Pick your own melody you want to hear? How fun is that! Only on the Campus Carillon of the University of Twente does this possibility exist. The tower as a jukebox! How does that work?

Choose one of the songs and then specify the date and time at which the automatic playing mechanism should play this song. Because the tower is not supposed to play songs all day long, only one song can be requested every 15 minutes: between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day. And that for only € 2,50.

Do you have a special request? If so, please send at least two weeks in advance a message to campuscarilloncircle@gmail.com. The campus carillonists will then check if it is possible to make an arrangement of the song. Making that arrangement upon request costs € 60,00.

Automatic playing mechanism

When you hear the bells of the Campus Carillon, it is often a carillonist playing the instrument. But it may also be that a melody is played automatically. That is often the case when a short melody sounds just before the full hour. The music should attract the attention of passersby, because immediately after the melody is played the number of hours is struck so that everyone is once again aware of the correct time.

The carillonist uses the clappers to play the bells. The automatic playing mechanism of the Campus Carillon activates electromagnetic hammers. Based on a MIDI file, the appropriate electromagnets are energized. That way a melody can be played automatically.

If you listen carefully, you can easily hear whether a carillonist is playing music or the automatic playing mechanism is at work. This is because a carillonist can use the baton keyboard to make the bells sound softer or louder and also make tempo changes much easier audible. A carillonist can therefore play music with feeling. The electromagnetic hammers of the Campus Carillon do not have these possibilities.