Handbells: fraugHt witH peril - Area III

Reflections onby Melissa ByrdSonorous music filled the room, its spindly fingersstretching out to the far corners. To the vast audience, theconductor looked like she was just aimlessly flailing herarms about. But the attentive ringers interpreted every slightmovement. As the final hushed notes of the song reverberatedthroughout the room, the audience did not even dare tobreathe. The song that the choir played was Compassion,an original composition by Jason Krug. It was one of thethree songs that were performed by me and 17 others inMinneapolis on July 17.Distinctly Teen was a three-day handbell festival exclusivelyfor teenagers, filled with ringing, classes, concerts, and moreringing. Though our poor arms were tired by the concert onSunday night, we rang the music that we had practiced fordays to the best of our abilities. It seems all of our tediousrehearsals paid off, for we received unexpected thunderousapplause at the concert. I was anticipating having an awesometime at Distinctly Teen, but I never thought that it would besuch an unforgettable experience.For most, it all started on Friday afternoon with auditions.Since I arrived early, however, I had the opportunity to attenda class and a lunch concert before auditions. After that,the rest of the time was packed with fun. Being in – as mychaperone put it – “Handbell Heaven” was one of the bestthings that had happened to me all summer. It gave me anopportunity to connect with people from all over the nation.I will never forget my director or my fellow ringers. I wasnot expecting the talent that was in my choir. It was trulyphenomenal to ring with teens of that caliber.When I flew home, I really missedeveryone that I rang and talkedwith. To all the other teens outthere reading this, you need tocome next year!!! You will notregret it. Getting to ring songslike Compassion, as well asPirates of the Caribbean by KevinMcChesney and Exultate by JoshBauder with other teens from allover the country is an incredibleopportunity!Distinctly Teen was not just a funexperience, it helped me to realize that music is powerful.It helps us put aside our differences so we can connect withour fellow ringers, our audience, and even ourselves. Whenthat beautiful and emotional song ended and the audienceapplauded our hard efforts, it was one of the best feelingsin the world. To have the gift to be able to share music withothers is priceless, and I am immensely grateful that I had thechance to do so through Distinctly Teen.abcdefghDo you think that fish are smart animals? Ingeneral, I mean?I know you’re already thinking ofunnecessarily creative ways to answer thatquestion, so let me simplify the question:do you think that your average handbellmusician is smarter than your average fish?ijklmnopqrstuvwxyzThe answer is a resounding “yes,” of course(ohpleaseohpleaseohplease, dear God, let the answer havebeen a resounding “yes”...). But consider this question:do you think that your average handbell musician is moreconnected to his or her fellow ringers than the average fish isto its fishy friends?I think the answer to that, in general, is a resounding “no.”While driving in the car this month and feeling particularlysilly, I started talking about all of the article subjects that Iwould not want to see come across my desk as the editor ofThe Bell-O-Gram. And I said, “you know, like some randomarticle about how the writer discovered how amazinghandbells are while they were SCUBA diving with tropical fishor something...”And then it hit me: we should be inspired to better ourselvesand our instrument...and fish are an amazing inspiration!Letters: Let’s Hope Something’s Fishyby Michael J. Glasgow • michael@michaeljglasgow.com16When I made my sarcastic comment, it brought to mind aschool of dozens of fish swimming together in the ocean.They don’t talk; they don’t make any sound, really. So howdo they know exactly when the school is going to changedirection, and more importantly (rather, impressively), how dothey all do it in perfect sync, sometimes several times in a row?I started reading up on this online. One very satisfying – andexciting – response to the question was that the phenomenonis “emergent behavior.” Rather than being the property of anyone fish (or bird, for that matter), the behavior emerges as a“property of the group itself.” The reflexes are fast, to be sure.But more importantly, the school/flock of animals is incrediblyin sync because each one is attuned to the behaviors of theothers.If you watch an ensemble like Sonos or Vivace play, you cansee the ringers carefully watching each other (I daresay evenmore than they watch the conductor). As with birds and fish,there is no actual “leader,” just animals incredibly in touchwith what the others are doing, and with reflexes that allowthem to respond with nearly instantaneous immediacy.I encourage you to do a quick exploration of the term“emergent behavior,” and then ask yourself and your group atthe next rehearsal: how would a school of fish ring this piece?(After they finish practicing their scales, of course.)