How to Change the Ringing on Handbells
Handbell ringing always starts and ends in sets of rounds. A round is when a group rings the bells from the highest pitch down to the lowest. You can do rounds with four bells or more, although most changes are done with six to eight bells. The highest bell is called the treble, and the lowest bell is called the tenor. Handbells are numbered from the highest bell (number 1) to the lowest bell (which depends on the number of bells). Here, we discuss how to do the "Cross and Stretch" change ringing for handbells; the instructions are for each bell ringer.
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Instructions
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1
Put out a set of handbells consisting of either six or eight bells, arranged C to A or C to C, with the low C on the left-hand side.
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2
Pick up your set of handbells.
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3
Ring the bells from right to left, starting with the first person in the row on the right-hand side. As that person finishes ringing his bells, the second person rings hers and so on until the final person in the row is reached. At this point, the first person begins by ringing his again. This motion of each person ringing bells until the group reaches the end constitutes a round, which is good practice.
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4
Cross your hands at the end of the final round, and put your bells on the table in front of you. Uncross your hands when you're done.
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5
Pick your bells back up and ring from right to left, as you did the first time.
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6
Stretch out your arms and put your bells in front of your neighbor. Release the bells and pick up the new bells on the table in front of you.
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7
Ring your bells from right to left again.
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8
Repeat Steps 4 to 8 as many times as desired.
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Tips & Warnings
In Step 7, if you have one of the two bells on the ends, don't put these bells in front of your neighbor; instead, keep hanging onto them. When doing the stretch, be careful not to collide with your neighbor. The changing of the handbells entails a rolling motion. While you are on one end making your changes, the bell ringers on the other end are ringing their bells, for example. Rounds should be rung with an even beat. When you make the change, the round should start on the next beat without any pause.
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- Photo Credit flickr.com/photos/loyaldefender2004/1086113390/
