Can We Talk 2

Handbells

         I have never played handbells before, but here in my old age, I am learning! I do read music, so at least I can do the rhythm. But everything else is new. How to hold the bell is the first feat. The right side has to be up, or no matter how hard you shake it or snap it, you get no sound. Then there's clunks, shakes, and finger damps. The big bells get mallets. We haven't even added in chimes.

         The hardest part for me is turning pages, when I'm actively playing. If I have notes, especially using both hands, all the way to the bottom of the page, and notes at the top of the next page, I always miss a measure or two. It's complicated by wearing gloves. The gloves are necessary to protect the very expensive bells from the oils on your hands. You can use clips or tiny pins on page edges, but they're still hard to grab and flip. If you try turning with a bell in your hand, you're going to get a ring you don't want to hear. In a few cases, I have only one bell on the next page, followed by rests; so I've written in pencil "E 4X" which tells me to ring the E bell four quarter notes, which allows my left hand time to turn the page while I'm ringing E. If my bells aren't being used on the next page for a few mesures, that gives me time. Or if I have rests on the bottom, I can turn early. That's not often the case.

         I should explain for anyone who might not have seen bells played that each player is assigned 3 bells, but most songs will require only 2 of the 3. If all three are required, switching bells can be complicated with only two hands. The bells go in order down the table, like the notes on a music staff. So the bells you play depends on the key. This is a great example of team work, because the tune is produced by many people, not just one, as in a choir or an orchestra. They all have to keep the time properly and play the same dynamics of loud or soft. The harmonies don't have so much pressure, unless the audience is musically astute. Most audiences won't be aware of the arrangement and what the background should be.

         The bell will reverberate for a long time, even if softly. To make it stop so that it doesn't conflict with the next chord, you damp it against your chest. I have trouble with this sometimes. On a rest, I bring the bell I just played up against my shoulder, and it usually works, but occasionally I don't bring it up quickly or hard enough, and it keeps ringing even while I'm holding it against me. We've heard a faint hum during a quiet moment, and it turns out to be my bell that I haven't rung in 4 or more beats.

         We're a new group. Three people have played bells before. One has never even read music and didn't know how to count off 4 beats repeatedly. Most of us have had music experience, either piano, band or choir, but never bells. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing everyone in the group is at least 50. The director is a retired music teacher who's about 80. We have fun together. It's a new adventure. It's time consuming with little pay-off, but we're all "into" it.

         As though we don't all have enough to do. I say, Keep on trying new things Don't quit trying.