Method Toolboxes for ringers
7. Minimus Toolbox
What is minimus?
Methods that are rung on four bells are an excellent introduction to method ringing. They are quick to ring and with only three other bells to watch, the ropesight is easier to aquire.
Change ringing on four bells is quite physically demanding, requiring larger changes of speed. It therefore helps develop the habit of forward planning in placing a bell correctly. On lower numbers, changes of place need to be made well in advance – the larger gaps between blows make it less easy to quickly adjust to the bell in front of you. Ringing well on four bells is an excellent test of bell handling, striking, and thinking ahead.
Plain minimus methods (where the treble plain hunts from first to fourth place and back) are only 24 changes long, so it is possible to develop ringing skills without having to learn too much method work. Why 24 changes? This is the maximum number of permutations of four things and hence four bells:
4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x1 = 24 changes
Although there are fewer methods available for four bells, each one offers a new challenge and introduces concepts such as awareness of treble passing, dodging, ringing a reverse method, understanding a double method, making internal places, wrong-hunting, counting blows, striking and ropesight.
Standard plain minimus methods do not require any calls to ring a full extent as all 24 possible changes are rung in a plain course.
Methods
The standard 11 minimus methods are: Plain Bob, Reverse Bob, Double Bob, Canterbury, Reverse Canterbury, Double Canterbury, St Nicholas, Reverse St Nicholas, Single Court, Reverse Court and Double Court.
There are plenty more types of minimus methods to explore which are less commonly rung, including principles, alliance methods, treble bob methods, differential methods, twin hunt methods and methods which don’t have palindromic symmetry.
Supporting resources
- Successful dodging – what is a dodge and how to strike it successfully
- How are methods written out?