9 QUESTIONS ABOUT WIND CHIMES ARE HELPFULLY ANSWERED

9 HELPFUL QUESTIONS ABOUT WIND CHIMES

1. What are Wind Chimes?
Wind Chimes are an arrangement of loosely attached pieces, whether small or large, of various types of material and shapes, that are suspended and situated so as to move with the wind, thus producing a desired sound. The pieces may be anything from shells, to wood, to bamboo, to metal (of some sort), to glass, to pottery, to old used silverware, tools, CD discs, or whatever. Some are designed to be more musical, such as bells, bamboo tubes, or metal tubes or rods, where the pitch can be more precisely controlled. Others produce sound in a more haphazard way, such as glass pieces, or shells.

2. How long have wind chimes been around?
- Wind chimes have been found at archeological sites in Southeast Asia c. 3000 B.C..
- In the Mediterranean region, the Egyptians were casting bronze bells by 2000 B.C..
- China began casting bells by 1100 B.C..
- By the second century B.C., bells were hung on the corners of large pagodas.
- During the Roman era, wind chimes (tintinnabula) were hung in gardens and porticoes.
- In the 1800’s A.D., wind chimes spread, along with other Asian influences, to Europe and America.

3. What uses have wind chimes served?
- They have been used, supposedly, to attract good spirits and fend off evil spirits.
- It is reported that the Celts hung wind chimes in the forest to spook hostile invaders.
- Wind chimes have been used as a scare device to rid unwanted creatures from the garden and orchard.
- Chimes provide pleasant, tranquil, background sounds for mental and emotional relaxation, and simple enjoyment.
- Wind chimes can be decorative and ornamental objects, from simple to elaborate, with interesting sound effects.
- Wind chimes have served as weather indicators. By positioning chimes of varying sounds in locations of differing wind activity, one would be alerted to changing weather patterns. Noting the particular sounds produced, one could tell the direction and rigor of the wind.

4. What are wind chimes made of?
Wind chimes can be made of all sorts of materials, both natural and manmade. Some of the natural materials have been shells, stones, bones, bamboo pieces, wood sticks, and the like. Other chime pieces include metals and metal alloys: copper, aluminum, steel, brass, bronze, tin, silver and gold. Chimes have been constructed using various forms of glass and ceramics. Even used and discarded items like old CDs, old tools, worn silverware, obsolete keys, and so on, will achieve the purpose. In fact, almost any objects that make a sound when banged together could serve as the sound producers in wind chimes.

5. What is the size range of wind chimes?
Chimes can range from tiny to huge in size. They have been used for earrings, and they have been built to a height of at least 14 feet. Size relates to pitch, so the small ones will have a high, tinkling sound, and the huge ones, of the metal tube type, will have a low booming sound.

6. What is the range of cost for wind chimes?
Chimes can be as cheap as the materials you have laying around that can be used to make your own chimes, or they can be as expensive at the super duper Basso Profundo of Music of the Spheres, which rings in close to $3000! Of course, most will be somewhere in between in cost. There are many options below $100, and others that that run in the $100-300 range.

7. How do I pick the right one for me?
- Decide on the intended use and purpose for your chimes.
- Choose your sound preference.
- Decide on how much your budget will allow you to spend.

8. Can I hear them before I purchase them?
Some producers and marketers of wind chimes give you the opportunity (online) to hear a sample of the chimes you are interested in.

9. Who are some of the producers of wind chimes?
- Music of the Spheres, specializing in tuned, tubular wind chimes
- Woodstock, which offers four collections
- Cohasset Wind Chimes (made from bamboo, coconuts, etc.)
- QMT Windchimes
- Corinthian Bells Wind Chimes
- Arias Chimes
- Heritage Pewter Wind Chimes
- J.W. Stannard Chimes
- Spirit Winds Wind Chimes
- Good Directions Wind Chimes
- Shenandoah Melodies
- Weatherland Chimes
- Grace Note Wind Chimes

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About Dan Bratt invites you to visit his latest website at Music of the Spheres Wind Chimes , where further information is available on wind chimes, including a discussion of

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