Strike tone

The strike tone, strike note, or tap note, is the note one hears immediately upon striking a bell. It may be called the fundamental, though this may be confusing. The first sound when a bell is rung is metal on metal (the clapper against the bell body). "This atonal strike sound includes many inharmonic partials that die out quickly, giving way to a strike note or strike tone that is dominated by the prominent partials of the bell. Most observers identify the metallic strike note as having a pitch at or near the frequency of the strong second partial (prime or fundamental), but to others its pitch is an octave higher. Finally, as the sound of the bell ebbs, the slowly decaying hum tone (an octave below the prime, see subharmonic) lingers on." "When a bell is properly struck, the first note which prominently attracts the attention of the ear is what is known as the strike note, tap note, or fundamental, this is what we call the note of the bell. The low sound heard after the strike note has lost its intensity is called the hum. There are also present a minor third and perfect fifth in the first octave, and a major third and perfect fifth in the second octave."