Handbell Terms for New Ringers

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Handbell Terms for New Ringers
What all those little letters in the music mean, in plain English

I hand this out on paper to every new ringer on their first Wednesday, and they lose it by the third, so here it is where it can't be lost. The letters in parentheses are the markings you'll see in the music. Read the whole thing once, then forget most of it, and then it'll come back to you the first time you see "Mart" over a measure and panic.

One thing before anything else: a handbell keeps ringing until you stop it. A piano note dies away on its own. A bell doesn't, not for a long time. So half of handbell ringing is making the sound, and the other half is making it stop at exactly the right moment. That's why we count.

Ring (R)

The basic stroke. Hold the bell upright by the handle, near your shoulder, with the bell's mouth facing forward. Move it forward and down in a smooth circle, like you're drawing a small oval in the air in front of you, and let the clapper strike as the bell moves forward. Follow through, and bring it back up toward your shoulder. It is not a flick of the wrist, and it is definitely not shaking a dinner bell. When you see "R" after a section of special techniques, it means go back to ringing normally.

Damp

Stopping the sound. You bring the bell in against your shoulder or chest (the bronze touching your clothes, not your bare hand), and the sound stops. You damp at the end of each note's value: a quarter note gets one beat of sound, then damp. A whole note gets four beats, then damp. If you forget to damp, your note keeps going into the next chord, where it does not belong, and everyone hears it, and I make a face.

From the French for "let vibrate." Ring, and then don't damp. Let it ring right on through, blending with whatever comes next, until you reach an "R" or a damp sign, or the end of the piece. It's the most beautiful sound we make. It's also the hardest thing for new ringers to do, because by then you've been so well trained to damp that your arm does it on its own.

Martellato (Mart)

Italian for "hammered." Bring the bell straight down onto the padded table with a firm thump, so the bronze lands on the foam. The clapper strikes as it hits, and the foam damps the sound right away, so you get a short, punchy, bright note. It's loud. It's supposed to be loud. It's the one that makes the children in the front row jump. Not on a bare table, ever.

Shake (Sk)

Hold the bell up, mouth pointing up and a little forward, and shake it quickly back and forth so the clapper strikes over and over, for as long as the note lasts. It makes a shimmering, trembling sound. Then damp, cleanly. A good shake comes from the wrist and forearm, small and fast. A bad shake comes from the shoulder and looks like someone trying to get ketchup out of a bottle.

Thumb Damp (TD)

Ring the bell with your gloved thumb (or a couple of fingers) resting lightly against the outside of the bronze. The touch keeps the bell from ringing out, so you get a short, muffled, plinky note, like a bell with a cold. Good for quick, light passages. This is the one exception to "never touch the bronze," and it's why you wear gloves.

Pluck (Pl)

The bell lies on its side on the padded table. You flick the clapper with your fingers (or push it, depending on the bell) so it strikes the inside of the bell. The bell is lying in the foam, so the note is soft and short and gentle, almost like a harp. Lovely in a quiet piece. Do not pluck so hard the bell rolls off the table. It has happened. It was not pretty.

Mallet (Mal)

The bell lies on the padded table, and you strike the outside of it with a yarn-wrapped mallet, like a little xylophone mallet. Each bell size has its own mallet, softer for the big bells and harder for the small ones. The sound is round and clear and a little more distant than a ring. You can mallet a bell lying on the table or, if you're very good, held up in the air. Start on the table.

Echo (Ech)

Ring the bell, then immediately touch the rim of the bell to the padded table for just an instant and lift it right back up. You get the ring, a quick little break in the sound, and then the note blooming back, like an echo off a far wall. The trick is the timing: touch and lift, quick as a blink, and don't leave it down or it's just a damp.

Swing (Sw)

Ring the bell at your shoulder, then let your arm swing the bell down past your side and back up again in one long, easy arc, like a pendulum, and damp when it comes back up on the next beat. The sound swells and fades as the bell travels, which is lovely, and when a whole table swings together it looks lovely too. When one person swings a beat early, it looks like a pendulum clock having a bad day.

And the one that isn't in the music: COUNT.
Out loud if you have to. Under your breath if you must. "One-and-two-and-three-and-four-and." Every note you ring has to land on its exact beat, and there's no conductor in the world who can save you if you've lost count. Every handbell ringer who has ever lived has lost count. The good ones find it again by the next measure. If you're lost, stop ringing, watch me, and come back in on a downbeat. I will always give you one.

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Questions from new ringers: [email protected]
Last updated September 15, 1999