Wind chimes or Aeolian chimes are often hollow or solid metal, glass, or wooden tubes which are usually hung outside of a building and are intended to be played by the wind, which causes the chimes to strike each other or metal, wood, or rubber balls which may be hung in the centre
A set of small wind chimes
The pipe material helps determine the “timbre” or “voice” of the pipe, but the air column determines the pitch. Note that with a whistle, such as an organ pipe, the pitch is determined primarily by the length of the air column. It is the air that vibrates. In a wind chime, the pipe itself is being struck and the air column has little to do with things
The idea seems to be that if it is moved by the wind and makes a noise, it is a wind chime. Many people accept bamboo, stones, horseshoes, mechanics tools, PVC pipe, glass, seashells, old silverware, etc. Every material makes a different sound. , as chimes. The sounds these make are not tunable to specific notes and range from pleasant tinkling to dull thuds. Chimes are also made of materials other than metal or wood and in shapes other than tubes or rods
Wind chimes are thought to be good luck in parts of Asia and are used in Feng Shui. In Japan they produce pleasant ringing sounds and are hung by the windows during hot humid summers in order to bring cooling relief. Frequency is determined by the length, width, thickness, and material. This is common practice in high-quality wind chimes, which are also usually hung so the center ball strikes the center of the wind chime’s length. There are formulas that help predict the proper length to achieve a particular note, though a bit of fine tuning is often needed. Wind chimes produce inharmonic spectra, although if they are hung at about 1/5th of their length , the higher partials are dampened and the fundamental is brought out
The tone quality will depend on how you strike a tube . The tone will depend on the material , whether you are using a solid cylinder or a tube, and if a tube, the wall thickness. It may also depend on the hanging method
Different types of wind chimes have been used in recent years in classical music are listed as a percussion instrument. The following is a brief list of composers works who have used them:
Chimes may be used to observe changes in wind directions. For instance, if a chime is positioned on the north side of the house only a north wind will move it. It may alert the inhabitants to a weather change. Conversely, for a south wind a chime is mounted on the south side
Japanese wind chime called Fūrin