The melody consists of four different permutations of four pitches in the key of E major plus one arrangement omitting B3 and repeating E4. The pitches are B3, E4, F4 and G4. The notes used are:
G4, F4, E4, B3
E4, G4, F4, B3
E4, F4, G4, E4
G4, E4, F4, B3
B3, F4, G4, E4
played as three crotchets and a minim. These are always played in the order 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and each set is used twice every hour. Set 1 is played at the first quarter, sets 2 and 3 at the half, sets 4, 5 and 1 at the third quarter, and sets 2, 3, 4 and 5 at the hour, as follows. Note that these sounds have been recreated as electronic, midi files and do not necessarily represent the actual sounds of the bells:
First quarter:
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History
It was written in 1793 for a new clock in St Mary the Great, the University Church in Cambridge. There is some doubt over exactly who composed it: Revd Dr Joseph Jowett, Regius Professor of Civil Law, was given the job, but he was probably assisted by either Dr John Randall, who was the Professor of Music from 1755, or his brilliant undergraduate pupil, William Crotch. This chime is traditionally, though without substantiation, believed to be a set of variations on the four notes that make up the fifth and sixth bars of "I know that my Redeemer liveth" from Handel's Messiah. This is why the chime is also played by the bells of the so-called 'Red Tower' in Halle, the native town of Handel. In 1851, the chime was adopted by Edmund Beckett Denison for the new clock at the Palace of Westminster, where Big Ben hangs. From there its fame spread. It is now one of the most commonly used chimes for striking clocks. According to the church records of Trinity Episcopal Church, this chime sequence was incorporated into a tower clock mechanism by the E. Howard & Co., Boston, MA. The clock and chime in Trinity's steeple base was dedicated in December 1875. It holds the distinction of being the first tower clock in the United States to sound the Cambridge Quarters.
Other uses
Many Football team fans use the supporter chant which were inspired by the Westminster Chimes.
The chime is also used in some doorbells and school bells. Most schools in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea play the chimes to signal the end and beginning of classes.
Some electronic civil defense sirens in the United States manufactured by Federal Signal Corporation such as the Electronic Outdoor Warning Siren, Modulator, and the Directional Speaker Array sound off the chimes on a daily basis. It is also used in Japan and the Philippines by some loudspeakers installed in public areas as a time signal.
On the Japanese game showPanel Quiz Attack 25, which airs on TV Asahi, the chimes signal the end of the game when there are any boxes left on the board.
In Indonesia, train stations play the chimes as a sign of train departure and arrival. Upon arrival of a train, the chimes will be looped continuously until it departs from the station, which may last up to 10–15 minutes.
In Ralph Vaughan Williams' A London Symphony, the half hour of the Westminster Quarters is heard near the beginning of the work and the first three phrases of the hour near the end.
Louis Vierne's organ piece Carillon de Westminster is a set of variations on one of the five chimes.
Cyrillus Kreek's Requiem uses the chimes in the Introitus.
The rock band U2 incorporated the Third Quarter chime as a guitar harmonic in the song "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" in 1980.
The Pikmin series uses the sound to signify the onset of sunset in any given day, encouraging the player to gather their Pikmin.
At Yankee Stadium, the chimes are played whenever a member of the New York Yankees scores a run, a tradition that began at their original ballpark.
A variation of the chime is played by the Los Angeles LakersNBAbasketball team at home games whenever the Lakers make a three-point shot.
For the satirical TV seriesYes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, about a British politician and his interactions with the civil servants who nominally serve him, the theme music was composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst and is largely based on the chimes. When asked in an interview about its Westminster influence, Hazlehurst replied, "That's all it is. It's the easiest thing I've ever done."
In the BBC TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, Hyacinth Bucket's doorbell plays the chime electronically.
It is used in the first three installments of the Five Nights At Freddy’sseries to signal the end of a night. It can be heard on a grandfather clock in the fourth installment as ambience.
Mosques and churches in Indonesia regularly play the chimes via grandfather clocks.
Words
The prayer inscribed on a plaque in the Big Ben clock room reads: The conventional prayers are: An alternative prayer changes the third line: A variation on this, to the same tune, is prayed at the end of a Brownie meeting in the UK and Canada:
