Chimes are a kind of percussion instrument in ancient my country. They are made of bronze. They are composed of oblate bells of different sizes arranged in order of pitch and hung on a huge bell frame with a T-shaped bell. Using wooden hammers and long sticks to strike the copper bells separately can produce different tones. Because each bell has a different tone, if you strike it according to the music score, you can play beautiful music.

According to documentary records and unearthed cultural relics, it was found that my country had chimes in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The chimes at that time were usually composed of three large and small bells. From the late Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the number of chime bells gradually increased, including groups of 9 bells and groups of 13 bells, etc... In 1978, a Zeng Houyi from the Warring States Period (about 433 BC) in Suixian County, Hubei Province The chimes unearthed from the tomb are the most eye-catching set of chimes ever discovered. This set of chimes is large enough to fill the entire stage of a modern concert hall. It consists of 19 button bells, 45 Yong bells, and a total of 65 pieces of Dafu bells given by King Hui of Chu. These clocks are hung on the bell stand in 8 groups on 3 levels. The 3 groups hanging directly on the upper level are called button bells, and the 5 groups hanging diagonally on the middle and lower levels are called Yong bells. The smallest button bell is 20.4 cm high and has a mass of 2.4 kilograms, which can play a role in setting the tone during performance. The largest bass bell is 153.4 centimeters high and has a mass of 203.6 kilograms. The total mass of the complete set of chimes is more than 2500 kilograms. The bell frame is made of copper and wood. Its shape is in the shape of a right-angled ruler (such as ┏), with a total length of more than 10 meters, three floors up and down, and a height of 273 meters. It is supported by 6 bronze warriors with swords and several columns. The whole set of chimes and beams is magnificent and spectacular. During the performance, the band consists of several people, using 6 T-shaped wooden hammers to hit the high and middle notes, and two long sticks to hit the bass. According to research by acoustic experts, each bell in the chime can emit two different tones. As long as the marked position on the bell is struck accurately, it can emit tones that match a certain frequency. The entire set of chimes can play the sounds on a modern piano. All black and white key sounds. The tuning frequency of this set of chimes is 256.4 Hz, which is almost exactly the same frequency as the middle "C" on the current piano. Experimental performances after being unearthed have shown that although they have been buried underground for more than 2,000 years, their musical performance is still very good. Its pronunciation is accurate, the timbre is beautiful, the range can span as many as five octaves, and the tones are relatively complete. Therefore, classical music It can play both traditional and modern music, and is also very effective when used as accompaniment.

The chime music repertoire includes:

01 Bamboo Branch Poems (composition of seeds and chimes)

02 Moonlight Night on the Spring River (ancient music ensemble)

03 Qu Yuan Wendu (ancient music ensemble)

04 Chu Shang (ancient music ensemble)

05 Orchid (guqin and chimes)

06 Guoshang (ancient music) Ensemble)