Editing Bronze (section)

===Musical instruments===
[[File:Bianzhong.jpg|thumb|Chinese bells:[[Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng]], [[Spring and Autumn period]] (476–221 BCE)]]
[[File:Picsingingbowls.jpg|thumb|[[Standing bell|Singing bowl]]s from the 16th to 18th centuries. Annealed bronze continues to be made in the Himalayas]]
Bronze is the preferred metal for [[bell (instrument)|bells]] in the form of a high tin bronze alloy known as [[bell metal]], which is typically about 23% tin.

Nearly all professional [[cymbal]]s are made from bronze, which gives a desirable balance of durability and [[timbre]]. Several types of bronze are used, commonly [[B20 (bronze)|B20 bronze]], which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver, or the tougher B8 bronze made from 8% tin and 92% copper. As the tin content in a bell or cymbal rises, the timbre drops.<ref>{{cite book|first=Lothar|last=Von Falkenhausen|title=Suspended Music: Chime-Bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|publisher=University of California Press|year=1993|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ve1h53NTNW0C&pg=PA106|isbn=978-0-520-07378-4|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526225554/https://books.google.com/books?id=ve1h53NTNW0C&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106|archive-date=2016-05-26}}</ref>

Bronze is also used for the windings of steel and [[nylon]] strings of various [[String instrument|stringed instruments]] such as the [[double bass]], piano, [[harpsichord]], and guitar. Bronze strings are commonly reserved on pianoforte for the lower pitch tones, as they possess a superior sustain quality to that of high-tensile steel.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |last=McCreight |first=Tim |title=Metals technic: a collection of techniques for metalsmiths |publisher=Brynmorgen Press |date=1992 |isbn=0-9615984-3-3}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}</ref>

Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck [[idiophones]] around the world, notably bells, singing bowls, [[gongs]], cymbals, and other idiophones from Asia. Examples include [[Tibet]]an [[singing bowls]], temple bells of many sizes and shapes, [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[gamelan]], and other bronze [[musical instrument]]s. The earliest bronze archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BCE, including flat plates probably suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>{{cite book |last=LaPlantz |first=David |title=Jewelry – Metalwork 1991 Survey: Visions – Concepts – Communication |publisher=S. LaPlantz |date=1991 |isbn=0-942002-05-9}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> Ancient bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years. Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3600 BCE.

Some companies are now making [[saxophone]]s from phosphor bronze (3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus content).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sax.co.uk/signature-custom-alto-sax-phosphor-bronze-big-bell.ir |title=www.sax.co.uk |access-date=18 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811002147/http://www.sax.co.uk/signature-custom-alto-sax-phosphor-bronze-big-bell.ir |archive-date=11 August 2014 }}</ref> Bell bronze/B20 is used to make the tone rings of many professional model [[banjo]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first=Roger H. |last=Siminoff |title=Siminoff's Luthiers Glossary |location=New York |publisher=Hal Leonard |date=2008 |page=13 |isbn=9781423442929}}</ref> The tone ring is a heavy (usually {{cvt|3|lb|disp=semicolon}}) folded or arched metal ring attached to a thick wood rim, over which a skin, or most often, a plastic membrane (or head) is stretched – it is the bell bronze that gives the banjo a crisp powerful lower register and clear bell-like treble register.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Bronze? {{!}} National Bell Festival |url=https://www.bells.org/blog/what-bronze |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.bells.org}}</ref>