Automation

Carillons are the world’s largest musical instruments. Their sound creates a special vibe in towns and cities.

They are played by hand with the aid of a typical baton keyboard. The keys of these keyboards are mechanically connected to the bell clappers.

Modern carillons are not only played by hand using a carillon keyboard, in most cases they are made to play automatically. We first introduced our carillon computer systems in 1983. Obviously they have greatly evolved since then, which now makes them the world’s most widely installed systems.

The automatic carillon system that announces the time is at the root of the hand-played carillon. This automatic carillon playing continues to resound from all carillon towers on the hour, the half-hour and quite often on the quarters too. Automatic chimes evolved from the historical music drum with (adjustable) pegs into computer-controlled systems.

Clock-o-matic’s APOLLO® carillon computer meets the strictest safety standards to automatically provide a set of bells with music. The great convenience of use enables carillonneurs to easily program and change music.