Jef Denijn (1862-1941), the famous Belgian carillonneur, founded the best-known Campanology School in Mechelen (Malines), Belgium.
The art of carillon playing is called campanology. The carillon is a group of cast bells (23 or more) tuned to a chromatic musical scale of more than two octaves. The carillon is hung in a fixed position in a tower. It is played manually by a keyboard called a clavier, or automatically by a clockwork mechanism or electro-pneumatically.
The lowest tones are produced by the largest bells, some of which weigh several tons; the highest tones are made by bells weighing as little as 4.5 to 9 kg (10 to 20 lb). When the carillon is played manually, the clapper of each bell is wired to the clavier keys; the bellmaster, or carillonneur, depresses the clavier keys with a closed hand, and the clapper strikes the inside of the bell. The essential differences between a chime and a carillon, both of which are constructed in the same way, are the number of bells and the method of tuning; the chime is tuned to the diatonic scale and has fewer than 23 bells.
The art of casting bells and making large carillons was perfected in Europe between the 15th and 18th centuries, particularly in Belgium. The largest carillon in the world is the Rockefeller Memorial Carillon in Riverside Church, in New York City. It contains 74 bells, of which the deepest-tuned, weighing 20.5 tons, is the heaviest in existence.
The so-called electro-mechanical carillons are electronic devices made of tiny bars of bell metal that are struck by hammers operated by keyboards.