Ringing Technique

1. Look at the bell. There are usually visual indicators that the bell is lying right side up for ringing. Many brands have a small bell or dot that should be facing upward.

2a. Grasp your fingers around the handle firmly and lift the bell. The guard should rest firmly against the top of your thumb and index finger. Your thumb should curve over the end of your index finger.

2b. Grasp the chime near the bottom with the clapper toward you. The elevated piece that indicates pitch is not a thumb rest.

3. The bell/chime is held in an upright position, tilted slightly toward the shoulder so the clapper is on the side of the bell nearest the shoulder. This is the Ready-to-Ring position.

4. The ringing stroke begins at the shoulder, moves down the body toward the waist, then out and back to the shoulder in a football-shaped motion.

5. To make the clapper strike the casting as you begin the outward and upward motion, you will use a locked wrist motion as if knocking on a door. Continue back to the shoulder where the bell touches the shoulder or upper chest to stop the sound. Keep the bell/chime in a vertical position, avoiding a hammering or punching motion.

6. The sound of the bell comes from the body of the bell and not from the rim or the opening of the bell.

7a. To damp or stop the sound of a handbell, touch at least ¼ - ½ of the bell against the shoulder. Damping just the lip of the bell will stop the fundamental tone but leave the overtones sounding. In order to stop the sound completely for larger bells, it may sometimes be necessary to damp with a hand or the hip.

7b. To damp or stop the sound of a handchime, the edges of both prongs need to touch the shoulder. Turn the chime inward so the edges of both the front and back prongs touch the shoulder on the ringing side of the body.

8. The size of the stroke is directly related to the dynamic level and the duration of the sound.