Comment We've just this minute had a new doorbell fitted as the old one was too quiet, and the electrician - who knew I'm English - has fitted an incredibly loud, long set of Big Ben chimes designed to make all our friends wet themselves laughing. The tune that Big Ben plays contains only four notes – G sharp, F sharp, E and B – and different parts of the tune are played at quarter past, half past and quarter to the hour in Westminster.As conservative MPs campaign for Big Ben to chime on ‘Brexit Day’, we’re delving into the history of the most famous clock tower – and bell – in the worldThe tune was adopted by Westminster in the mid-19th century.First things first, did you know that Big Ben is the nickname for a bell inside the famous clock tower?It was written in 1793 for a new clock in St Mary the Great in Cambridge but it’s not clear exactly who composed it.The longest version of the tune is only heard every hour when it is followed by the strikes for the hour.The tower itself was simply called the Clock Tower until 2012 when it was renamed Elizabeth Tower to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.But that version isn’t actually complete – the chime that’s heard at quarter past isn’t heard in this long version (seen here at the bottom):The job was given to one Dr Joseph Jowett but he may have been helped by Dr John Randall, a Professor of Music, or one of his pupils, William Crotch (a composer and organist).So if you’re missing the famous sound of Big Ben while its tower is being renovated, here are just a few of the places you can hear the tune: Description: Big Ben sound. The melody consists of four different permutations of four pitches in the key of E major plus one arrangement omitting B3 and repeating E4 (3). The tune that Big Ben plays contains only four notes – G sharp, F sharp, E and B – and different parts of the tune are played at quarter past, half past and quarter to the hour in Westminster. Big Ben melody known as British in Germany? This is a melody of tower bells playing the Westminster quarters theme. The pitches are B3, E4, F♯4 and G♯4. A great SFX for your media production.