Music: Handbells Home: greenlightwrite.com featuring |
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Music Amelia Island Travel Travel Books
Jane Marie's handbell group, the Amelia Ringers playing at sunrise service on Easter at historic Ft. Clinch, Amelia Island, Florida
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How I got started
I responded with, "I took a year of piano as a pre-teen." "That's good enough,” she said and told me to come to her next handbell rehearsal. I'd always loved music, and as an adult was disappointed that the only songs I could play on the piano were "Big Chief Thundercloud” and "Oh, How We Danced on the Night We Were Wed,” both from my first and only piano lesson book. I figured handbells might be as close to playing in an orchestra as I'd ever get, so I showed up at Lois's bell practice. Once I heard the harmony of the other ringers, I was hooked. I've been playing handbells ever since. Early tactics Granted, it's best if you can read music, but for beginning ringers, reading music isn't really necessary as long as you can count to four. People often laugh when I say that, but it's true because you usually need to count four quarter notes to a measure - 1, 2, 3, 4 - in the early, easiest music, and then repeat it. Tying colored string around the bell handle or taping different colored stars to it are easy ways to differentiate the correct bell to be played out of the two bells* assigned to you. I still mark my notes in pencil as mental insurance against hitting a clinker. Admittedly, I have improved over the years, but I don't think of myself as anything more than a functional, fun-loving player. I've been playing with the same group of ringers my entire "career.” Although the name has changed from Amelia Island Handbell Choir to Amelia Island Ringers, and the faces and names have, too. I am presently one of seven ringers plus a conductor playing two octaves of bells. (Eight bells to an octave with sharp and flat sounding bells in between.) *You are also assigned two accidentals - the sharps and flats. The smallest bells have the highest pitch. The larger bells emit lower, base sounds. Brief history of handbellsIn seventeenth century England, the noise from the huge tower bells rehearsing their music was nearly painful to those within earshot. That's when someone came up with the brilliant idea to make smaller bells. Originally cast in clay and wattle (a stick framework), the cost was extreme. Once it was discovered sand molds could be used to manufacture bells for much less money, handheld bells were cast and became readily available. This musical art form could now be practiced and played in the warmth of the local pubs. (And you thought bell ringers were dull.) Handbells first came to the United States in 1840. P. T. Barnum made them popular as part of his circus. Later, handbell acts showed up on the vaudeville circuit. In the 1940s, handbells were being rung in churches. Most bells today are made of bronze or brass. These have been manufactured in the United States since the 1960s. The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR) was founded in 1954 with the sole purpose of exchanging and spreading new techniques, music, and information. There are over 10, 000 bell choirs in North America, alone, with about 1% of them being community groups (like my Amelia Island Ringers), while the rest are affiliated with churches, schools, and universities. EquipmentTables are a must. Two octaves of bells and ringers need approximately 16 feet of table space, three octaves require 18 feet, and four octaves call for 24 feet. Pinch clothes pins help when playing outdoors because the wind will turn your pages of music, no matter if it's the right time or not. Miniature clothes pins are easy to grab when a quick turn is necessary. Often, white gloves are worn to prevent hands from smudging the metal bell. That means that polish and polishing cloths are part of the care of handbells that live in felt lined cases when they're not being used. Other accoutrements are 4" to 6" foam pads, table covers (ours are green felt), mallets, music folders, and music stands. TechniquesI once read that unlike an orchestra that has many and varied instruments, the handbell choir is made up of individual ringers who are part of one instrument, which the director plays. It is up to the choir to follow his or her lead as to tempo, articulation (note length), timbre, emphasis of melody, visual uniformity (as to strokes, page turning, raising and lowering of the bells), and the blending of each tinkle. The most common ratio of bells to ringers is two bells to one ringer plus accidentals. (I play F, F#, G, and G# right in the middle of the group.) One octave has eight bells and four ringers. Two octaves have 15 bells and seven ringers (that's us), three octaves have 22 bells and 11 ringers. Keep in mind that the number of bells listed here does not include accidentals. Ringers do more than merely ring handbells. You can damp the bell, which means to stop the sound so different notes don't clash, by touching the bell to your upper chest. This is known as "shoulder damping" or stopping. You can also table damp by touching your bell to the table. This is helpful when you have several notes to play in close progression and haven't time to lift each bell and complete a total circular extension of the arm when ringing it. A bell can be quickly planted on the table with a mild thud to suddenly stop the sound for dramatic effect. This is usually done at the end of a number. The technique is called "martelatto." There is also thumb damping, which is done just as it sounds. You can pluck the bell by thrusting the clapper with your finger or thumb. A bell can be struck by a small padded mallet for a somewhat muted tone. To achieve an echo effect of sorts, a bell can be rung and then swung down to the hip and back up, or it can also be lightly tapped on the table. Practice at home is sometimes required for a particularly difficult piece. Since few ringers have their own set of bells with which to practice, we get creative using silverware, ketchup bottles or flashlights to simulate bells. Whether we're rehearsing by headlights moments before ringing for Easter Sunrise Service at Fort Clinch on the Atlantic Ocean, riding in the back of an antique fire truck in the Memorial Day Parade, or ringing in the frozen food section of the local grocery store, handbells are fun for us to do and a joy to hear. If you get the chance, listen to the real thing. After the performance, you might ask if you could ring a bell. It may bring the pleasure of handbell ringing permanently into your life as it did mine.
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