Handbells: fraugHt witH peril - Area III

Peril (continued from previous page)the most interest to the piece and put the new ringer(s) there.Or, put an experienced ringer in the new spot and assign anewbie to one of the easy-to-see positions, such as B4/C5,or D/E5, or E/F6. These notes are at the edges of the staffand usually aren’t buried in thick chords. (One of the mostdifficult positions to see is A/B5, which is right in the middle ofthe treble staff, and often in the middle of big chords.)“If life deals you lemons, make lemonade,” so the saying goes.If you only have a few ringers, consider some 12-bell music.There are many collections of those. And consider transposingthem down an octave to avoid so much high-frequencyringing! In other words, if the piece is written for F5-C7,have the ringers pick up F4-C6 instead. Likewise, if writtenfor C5-G6, pick up C4-G5. Read the notes as written, just ringwith bigger bells. The collections written for F5-C7 follow astandard left-hand-space-note/right-hand-line-note pattern,and are usually easier for ringers who’ve always had standardassignments. If you use the C5-G6 versions, consider havingan adventurous ringer take C5 and G6, leaving everyone elsewith standard assignments.If your few ringers are especially adventurous, you might tryhaving them ring duets, trios, quartets, etc. These can befound at such web sites as www.handbellworld.com orwww.sonologymusic.com/store/index.php.So, everything falls into place and you have the perfectnumber of ringers in each group, but rehearsal time is limited,and learning enough music takes more time than you have.Scheduling is fraught with peril!This fall, I plan to have my youth and my adult groups playone title each at the same worship service. There will beless pressure on each group to learn two pieces, and theycan concentrate more on musicality. Perhaps I’ll find outthe title of a hymn for that Sunday and have the two groupsaccompany. The youth could use chimes and the adults coulduse handbells for double the sound. Books of hymns usinga simple technique are available from Cantabile Press. Searchfor the “Ring Along Series” on www.handbellworld.com.Planning performance dates is also fraught with peril. Do youjust announce when the handbell groups are going to play,or do you canvass all the ringers, asking their planned outof-towndates, and try to choose accordingly? For youth, it’sa good idea to check the school calendar. Most are availableonline at the school boards’ websites. Note times yourrehearsals could be cancelled for reasons such as holidays.For instance, my youth rehearse on Sunday evenings, so longweekends could affect that. My adults rehearse on Wednesdayevenings, and once a year, their rehearsal time is preempted bythe annual church business meeting. Try to avoid schedulingperformances immediately after interruptions to rehearsals.Last but not least, keep it enjoyable, not stressful. Ringinteresting music, of a difficulty level that your group canperform well and feel competent in doing so. Be on thelookout for suitable music when the new releases hit yourmailbox. And don’t forget those “golden oldies” that everyoneloves to ring and everyone loves to hear! Remember, ringersjust want to have fun…Reflections from aScholarship Winnerby Kathy Aspenwall2011 Recipient of Area 3 Scholarship to National Seminar“Exhilarating,” “insightful,” and “life-changing” are the firstthree adjectives that come to mind at the close of the HandbellMusicians of America National Seminar in Minneapolis. I firstmust give thanks to Area 3 for the fabulous opportunity toattend this Seminar on scholarship.As a first-time attendee, I was overwhelmed by the spectrumand depth of offerings. My original goal was to broaden ourchurch’s handbell ministry by going into the community,focusing on helping seniors ring. To that end, I enrolledin the Handbells/Handchimes with Special PopulationsCertification Track, and was surprised at not only the variedapproaches but also the successes that have been pioneeredin this field. We learned how to have “instant music-makingsuccess” and also how to work with performing groups. Ouroutreach ministry will incorporate using handchimes “instantmusic” as we visit senior centers.Among the othercourses offeredfor the newCertificationprogramwas MichèleSharik’s RingingTechniques. Westudied, listened,practiced, anddemonstratedour knowledge;Michèle stressed“healthy”ringing, which Kathy poses with Bell-O-Gram Editoris important to Michael J. Glasgow at the closing banquet.all of us. Herinstruction required some personal changes to break oldhabits, but I already realize a positive difference. Later on, Itook advantage of the one-on-one coaching she offered: whatan incredible experience! Thanks, Michèle.From bell maintenance to change ringing to new literatureto conducting, there were classes for everyone. I validatedmuch of my previous knowledge and also learned new ideasand information to better myself as a handbell musician. RimaGreer’s Performance Technique class became my “life-changingmoment” when I realized how important it was for us tocommunicate not only musicality, but personally, with ourlisteners. Realizing the challenges, but armed with tools, thisis now one of my highest priorities as both director and player.The classes and concerts were great but that’s not what madethe Seminar special to me. It was the fellowship and people:the lunches and dinners, the evening talks. The opportunityto meet staff, composers, presenters, fellow musicians anddirectors in four fast-paced days was exhilarating. If you lovehandbells, I encourage you to participate next summer inCincinnati. It’s already on my calendar.14