
Then enter the desired frequency (half of the original) 16.35 Hz.
The result will be a length of 104 15/16 inches long with a hang point of 23 ½ inches.

Repeat this procedure for each note you wish to lower. The same goes for chimes. ^Back to FAQs^

05. Question: What is the best line to re-string a chime set? I have about 20 chimes that use a cheap support cord and the line breaks after a few years. I need to re-string them and don’t want to have to keep doing that. I need something more sturdy.
Answer: My all-time favorite to withstand the weather elements is light weight chain. You can use aluminum, brass, stainless steel, or zinc plated steel chain often found in hobby stores and occasional at the local home improvement stores. Depending on the weight of the chime tube (light weight only) my second choice is 80 pound braided fishing line. Make sure to de-burr the support holes smooth. A sources for chain is: FRANK R. FERRIS CO., INC. ^Back to FAQs^

06. Question: Should I begin at C3 or C5? I was fortunate in coming across a 20’ section of 1.625OD x 1.375ID aluminum pipe. According to your spreadsheet calculations I’ve got just enough to make the C-9 chord starting with C3. In reading your info I see that some of the lower frequencies may not be heard more than a few inches away. Given the size of this pipe do you think we’ll be able to hear C3 or might we be better off making two shorter sets starting with C5? The thought of the longer pipe set seems really neat!
Answer: As long as you have enough to begin at C3, by all means start there. You won’t hear much of C3 but the other notes will be much more melodious and bell like. I often start there or C2, depending on the physical limitations for mounting and the intended application. ^Back to FAQs^

07. Question: Chakra healing chimes: I am using 3 inch OD by 1/4 inch wall aluminum tubing. I found a supply at the local scrap yard but don't know its alloy. Upon hanging an 8 ft. length from my workshop ceiling and striking it with various beaters I was amazed at its tone and strength of vibration. Could you help me determine the lengths required to build a set of Chakra healing / vibrational chimes consisting of 7 chimes? There are 7 notes / frequencies I wish to reproduce corresponding to the individual Chakra 's frequency; 396 Hz, 417 Hz, 528 Hz, 639 Hz, 741 Hz, 852 Hz, 936 Hz and an eight option is 432 Hz.
Answer: Sure, just us the regular calculator for A=440 Hz, enter the OD, ID and type of metal then find the chakra frequencies in the frequency column. If the calculator does not have your specific frequency, go to the bottom left hand side of the calculator and use the generic "Calculate Length or Frequency" calculator. Enter what you know in the blue font box Frequency or Length. Here you can enter a frequency and find the length and hang point, or enter a length and find its frequency and hang point. See picture below. ^Back to FAQs^

08. Question: Can I use nickel-silver tubing? Is there a way to calculate the hang points based on your tables? ID on one tube is 0.5 inch, the other 2 are 5/8 inch. My son, in the marching band, believes his trombone is a weapon of mass destruction. After 3 rebuilds, I have tubing from the leftover parts that I wish to turn into a wind chime. I asked the mechanic about the composition of the tubing (brass or ?) and he said it was nickel-silver. Sure enough, it has a pleasant high-pitched ring despite the long (30 inch) length. However, the hang points don't seem to correspond to the brass or aluminum columns in your table.
Answer: Only two issues effect the sound from one metal to another, density and elasticity. The density of nickel-silver is 0.31 Lbm / in³ and the elasticity is 18,500,000 psi. You can see from the chart at the right, nickel-sliver is very close to copper. I would suggest using the copper charts for the pre-calculated measurements or use copper in the DIY calculator. The most important measurement is to hang the chime at the 22.4% point.

On the data page you can enter the actual density and elasticity to produce an exact calculation. ^Back to FAQs^

09. Question: Can I mix sizes and metals?
Answer: Yes you can mix sizes within a given metal and you can mix metals. Make sure you use the correct chart settings for each size, wall thickness and type of metal. Best to experiment with different metals because some combinations sound wonderful and other not so good. ^Back to FAQs^

10. Question: Wondering why these tubes sound better when the striker is placed an inch below center on the shortest tube with the tops all the same height? When the striker is placed an inch below the center of the longest the short tube has little to no sound?
Answer: We want to avoid exact dead center or near dead center for any chime and when they are center aligned that is an easy task. But when they are top or bottom aligned the striker can inadvertently come close to dead center for one of the chimes. Because chime length is not a linear relationship as we move up and down the musical scale, exact placement of the striker for every chime set is slightly different. You did the right thing by experimenting to find the best sound. On most every set, I often adjust the striker higher or lower to achieve the best sound from every chime. ^Back to FAQs^

11. Question: I am working on a Mark Tree chime set (bar chimes, used by percussionists and drummers, pictured right). I checked on the commercial ones and they all use the same hang point on the bars. It may be because it is cheaper and quicker to make them this way and they look good, but will not sound as good as the 22.4% hanging point method? I'd like to hear your opinion about this topic!
Answer: A bar or chime can be supported at any point along its length and will ring when struck, but not well. Good sustain time and rich contribution from the overtones, that produce the bell-like sound, can only occur when supported at the 22.4% location. All bars in the set pictured here will sound distinctly different from each other, but will not yield the bell-like sound because of improper mounting.

As a footnote, my neighbor (a very practical engineer) built a xylophone and did some experimenting with support points for the bars. He did not know bout the 22.4% rule. His choice was 22% from each end because that location provided the best sustain time and the best sound. I completely agree with his findings (22.4%). ^Back to FAQs^

12. Question: Is there a length where a tube of a given size will not resonant as intended? Specifically, I cut a tube of 1.5 inch thinwall steel conduit to 1002mm, and it sounds higher in pitch than an adjacent 730 mm tube, which should sound higher. I just can't wrap my head around this.
Answer: You discovered part of the missing fundamental phenomena. The chime tube appears not to resonant at the design frequency but it does resonate. The 1002mm length has a fundamental resonance of about 193 Hz and that frequency is difficult to hear because of the low sensitivity of the ear at the lower frequencies (mostly below 300 Hz). Therefore, you will hear the second overtone better which is 193 Hz x 2.76 = 523 Hz. The fundamental for the 730mm chime is about 384 Hz which is getting more into the sensitive range of the ear and you are much more likely to hear it's fundamental as compared to the fundamental for the 1002mm chime. Thus the longer tube will sound higher pitched than the shorter tube which is definitely counter intuitive. ^Back to FAQs^

13. Question: Does a coating (powder coat, anodize or paint) affect the tone quality, tuning, or note sustain of the pipe?
Some chimes are anodized or appear to have a clear coat type finish for weather resistance for aesthetics I assume.
Answer: In general, the answer is no bad effect occurs . However, if you were to apply a thick latex paint type coating, the extra mass would have a noticeable effect, perhaps to the point of killing resonance. However, a thin powder coat or anodizing will have no affect on the design frequency or sustain time. ^Back to FAQs^

14. Question: Can I use anodized aluminum and is it expensive?
I recently came across your website as I researched the idea of building a set of wind chimes for my wife for our anniversary. I spent several hours reading your website and have found more than enough step by step info on how to do what I want to do. You absolutely answered every question I had and several more.
Answer: There is no difference in the sound created using either power coated or anodized metal. The only slight exception is if there is a heavy clear coat over the power coat. A light coat is okay. A heavy coat slightly reduces the sustain time, but not much.

Cost wise I don’t have much experience here. I have seen very reasonably priced anodized aluminum on the internet, nearly the cost of un-anodized. If you’re buying tubing already power coated, as opposed to having it done in a custom shop, I would not expect it to be expensive. ^Back to FAQs^

15. Question: Do you have a Phone App to calculate chime lengths?
Answer: I do not but site visitor Andrew Hughes uses the formulas from this website has an Android Version in the Google Play store. ^Back to FAQs^

16. Question: The hang point is usually close but far from exact on chimes I have measured. Should you drill the hang point hole at the center of the calculated measurement or is the hang point where the string actually contacts the tube (upper edge of the hole)?
Answer: The location for small holes, 1/8 inch or less, can be exactly on the mark. However, holes larger than 1/8 inch (particularly ¼ inch and larger) should be positioned, as you suggest, so the upper edge of the hole is where the support line touches the chime. ^Back to FAQs^

17. Question: Does the hole size that you drill for the hang point matter?
Answer: Yes, if the hole is large, relative to the diameter of the tube, it can affect the design frequency, but a small hole has no effect. I personally use 1/8 inch for many of the chimes .If you need a hole larger than 1/8 inch, position it so upper edge of the hole is on the hang point mark. ^Back to FAQs^

18. Question: Chimes not Chiming!
I recently bought two, not cheap, wind chimes – and they do not chime in the absence of hurricane gale winds! Is there anything we can do to get them to catch any breeze that happens by? Would the CD section in your article be all he needs? I have spent a long time on the internet looking for some quick fix but can’t find anything. The power company recently cut down all the shrubs we have been carefully tending for years and now we have dreadful road noise. The chimes are an optimistic detraction to that new situation.

Answer: Yes, there are several options. You describe a common condition where the sail is either too small or too heavy to supply a good jerk to the striker. Without seeing the set of chimes directly, I suggest you replace the wind sail with something larger and lighter weight. As a test, I use an old CD for a temporary sail, just to make the point that it needs to be light weight and fairly large in size. Often an old CD is not large enough. You can use anything that pleases your eye that meets the size and light weight requirements from your testing.

Also, don't overlook the diameter of the striker. When the distance between the striker and the chime considerably exceeds one inch

the chimes may not respond to well to any wind. ^Back to FAQs^

19. Question: Where do I get mounting pins, what size is recommended and how are they held in position?

Answer: I typically use 1/8 inch brass rod that can be found at my local hobby store (where a person can buy model airplane parts, model trains, model cars and the like ) and occasionally at home improvement stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, etc.
If you insert an 1/8 inch rod or tube into a 1/8 inch hole, it can be loose. Use a ball-peen hammer to slightly flatten each end of the pin for a force fit or use a spot of glue. With copper chimes, the pin can be soldered. Then, file off the excess, leaving little to no evidence of the pin. ^Back to FAQs^

20. Question: How does the string stay in the middle of the pin so not to slide off to one side?

Answer: A spot of super glue, hot glue or epoxy will do the trick. A knot also works well. ^Back to FAQs^

21. Question: Is it possible to support a chime in a way that it is fixed, for example with a nail, without losing its tune? Also is it possible to support it so I won't need to drill a hole? I would like to build a music box that uses a chime tube.

Answer: Yes, the chime can be mounted for a fixed support using a number of methods. Any method should locate the support at 22.4% from both ends.

The noninvasive method uses the traditional one wrap string method for supporting an orchestra grade chime or bar, as shown right, courtesy of Woodstock Chimes. Locat the chime above or below the line, either method works equally well.

An invasive and more rugged mount can be from a stud on one or both sides of the mounting location as shown left. A locking nut on the outside of the chime will secure the stud in place and allow attachment to the supporting structure, as often found in playground chimes. I would avoid inserting a bolt through the chime tube, because tightening nuts on both sides can stress the tube causing it not to resonate or reduce the sustain time. ^Back to FAQs^

22. Question: How do I attach the support line to the support pin when the pin is down in the tube?
I plan to make a chime set using 2 inch steel electrical conduit. The largest chime would have a hang point of 9 5/8 inches from the top. How do I get the line around the pin when it is 9 5/8 inches from the top?

Answer: Hold the tube horizontal with the support pin also horizontal. Tilt the tube to be mostly vertical, but not quite. Feed the line down the tube on the bottom side, passing one side of the pin and out the other end. You may need to attach a small weight to the end of the line, like a pinch-on fishing line sinker, to provide sufficient weight so the line will feed all the way through. You can also blow on the tube or use compressed air to force the line out the other end.

Next, rotate the tube 180 degrees and starting from the other end, feed the line back down the tube, passing the opposite side of the pin. Pull both ends of the line up to the pin from the top end, and tie a slip knot. Pull the knot taught around the pin as shown to the right. You may need to adjust the line to be in the center of the pin using a coat hanger wire or other handy utensil.

It may be difficult to see inside a dark tube. Place a white paper on the floor and hold the tube above the paper as you peer into the tube. This generally allows enough light in to see the location for the line centered on the pin. ^Back to FAQs^

23. Question: I want to use a tapered striker for (6) 2 inch chimes, and the calculated striker size is 3.25 inch radius, would that be the top or the bottom diameter?

Answer: That should be the largest diameter, i.e. bottom diameter if tapered or center diameter if bullet nose. ^Back to FAQs^

24. Question: Best striker shape and weight for a chime set.
My son gave me 3 stainless tubes. They have a diameter of 6 inches and between 5-6 feet long. In a way, my chimes will be similar to the ones on your site from Craig Hewison, except he has 5 chimes where I have 3. This means the spacing for my chimes will be greater. My plan is to line up the bottoms of the chimes. My thought is to use a circular wooden disk of either the tapered edge or knife edge or straight edge design. I would say my home area has light to moderate winds, for the most part. Do you have comments on these 3 designs?

Answer: My preference is a bullet nose edge for large tubes. Heavy chimes need a robust strike and a rounded edge striker last longer, and can be simple to fabricate. Regarding the weight, I would start with a 1.5 inch thick section of treated lumber, not any thicker, ¾ inch could work.

There is a close relationship between a striker’s weight and the ability of the sail to adequately jerk the striker. Because of that relationship, I cannot suggest an exact weight but I do suggest experimentation. I often find myself making two or three strikers before I am satisfied with the overall performance from both the striker and the sail. You could take a scrap of wood and approximate the size and weight of your wind sail and hang it where you intend to place the chimes. Then watch it for a few days to judge its movement.

Using three tubes, I would not suggest the orthogonal sail. Once that sail get to swinging, it can depart a lot of energy and I am concerned that would cause the striker to escape to the outside of the set, not all bad, but it can be a nuisance. I often need to experiment with two or three strikers and sails to achieve the desired sound. The good news is the sail can be larger than normal because a large sail doesn’t look so big next to large chimes. ^Back to FAQs^

25. Question: Does the diameter of the support pin affect the chime sound? I am using 2 inch tubing and the brass support rod I am considering is 1/4 inch in diameter, so quite substantial. Trying to use what I have during virus lockdown.

Answer: A 2 inch (55mm) tube with a 1/4 inch support rod should be fine. I would not recommend it for a smaller tube like 1 inch OD. Normally I have not used that larger size and prefer 1/8 inch or slightly less. Just make sure it's snug and cannot rattle or work loose. ^Back to FAQs^

26. Question: I saw chimes on a tropical island made from sticks of coral. (worn staghorn coral on the beach, which was there by the millions of tons due to hurricanes.) So I brought back a bunch of sticks of coral. But trying to get maximum wind chime effect is hard, especially on the first try. The coral is much heavier than metal, but it does have a sort of ceramic waterford ring to it. I cannot find any specific plans, but I was leaning towards orienting many of the pieces horizontally for maximum instability and strikes. I also wanted to stay with natural materials and make the top support out of maybe two longer pieces of coral in an X configuration.

Answer: My first attempt would be to carefully measure down from each end 22.4% (.224) and tie a monofilament fishing line or perhaps a braided fishing line at those points for support, then test their sound by carefully striking the coral with the sole of a hard rubber shoe. I have no experience with coral chimes but they should follow the basic laws of physics. They will probably need a robust striker because of their small size, depending on how easily they break. Also try a striker with more rigidity, like a plastic plate. ^Back to FAQs^

27. Question: I use your calculator for calculations but what I don’t understand is when I use smaller diameter pipes the suggested length is also shorter. Shouldn’t smaller pipes produce a higher pitch?
Below is an example: the first is with diameter 80mm. Here it suggested the lowest pipe is 974.7mm.

When I change the diameter to 40mm, I only need a pipe of 684.2 mm for the C5 note.

In my opinion, the pitch should be going up when I use smaller pipes, but that doesn’t correspond to your chart. Can you help me to understand the suggested lengths?
Answer: welcome to the complicated world of circular resonance. This is best explained with some info from the website under the section for proportional dimensions. Increasing the chime diameter increases the radiating surface area and contributes to a louder chime but at a cost. The increased diameter greatly increases the length requirement for a specific note, which is not necessarily bad; it just makes the chime set longer as the chime diameter is increased. See the graph below for musical note C4.

In your case, decreasing the diameter considerably shortens the length for a given note.
So, your observations are perfectly normal. ^Back to FAQs^

28. Question: Is there a way to quiet the (waw -wau) effect that frequently follows the intended sound? I’ve made a wind chime using 1.250 metal conduit and that sound can be annoying.
Answer: That sound is caused by imperfections in manufacturing causing a change of stiffness and density from one end to the other. Mostly caused by handling and processing of the tube. I don’t know of any way to eliminate it. Yes, it can be annoying. ^Back to FAQs^

29. Question: I am using the sanded copper look, and I’m going to buy some polyurethane spray to coat them.
Do I want water-based or oil-based? I’m going to use the same spray on the wooden parts.
Answer: The big difference is color. Oil based is amber color and water based is clear and remains clear forever. Oil will continue to turn amber. Other than that, I don't have a preference. ^Back to FAQs^

30. Question: I’m having a little trouble figuring out what kind of material I’m going to use for my sail. Any info would be appreciated.
Answer: I prefer thin aluminum sheet for sails in low winds. It's light weight and can depart a quick impact to the chime compared to heavier material like wood or plastic. It more depends on wind conditions. Strong winds you want a heavier striker. Aluminum works best in light winds. ^Back to FAQs^

31. Question: I have a large 6-chime set with a round striker.
During high winds the striker sometimes gets outside the chimes or wrapped around one of them. I was wondering if you have a recommendation to keep the striker in place? One of your FAQs suggested a star shaped striker with fish line connecting each tip to keep chimes in place. Do you think such a method could be used for a round striker?
Answer: Yes, what you can do is drill a tiny hole through each chime at the same horizontal location from the bottom and thread a monofilament plastic line through each chime all around all the chimes. See attached picture. You may have to experiment with various lines to find one that works. Maybe a small weed trimmer line. As you do this, tie a knot on the outside of each chime to prevent the chime from slipping along the line. This will keep the chimes evenly spaced and from separating in high winds, preventing escapement of the striker. ^Back to FAQs^

32. Question: I am building a large tube wind chime and noticed you mention two locations to support the tubes. The 22.4% location and the Top End Cap. Will it create any problems to weld a washer on the end of the tube, and insert a cord through the center, as a make shift end cap?
Answer: That should work okay but I would first experiment. I would suggest you cut the first tube little long and weld on the washer. Then test it to make sure the sustained time is adequate. The one thing that gets fussy is that the weld needs to be very uniform around the circumference. If not, it will completely kill the chime. I have had good success with this technique using solder so welding should be just fine. If your test is not successful, then you can trim off the world and use the traditional approach. ^Back to FAQs^

33. Question: I came into possession of a broken 20 foot long aluminum tapered flag pole. The O. D. is 3 inches at the bottom and 2 inches at the top. I presume this would still work but I may have to sneak up on the final lengths of the pieces by sound. Do you foresee any specific problems with setup?
Answer: Sure, I would expect it to work fine. The calculator will probably not be accurate but might be close. ^Back to FAQs^

34. Question: I’m getting ready to try aluminum pipe and our distributor is quoting me Schedule 40 for 1, 1.25, and 1.5 inch pipe. The tone calculator is by gauge. How do I convert Schedule to Gauge?
Answer: Those answers can be found on this website: www.atc-mechanical.com/tube-pipe-101/tube-pipe-size-overview/ ^Back to FAQs^

35. Question: I noticed a high end set of chimes have slightly chamfered ends revealing a nice circle of shiny metal. Have you ever seen how this is accomplished? It is so perfectly done that I don't think a hand file is used. I'm picturing some sort of a jig, holding the tube at an angle, with the end making light contact with a rotating sanding disk or file of some sort?
Answer: Yes, there are numerous ways to chamfer the ends. Many do it in a metal lathe. As you suggest I have laid a clean towel on the worktable and by hand, roll the chime back and forth as you file or use an orbital sander to produce the bevel. I typically begin with a sander to remove most of the material and finish with a file to produce a perfect looking chamfer. ^Back to FAQs^

36. Question: Square vs Round Tubing. I have square tubing left over from a greenhouse project. Can I use it to make chimes and will the calculator work for square tubing?
Answer: The calculator will NOT work for square tubing but the overall ratios will probably be similar, For example, say you're using the C9 scale or the pentatonic scale, calculate the length as if it were round tubing and the ratio from one note to the other should closely track as if it were round tubing. Caution, not all square tubing will resonate. Cut your first tube, drill the support holes at the 22.4% location and hang the tube. Using the sole of a hard rubber shoe strike the chime and determine if you like the sound. ^Back to FAQs^

37. Question: Can we use bamboo with the calculator?
Answer: No, the calculator will not work for bamboo. It only works for round tubing open at both ends. I have never located a formula for bamboo. You can experiment and probably find notes that sound good and would work well in a set. ^Back to FAQs^

38. Question: How many chimes in a chime set: My wife and I will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary and I thought a copper wind chime would be a great way to continue our tradition. Every year, we exchange "traditional anniversary gifts" and year seven is copper. I was hoping to incorporate the number 7 somewhere in the project, which led me to wonder if there are any chime configurations that require 7 tubes. I didn't see one in the musical note selection section of your website but I did see St. Micheal's, which as you know requires 8. Could I simply subtract one from this array and if so, which one do I choose?
Answer: You can add or subtract from any sequence. If you want more than the sequence count, just repeat the sequence by moving up or down an octave on the music scale until you achieve your desired count.
This concept of sequences and naming chime sets like Corinthian Bells, Winchester or Pentatonic is a marketing exercise to sell more chime sets. They never play in sequence and the listener will likely never identify what the random sounds really represent. They're just jumbled up notes. Selling chime sets with famous names is advertising on steroids. For example, the happy birthday chime set will sound like happy birthday when played in sequence but otherwise it's a random collection of notes. ^Back to FAQs^

39. Question: Do you license your patterns and information on the website for commercial use?
Answer: No, the information is presented as open source so you are free to use it for business. I do accept donations to help pay for the website. Several people around the world have successfully created a small wind chime business from this information.^Back to FAQs^

40. Question: Gas cylinder chimes: I recently acquired about a dozen gas cylinders - all steel, ranging from about 5 to 10 inches in diameter, and I want to construct a set of bells using them. - Should the tapered top be left attached, with a threaded hole for fixing an eyebolt, or should the cylinder be cut into a true cylinder with drilled holes and a cable suspension? I have seen many cylinder bells that ring pretty well, but I suspect the closed top is dampening the sound. I was thinking of a cross rod at the proper suspension point. How do I calculate lengths and hanging points for a pleasing chord?
Answer: I recommend leaving the tapered top on the tank. I have tried it both ways, with and without, and the tapered top does not reduce sustained time and makes mounting much easier using an eye bolt, as you suggested. Tank chimes have turned out to be one of my enigmas. I tried my best to find a mathematical solution to predicting resonance but failed. ^Back to FAQs^

Links and Sources

This site is also used as a reference for The Physics Classroom

Woodworking for Mere Mortals A fun site for many projects including an excellent video about using the resources from this site.

The Sound of Bells This site has not only informative pages on bell sounds and tuning, but offers free software that lets you listen to the effects of overtones and allows you to tune your bell or chime using a sound card and microphone.

The Strike Note of Bells

Chuck's Chimes Another engineer, Chuck, has an excellent website for chime calculations and information. https://sites.google.com/site/chuckchimes/home

* Equations from paper by Tom Irvine Website

An interesting physics class, student project, authored by Professor G. William Baxter and Assistant Professor Keith M. Hagenbuch, both from Penn State, Erie, PA

Engineering student project by S. Scott Moor, Assistant Professor of Engineering and coordinator of First-Year Engineering at Indiana University, Purdue University – Fort Wayne.

The Physics of Musical Instruments by Neville H. Fletcher available at eBay HERE that has a great chapter on chimes and bells.

The missing fundamental effect
https://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/subton.html#c2

Fletcher/Munson Curves Fletcher/Munson Curves with ISO

Large Chime Set

About me: I am a retired electronics engineer with a passion for investigating technical issues, occasionally surrounded with mystery and often bridging several fields of technology. In 2001, when building chime-sets for my daughters as Christmas presents, I asked what makes a chime a good chime. Little did I know what I was getting into when I asked that question. While I would not consider myself an expert by any definition, these findings can be valued for the understanding of tubular bell chimes. My experience with this project has evolved over time and is presented to help you design and build a great set of tubular bell wind chimes. Updates continue almost monthly as development goes forward.

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