20th-century musical instrument in which the acoustical tone source—metal tubes, rods, or bars struck by hammers—is picked up electromagnetically or electrostatically and converted into electrical vibrations that are highly amplified and fed into loudspeakers placed in a belfry or other exterior site. It is played from an electric keyboard—sometimes an organ manual—activating solenoid (electromagnetic) switches, which throw small hammers against the tone source, resulting in a ringing sound suggestive of bells (bell). Although generally considered an imitative instrument replacing cast bells, it more properly should be regarded as an independent instrument existing on its own merits. The electronic carillon ranges two to five octaves, the electronic chime less than two octaves.

The precursor of the electronic carillon, developed in the United States in 1916, was a set of sizable bronze tubes vertically suspended in a belfry and struck by hammers electrically activated from a keyboard located at will and connected by cable. Closed at one end, these tubes, known as tubular bells, resembled orchestral tubular bells, or chimes, except for size. The outdoor belfry device was an enlarged version of smaller organ chimes of brass tubes, which were introduced in 1888. In 1923 the tubes were given amplifications, and in 1926, automatic roll play.

In the 1930s small rods of brass or bronze were introduced as a tone source and proved more economical than tubes. With the rods, attempts were made to approximate more closely the sound of the cast bell. In “fixed-free” suspension (one end fastened and the other free) a rod produces two prominent partials a major sixth apart. To produce a given note, two rods are struck at selected points. Only the desired sound-wave frequencies are picked up and amplified, the electronic pickups being placed at nodal (nonvibrating) points in the vibration pattern of unwanted partials. When the composite sound is electronically modified, the result offers a reasonable imitation of bells in the upper register but a superficial one in the lower. Two elements are relevant: larger bells have a pronounced “strike tone”—a pitch sensation of sharper timbre at impact—that the rod does not reproduce; and the partials of a bell decay at independent rates, a behaviour characteristic of metal cast in the shape of Western flared-mouth bells and not duplicated in the vibrating rod.

Irrespective of musical considerations, the electronic carillon or chime possesses certain advantages in comparison with cast bells. It is generally less expensive, its equipment requires little space, and its loudspeakers can be mounted on a roof or other elevated area without need of a tower. It is also possible to include indoor speakers, thus giving more listening flexibility, and the keyboard can be placed wherever desired. For variety, some instruments include other types of musical sound, such as the harp or celesta; the appropriate timbres (tone colours) are produced by selective pickup of partials in the rods. In churches the rods can also be combined with the organ. Automatic roll play with clock control may also be used to operate the instrument.