Handbell Toolbox

1.1. Overview

Handbells for non-ringers

These resources make no assumptions about what you know and explain things that existing ringers have already learnt. It is quite possible to not ring tower bells, ever, and become a very accomplished handbell ringer, ringing well beyond what is covered in this set of resources.

Handbells for tower bell ringers

Particularly in the early chapters you might want to skim or even skip some of the explanations which are targetted at non-ringers.

However, ringing methods on handbells is different to ringing them on tower bells. You don't ring two blue lines, instead you learn how to ring by position, knowing where the first bell of your pair is going to strike and then ringing the second relative to it. So, however experienced a tower bell ringer you might be, you need to learn the relative positions found in Plain Hunt (of which there are three when ringing 6 bells, four when ringing 8 bells etc.)

You then progress to ringing methods, using a combination of places, grid, lines, and structure (based on where the treble is or what the first bell of their pair is doing). These different approaches need to be learnt and practised.

Handbells for teachers

The final chapter of this book is for handbell teachers. The various pages should be used in conjunction with the corresponding pages in the earlier chapters for ringers.

The Learning the Ropes Handbell Scheme

The Learning the Ropes Handbell scheme is a progressive scheme that allows you to develop your handbell scheme in small, easily-achievable steps. Your job is to learn and then practise these steps so that ringing them becomes automatic before moving on to the next step.

An important part of the scheme is to learn how to call on handbells. The handbells scheme emphasises calling and conducting more than the equivalent tower bell scheme. There are two reasons for this. First, with half the number of people ringing in a handbell touch, it is mathematically necessary to train more conductors. Secondly, handbell bands often develop and grow in isolation and with the need to ring quarter peals to embed methods, handbell conductors must also be developed in isolation.

Getting started

These resources will take you step-by-step through ringing handbells which you can use as a learner, a teacher or as a band. A good start would be to listen to this webinar.