In the French countryside where my father is coming from, every house had an external bell for the diner/lunch whatever important call. You quickly learnt to recognize the different tones and ways to ring the bell.

My parents had also the bell at the bottom of the stairs... and as a father of 3, I understand all the parents having one!

My grandmother had a kind of wall-mounted metal xylophone at the foot of the stairs to call the family for meals.

Yeah we used a cowbell- farm living.