Ting-tang striking The ting-tang striking method is phonetically named for the rhythmic ‘ting tang’ sound that is made when the quarters are struck on the clock’s two bells, which have different pitches. When the quarter is struck, a high-pitched ‘ting’ is immediately followed by a lower key ‘tang’. A common example of this sound is the familiar ‘ding dong’ sound of a doorbell. Ting-tang striking sounds out the time by striking the hour on the low bell: one for 1:00, two for 2:00, three for 3:00, and so on. Then, the quarter, half hour and three-quarters hour are struck on the two bells: ‘ting tang’ for the quarter, ‘ting tang ting tang’ for half past, and ‘ting tang ting tang ting tang’ for three-quarters past. Note that the phonetic interpretation of the ‘ting tang’ sound can be culturally specific. For example, in the USA it is common for clocks using this striking method to be described as sounding out ‘bim bam’ or ‘ding dong’ instead of ‘ting tang’.
