Cowbell (instrument) - Tuned Cowbells

Tuned cowbells or Almglocken, sometimes known as Alpine Bells (Alpenglocken de:Alpenglocken in German), typically refer to bulbous brass bells that are used to play music, sometimes as a novelty act or tourist attraction in the northern Alps, and sometimes in classical music, as in Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony. Since they are tuned differently to distinguish individual animals, they can be collected "from the pasture" in random tunings, but commercial sets in equal temperament are also available. The metal clapper is retained, and they sound much more noisy than handbells, which are otherwise used similarly in ensembles. Composers who included almglocken among their musical palette include Tōru Takemitsu, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Roy Harter, John Adams, Joseph Schwantner, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Olivier Messiaen used multiple chromatic sets of clapperless cowbells in several of his compositions, notably Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum and Couleurs de la cité celeste.