St. Louis Symphony Principal Percussionist Will James recently sent us this informative video with some really useful tips on playing the chimes. Also known as “tubular bells”, many players assume that it is easy to play orchestral chimes. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
About Neil
Neil W. Grover holds the unique distinction of having performed with one of the world’s foremost orchestras, the Boston Symphony; with legendary rock bands like Aerosmith; and on John Williams’ soundtrack for Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom.
For the past 28 years, Neil has gained worldwide visibility in the percussion section of the famed Boston Pops. Neil is one of the music industry’s most requested clinicians.
Neil is the author of Four Mallet Primer, and also co-author (with Garwood Whaley) of Triangle, Tambourine and Cymbal Technique, both published by Merideth Music. Neil has had numerous articles published in leading music journals including, Percussive Notes, School Band & Orchestra, and Drum Tracks. In addition, he has been the subject of feature articles in Percussive Notes, Modern Drummer, School Band & Orchestra, Drum Tracks, and Musical Merchandise Review.
As the Founder and President of Grover Pro Percussion, Neil Grover has been the world’s leading exponent of raising the standards of percussion instrument design and manufacturing. He has recently been featured on two episodes of “How It’s Made”, which airs worldwide on the Discovery Channel.
Neil Grover has been elected to six terms of office and has served on the Board of Directors of the Percussive Arts Society for 12 years. He is also a Trustee of the Winchester (Massachusetts) Community Music School, one of the country’s premier community music schools.
Hi,
I am a retired tubular bell master tuner from Musser. At Musser, I made several major changes to the production and tuning process. Here is what I found.
If there is movement in the sound, the tube is out of tune. There must be a straight sound for the tube to be tuned properly. Can the movements be removed? Yes. I also was able to tune the F#6 and G6 so that the fundamental sound stays longer so the ear can recognize the note and not hear the overtone. We had many complaints on those 2 tubes. After making adjustments, the complaints stopped. I also found that the F#5 thru A#5 had massive amounts of movement. Many of these tubes were scrapped (55 gallon barrels full) I made changes in the manufacturing process and reduced the scrap by 95%. To find out if a tube is out of tune, I look at each tube as having 6 sides, 3 on the side you are facing and 3 on the back side, Tap the tube on the right side and listen. Is the sound straight or is there movement. Then hit the left side is it straight or is there movement. You will always have a straight sound on one of these sides. Set your strobe to the straight side then tap the other side it will be either sharp or flat making the tube out of tune. These are just a few changes I made at Musser. I hope I was of some help. I also had the honor of re-working Mike Oldfield’s set that was used in his recording.
Best regards,
Bob Piotrowski