Carillonist Karel Keldermans to perform at Canberra's National Carillon

But anyone planning a picnic, a walk or a bike ride within earshot of the National Carillon on Sunday will get that chance as Karel Keldermans takes to the landmark's batons.

The North American carillonist has been invited to perform on Sunday afternoon during his visit to run professional development training in Canberra.

Keldermans said he had visited Canberra three or four times previously and enjoyed playing the instrument perched above Aspen Island.

"What happens in a lot of places in Europe is it will start with a small instrument, then they'll make it bigger and expand and the tower wasn't designed for it," he said.

"Anytime anywhere in the world somebody sees this figure, people will say, 'Oh, that's Canberra'. It's that direct visual image, plus it's fun to play, it's easy to play, so I would rate it highly."

Senior carillonist Lyn Fuller invited Keldermans as part of her three-year strategy to train local performers and expose them to the talents and guidance of international artists.

She said Australia's isolation made it difficult to connect with movements in the global carillon scene.

Keldermans provided guidance and training at the start of the program and returned to oversee its conclusion.

"We hope we'll do it all again; it raises the level of playing all the time," Fuller said.

"While 20 years ago I'd walk across the bridge and couldn't understand what was being played, I can now."

Carillonist Anna Wong has taken part in the development training program and said it had been invaluable to understanding the instrument.

She said she felt privileged to have learnt from experts in the field.

"To see that history, the evolution of the technique and understand why we do this is pretty amazing," she said.

"We only have two instruments like this in Australia, so to share ideas and to understand the global context as well is so important."

The Sunday concert will run from 12.30pm to 1.20pm at the National Carillon.