Bell Music
No amount of explanation
of change ringing - or its pleasures - can substitute for
listening
to and ringing bells. However, it may help non-ringers to
enjoy change ringing if they know what to listen for.
First, the rhythm should not vary from row to row. The rhythm
provides the steady framework within which the complex changes
are heard. Listen for two rows rung in precise tempo, followed
by a pause equal to the stroke of one bell, followed by two
more rows and so on. The pause will help you determine which
bell rings first. Second, listen for the bell that strikes
the lowest note. This is the tenor.
Sometimes it always strikes last, even when the other bells
are changing. Listen for the highest bell, the treble, as
it makes its way through the rows. Listen also for the rows
in which large bells alternate with small bells throughout
the row. These are considered particularly musical, and composers
strive to include as many such rows as possible.
Method Ringing
In order to ring a different row with each pull of the rope,
ringers have devised methods, orderly systems of changing pairs.
In ringing a method the bells begin in rounds, ring changes
according to the method, and return to rounds without repeating
any row along the way. These place changes produce musical
patterns, with the sounds of the bells weaving in and out as
if they were folk dancing with each other.
The more bells involved, the longer the bells can be rung
without repeating a row, frequently referred to as a change.
Five bells allow 120 changes (1x2x3x4x5). The numbers increase
rapidly. Six bells yield 720 changes (1x2x3x4x5x6), seven bells
5,040. Eight bells can be rung through 40,320 changes. |
