Hand bells, bell plates, hand chimes and boomwhackers - who knew there was so much variety!?! In this podcast Cat Nettles talks Cathy Booth through the wonderful world of handbell ringing, filling her in on the history, range of instruments and styles of ringing,

Cathy discovers that hand bellringing allegedly began when church bell ringers, unable to get into their towers for one reason or another, asked manufacturers to make small bells so that they could practice in the pub - smart move. With the addition of some extra bells they found they could join in with the hymns and hand bell ringing became an art in its own right.

How do handbells work? How much do they cost? Can you fit them all into your car?
Cathy asks Cat all the questions that you’re dying to ask, and more. Yes, handbell ringers do occasionally let go of them and yes, they’re insured.

The different style of bells means that all ages can learn to ring - from toddlers up to people in their nineties, and Cat is justifiably proud of her all-age ringing team. Hear about the triumphs and tribulations of leading a team and some of their scrapes - all part of the fun of ringing at weddings, functions and outside events.

Links

• The Music Makers Handbell Ringers: the-music-makers-handbell-ringers.business.site/
• The Handbell Ringers of Great Britain: www.hrgb.org.uk

Top five takeaways

• You don’t need to be able to read music to be able to play handbells – this means that it’s the ideal way of introducing tunes to toddlers.
• Unlike church bell change ringing, handbell ringing is more developed in other countries such as the USA and Asia.
• For some amazing handbell ringing, check out Damien Lim and the Ministry of Bellz
• Ringers can play in small groups but can get together for mass ringing, or ring in an orchestra of 35 – 40 ringers.
• Interested in finding out more and having a go? The go-to place is the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain

Ask the Expert

Pip Penney answered the following questions in this episode:

• Chris: “My teacher tells me to ring faster so I pull harder but the bell just goes slower. What am I doing wrong and how can I correct this?”
• Rosa: “How old do I have to be before I can learn to ring tower bells?”
• Stuart: “Is tower bell ringing dangerous?”
• John: “What is the best way to learn to ring tower bells?”

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org