Basic Needs for a Starting Handbell Choir

Cathy Moklebust and Stephanie Wiltse suggested that it might be useful to have a document available for beginning choirs, containing information on basic equipment needs.

These are of course my own ideas only. Suggestions for corrections or additions will be warmly accepted.

It is an implicit assumption that, as one's ensemble grows (physically and musically) one's needs will change. In other words, YMMV.

Bells

Boy, that's a no-brainer, eh? Can't ring 'em if you don't got 'em.

If you already have a set of bells, great, you're ready to move on to the other sections. If you don't, read on!

There are many questions you need to ask yourself before committing to buying a set of bells:

What brand?

There are three brands of bells commonly used in North America: Malmark, Schulmerich, and Whitechapel. Another two, Petit-Fritsen and Taylor, are rarely used in the US, although Taylor enjoys a great deal of use in England. Petit-Fritsen bells are seldom used in choir situations because of unusual harmonic structures. They also are a bit lacking in the technical support side of things, so they are probably not the best choice for starting choirs.

Of the other three, there is really little substantive difference. Whitechapels are somewhat more expensive, from what I've heard, and do not have the option of adjustable clapper heads. Other than that, the main difference lies in the tone quality. In my experience, Schulmerichs have the "mellowest" or "purest" tone, while Malmarks and Whitechapels (in that order) have increasingly more overtones, making the sound much "brighter" or "lusher" (to use emotionally-loaded vocabulary). Which you will choose will depend much on what sounds best to YOUR ears.

How Many? This depends on two things:

• How many ringers do you have? The most common ratio of bells to ringers seems to be approximately 2 diatonic notes per ringer, plus accidentals. This ratio usually begins to break down at the top and bottom of the set, where the notes occur less often and thus the ringer can handle more than two bells. Thus, a preliminary stab at the bells/ringer thing might say:

  Octaves (bells)	Ringers
  1 (8)	4
  2 (15)	7
  3 (22)	11
  4 (29)	14
  5 (36)	18

  As mentioned before, for the extreme ends this ratio doesn't work as well because the bells don't play as often, so the ratio of bells to ringers may rise to 4:1 or higher. Certainly 18 ringers is far too many for a 5-octave group; the ringers on the ends will be bored to tears.

  A compromise which many groups seem to adopt is the number 12. Five octaves of handbells can be comfortably rung by 12 people. No one will be excessively bored, and likewise no one will be overwhelmed by the number of bells they are responsible for. Thus, an adaptation of the above chart might look more like this:

  Octaves (bells)	Ringers
  1 (8)	4
  2 (15)	7
  3 (22)	10
  4 (29)	11
  5 (36)	12

  Again it must be pointed out that the exact number of people needed to ring a set of bells will depend on the music being used and the skill of the ringers involved. I personally have rung 5 octaves with as few as 8 people and with as many as 17. Much more can be said on the subject of assigning bells than I will go in to here. Look at my assignments page instead.

• How much money do you have? Aye, there's the rub. No question about it, bells are expensive. Although there may be minor fluctuations between manufacturers and between the factories and other outlets, all in all the prices of new bells are consistently high. Used bells may be purchased cheaper, of course, but they are very hard to come by. Don't count on this being a way out of a financial crunch.

Bells or Chimes?

If you're in a pure start-up situation (ie, no experienced ringers and little money) you might consider not buying bells at all, until your situation improves. Malmark makes an instrument called Choirchimes, and a new English company run by Maurice and Sheila Davies has something called Belleplates (for more information see their website). Both of these are (relatively) inexpensive, durable, and are good for training new ringers into the basic motions of bellringing. In addition, the tones of each, while distinct from those of bells, mesh well with bells allowing for interesting voicing possibilities should you acquire both.

Tables

Again, an eternal question is "How many feet of table space do I need for X number of bells?" Too little space and the ringers, and the bells, will be constantly running into each other. Too much space? Hmmm, I don't know as I've ever had a problem with too much space. Kinda like a problem of having too much money. Anyway, an approximation of 6-8 feet per octave seems to work well, or 2 feet per ringer. As with the bells-per-ringer ratio, though, this latter ratio breaks down at the ends. Bass ringers require more space because of the size of the bells. The following chart was stolen shamelessly from Bonnie Wooley's Bell FAQ (which I can no longer find online):