Handbells: fraugHt witH peril - Area III

Living the Guild’s MottoLydia Hazeltine, Delaware Chairarea3delrep@yahoo.comNo article was received for this issue ofThe Bell-O-Gram.Ready to go to the Beach?Debbie Henning, Ocean City Event Chairarea3delrep@yahoo.comAre you ready to go to the beach? The Ocean City Festivalwill be held at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center inOcean City (MD) on March 9 and 10, 2012. Massed choirswill be under the direction of Debbie Rice, former Chair ofArea 3 and a past President of AGEHR. Genesis Choirs willbe under the direction of Ed Tompkins, former Area 3 Boardmember. Both Debbie & Ed are from North Carolina.Kerry Dietz and the Wilmington Handbell Ensemble have puttogether the following classes:Bass Bell Bucket Brigade (Maggie Montgomery)Battery Powered (Ann Y. Schmidt)The Beat In Your Feet! (Linda Simms)Boomwhackers (Carol Feather Martin)Composing & Arranging (Linda Lamb)Dough Roller Walk-Off! (Kerry Dietz)Family Feud (Debbie Henning)How The *&% Do you Expect Me To Do This? (Carol Feather Martin)I Don’t Wanna Work, I Wanna Bang The Drum All Day (Kerry Dietz)Line Dancing (Amy Archibald)Morning Warm-Up (Larry Henning)Repertoire: O.M.G.! (Old Musical Gems!) (Linda Simms)Repertoire: 2-3 Octaves (Ann Y. Schmidt)Sport Stacking (Sue Spilecki)Solo/Ensemble Repertoire & Techniques (Linda Lamb)Synergy In Presentation: Part 1 & Part 2 (Larry Henning)Trouble With Trebles (Amy Archibald)Arrive early because two classes will be offered on Friday lateafternoon. (I am hoping to have massage therapy offered allday. Stay tuned!)Fraught with Perilby Linda Lamb, Maryland Chairkenlamb1944@msn.comIt’s that time of year again – time to gatherthe forces and begin rehearsals for the fall.The questions, of course, are: Who willshow up? Will the ringers return that ranglast spring? Will there be new people? Willthey be able to read music? Will they have even touched ahandbell before? Do they know their right hands from theirleft? Will I still be sane by Christmas?Planning for the new year is fraught with peril. All of theabove questions apply, as well as the biggie: “What willwe ring?” As well as, “When will we ring?” And maybe forsome, “Where will we ring?” That last question appliesto community groups seeking venues for concerts as wellas church groups deciding whether or not to ring outsidetheir worship services or school groups thinking in terms ofmdtraveling. “Will we go on tour?” “Will we attend a festival?”“Will we ring at a nursing home?” The list goes on and on.So what are directors to do? It’s a good thing to startthinking ahead the minute you finish up in the spring,knowing full well that your plans may be all for nothingif the number of ringers changes, or their level of abilityis higher or lower than you predicted, or if the marriedcouple in the adult group plans an extended trip that beginssometime around December 1. “The best laid schemeso’ mice an’ men gang aft agley,” as Robert Burns said.Or,translated from the Scots, “often go awry.” We can allmost likely demonstrate that at any given time, especially asit pertains to handbell groups!Things to do: contact people. Write e-mails. Writepostcards. Make sure your announcement is in the churchnewsletter or community newspaper. Talk to parents if youhave a youth group. Talk to the youth directly. Talk to theadults in your group. Find out if people plan to ring againthis semester. Be on the lookout for prospects. If peoplesuddenly show an interest in handbells – maybe some youngmen help as “roadies” after a performance, putting awaytables, bell cases, etc. – find out if they know anything aboutmusic and suggest they might be interested in joining thegroup in the fall. If they say they don’t know anything abouthandbells, tell them you’ll teach them!Each September, I have a Bell Boot Camp. It usually lastsabout three weeks – one session per week, and leads intojoining a regular ringing group. In the past, the attendeeshave all been youth, but I hope to enlist some adults this fall.Hopefully, some of the recruits will be one of the “roadies!”Choosing music is also fraught with peril. Music thatis written for 2-3 octaves or 3-5 octaves leaves room forgrowth. If you have a two-octave group that suddenly hasone more ringer, consider adding some bass notes. It isn’tnecessary to ring the optional note in both treble and bassin order to expand from two- to three-octave ringing in apiece written for 2-3 octaves. Pick whichever section adds(see Peril on next page)13