How the chime bar makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the chime bar belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
A chime bar or resonator bell is a percussion instrument consisting of a tuned metal bar similar to a glockenspiel bar, with each bar mounted on its own wooden resonator. Chime bars are played with mallets again similar to a glockenspiel.
The sound is similar to a glockenspiel, but with much more sustain, similar in this respect to a vibraphone but without the vibrato.
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a chime bar sound like?
As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the chime bar?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.221).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q5099329 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Chime bar – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Andrewa – CC BY-SA 3.0