The bell effect is a musical composition and arrangement technique that instructs non-bell instrument instrumentalists to imitate the sound of bells. They can achieve this playing notes in a bell-like pattern and then holding the tone to sustain the chord, much like a set of bells. The bell effect is named after the sound made when a bell is struck, which is a sharply struck ringing out followed a gradually declining resonant chord. Bell tones are the bell-like tones used in the bell effect. Melodic lines in the bell tone style are frequently repeated patterns that sound like automated church bells.
The bell tones used to create the bell effect can be indicated in a few different ways when scored on printed notation. Composers sometimes use an accent over each note followed a decrescendo symbol to indicate that they want this sound, but other times they simply score the notes and write “bells” in italicized text within the staff. Because the bell effect is common in many musical genres, seasoned instrumentalists are familiar with playing the indicated passage in bell tone style.
Each instrument has its own way of imitating the sound of a bell. Bell tones occur naturally on string instruments such as the guitar when the string is simply plucked and rung out in the designated pattern. A wind instrument player imitates the bell sound making a loud sound with a hard tongue, then fading out the sound with less air flow. Cymbals and other mallet instruments are simply struck to produce a bell sound.
The purpose of the bell effect in most compositions is to simulate the sound of musical bells, such as church bells, ringing out and blending together. This is a very common technique in Christmas music. The bell effect is sometimes used on instruments that play a musical line in addition to actual bells. Because musical church bells were typically sold in groups of six to eighteen, each bell sounding a different note, the notes used in bell tone passages are designed to sound like those found on actual church bells.
Allowing the tone to ring out for the entire duration of the note is an important part of effectively performing a bell tone. Many musicians have a natural tendency to cut the note off early because supporting a note while decreasing its intensity can be difficult, but a true bell effect relies on the decrescendo sounding out fully. To control the volume and length of the bell decrescendo, many conductors use hand signals.