Method Toolboxes for teachers

Once your student can ring their bell with others they need to learn how to put their bell in the right place in the row. They need to know where in the row to ring their bell and develop the techniques to place it accurately in this place:

• Listening – they need to be able to hear their bell in the row.
• Ropesight – they need to be able to see which bell they are going to follow next in the row.
• Rhythm – they need to develop a feeling for the rhythm of the rows.

None of these skills can be learnt by reading a book and they develop over time. Some ringers find them easier to acquire than others. Like many skills in ringing they are best learned in small, incremental steps.

Your goal is to teach your ringer to produce rows that are evenly spaced with no “clips” or “gaps”.

Listening

Ringers are frequently told to listen to their bell. It comes more naturally to some than others. But what does listening to your bell actually mean? Basically, that a ringer can identify their bell when it is ringing amongst other bells and ensure it rings rhythmically amongst them. There are various exercises you can use to develop the listening processes that experienced ringers do subconsciously.

Ringers need to be able to know which place in the row they are ringing in. Right from the beginning you need to teach them to hear and count their place in the row.

Training can start by listening and practising using ringing software on their PC. Similar exercises can be performed using mobile phone apps or you can get your ringers to attend a listening & striking workshop. The use of a simulator is invaluable in developing listening skills. This can take place anytime and could be combined with on-going handling lessons.

Listening exercises

Throughout the following exercises remember to use feedback. If your ringer is not striking accurately they need to be told what is not right and how to correct it.

Ring facing outwards from the centre one at a time – the ringers turn around when the backstroke is up. When facing outwards they cannot see the rope they are following and must ring by ear. Call Changes can be used too if skills develop far enough. This exercise is not possible if the ringer needs a box.

Incremental rounds – start off with just three bells [the ringer is more likely to be able to hear their bell on low numbers] with the tenor ringing at normal rounds speed. Use the real tenor and any two other bells. Put the new ringer on the middle bell and confirm they can hear their bell. While ringing add a fourth bell and re-space to achieve good rounds. Continue adding bells for as long as the new ringer can still hear their
bell. They will not only learn to hear their bell but also realise that spacing changes on different numbers of bells. 

Diminishing rounds – if a ringer cannot keep in rounds ask one bell to stand at a time until the ringer begins to identify their own bell. This exercise can also be used to practise changing the spacing on different numbers of bells.

'Crash and Gap' – start with the new ringer on the second of three bells. They experiment with striking by altering the gap between their own bell and one of the neighbouring bells until they hear a "crash". The crash enables the ringer to identify their own bell. The idea is to allow the ringer to "own" the sound of their own bell. The exercise can be repeated over time, on larger numbers of bells.

Ringing bells starting on alternate strokes – ring rounds with one bell on handstroke and the following one at backstroke etc. All the ringers must then work on getting the sound right. They should be asked to focus ahead seeing the bigger picture rather than following a particular bell. The strokes the various bells are on can be changed and the exercise repeated.

Ropesight

Ropesight is the ability to see in which position your rope is moving amongst the other ropes. It involves seeing which bell you are following and establishing which bell to follow next from the movement of the ropes.

Ropesight takes time to develop and an inexperienced ringer will get better as their ringing progresses. Some ringers find it easier to acquire than others. Like many skills in ringing it is best learned in small stages.

Ropesight cannot be learnt by memorising the numbers of the bells that are to be followed. Explain, that when ringing the treble to methods (often the next step in a student's ringing progression) the treble rings the same line as in Plain Hunt but the order of the bells they strike over will vary in ways that you won’t be able to learn.

At this stage in a ringer's development they can be introduced to some simple ropesight exercises. These involve ringing in the same place in a change whilst the bells underneath them change places.

Exercises to develop ropesight

Stand beside your ringer and explain that they will be remaining in the same place in the row, for example 4th place. Ensure they are counting their place. Explain that you are going to swap the positions of the bells underneath them by calling “2 follow 3” and that they will now still be ringing in 4th place but following the 2.

Once they have got the hang of this, call the 2 and 3 back into rounds. Repeat the exercise with no explanation to the ringer. If this goes well, call the bells 2 and 3 to change places every other whole pull and then every whole pull.

Once this is mastered, call 2 and 3 to continuously make places and finally get your ringer to follow them as they dodge. All this might only take one practice of a few minutes with a fast learner.

The next step might be to bring the treble up to 3rd place and repeat the above exercises. The ringer can then move on to covering to Plain Hunt on three bells. This exercise, designed for the ringer of the 4 to learn to cover, can also be used to give the ringers of bells 5 and 6 an opportunity to practise ringing rounds. Kaleidoscope exercises can be used to help develop the concept of ropesight.

Once the ringer can accurately cover to the above you can move them on to covering to Plain Hunt on more bells. For ringers who find covering to Plain Hunt on five bells difficult to learn, starting on small numbers of bells such as three or four may be useful.

Rhythm and striking

Ringing good rounds will help the ringer develop a sense of feel for the rhythm of the bells as will counting the bells as they sound. Encourage the ringer to always put an emphasis on the place they are ringing in. For example if they are ringing the 4 in rounds they would say to themselves:

1 2 3 4 5 6

Using words (sentences) may help you to get the feeling of the rhythm. Choose a sentence which has twice the number of syllables than the number of bells being rung. For instance on six you could choose “We all love fish and chips, I want some for my tea” or “I want to go to town, to buy some fish and chips”.

When you move on to Plain Hunt, you should emphasise the 'feeling' of moving slowly up to the back, lying for two blows, ringing more quickly down to the front and then leading. After practice their body will learn this “feeling” or rhythm and know automatically when to change speed and how much to pull or check to make the bell ring at the required speed and strike in the right place.

Listening to ringing (their own or others) will help a ringer hear if there are gaps or clashes. When ringing they need to be able to adjust their ringing to make the sound even and rhythmic. The hardest part to master is when the speed of ringing changes – moving in and out of the lead, or up to and away from the lie at the back.

To develop the physical skill of hunting, to begin with the student needs to know which bells to follow. However, they should always count the place their bell is in the row rather than say the number of the bell they are following in their head.