Double Bell
This double bell is played by striking it with a wood beater and produces two pitches a fourth apart. Single and double bells made from forged iron are widespread in West Africa and have many different names. Agogo, a term used by the Yoruba and other Nigerian peoples, is also found in Afro-Caribbean cultures. The bells are sounded to send messages, make announcements, and perform divination. The bell's timbre is varied by letting it ring freely or by damping it against the chest.
Handheld clapperless bells are struck on the outer surface, providing the player with the control needed to articulate many complex rhythmic patterns common in African music. One bell pattern is a timeline rhythm, a pattern that is the most unchanging and constant in the ensemble; it acts as a reference pulse for other instruments. The timeline rhythm may be associated with an event, a dance, a person, or a deity and changes to meet the particular circumstance. Other instruments, including drums, may beat this rhythm, but bells, with their penetrating timbre, can be heard above the dense textures of an ensemble. Clapperless bells are usually struck with a wooden stick; their tone is changed by striking near the open end or in the center or is muffled by pressing the bells against the player's body or the ground. Techniques producing tonal variety may be performed in rapid succession, giving the bell pattern a melodic, as well as rhythmic, character. Next to drums, bells are the most frequently used instruments and are essential to rhythmic stability.
Handheld clapperless bells are struck on the outer surface, providing the player with the control needed to articulate many complex rhythmic patterns common in African music. One bell pattern is a timeline rhythm, a pattern that is the most unchanging and constant in the ensemble; it acts as a reference pulse for other instruments. The timeline rhythm may be associated with an event, a dance, a person, or a deity and changes to meet the particular circumstance. Other instruments, including drums, may beat this rhythm, but bells, with their penetrating timbre, can be heard above the dense textures of an ensemble. Clapperless bells are usually struck with a wooden stick; their tone is changed by striking near the open end or in the center or is muffled by pressing the bells against the player's body or the ground. Techniques producing tonal variety may be performed in rapid succession, giving the bell pattern a melodic, as well as rhythmic, character. Next to drums, bells are the most frequently used instruments and are essential to rhythmic stability.
Artwork Details
- Title: Double Bell
- Date: late 19th century
- Geography: Republic of Cameroon
- Culture: Cameroonian
- Medium: Iron
- Dimensions: Height: 13 in. (33 cm)
Diameter (Of each bell): 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm) - Classification: Idiophone-Struck-bell-without clapper
- Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
- Object Number: 89.4.1623
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
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