A Ringers Notepad: Learning Collection

Back in 2015, we discovered church bellringing, and since then we have come across different learning resources that helped us learn this art.  Links to these are gathered in this blog because we needed to be mobile and able to access online memory joggers when ringing or visiting different towers.  This simple blog became a mobile notebook and much-needed memory jogger for traveling and practice nights! We are incredibly thankful to everyone who took the time to create the various online resources.  With this generous ringing community, this online collection became possible.  In this blog, the collection provides background, how-to's, videos, history, stories, etc., that we found helpful on our journey.   The Enjoyment of Bellringing The blog is a work in progress with new discoveries added when useful and as we discover more about the wonderful art of church bellringing.    Return to Homepage or Contents Page

Look around at these video clips to discover more about bellringing and the world of ringing church bells and later handbells. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page A Church Tour To See How Bells Work and Methods (3.5 mins) - St Helen's Discovering Bellringing - The Craft of Bellringing (Video with Chapters) Bellringing - It's Harder Than It Looks! Bellringing - More Than A Call To Prayer (BBC 2 min video): East London Ringers, UK. And we ring on handbells too, take a look at a band change ringing on handbells for a wedding ... Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page #

There are bell towers in different countries keeping the art alive, enjoying the music and making new friends.  Here find out more about the towers in Limerick, how bells work, take a look inside a bell tower, meet some bellringers, and see the challenge of the ultimate ring, click on read more and scroll down to discover this intriguing world ...  Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Limerick Ringing Towers St Mary's Cathedral, read more ...    and about the Tower's History    Mount St Alphonsus,  read more ...     and about the Tower's History   How Do Bells Work? (8 mins)         Inside A Bell Tower - How It Works (6 mins)     Meet People Keeping Bellringing Alive in Ireland (4.5 mins) The Ultimate Ring ...  (9.5 mins) Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page

Safety when in a tower and when ringing with a band is very important.  Here you'll find some guidance, rules to follow, what to do if something goes wrong, how to tie up your rope, getting fit for ringing, and bellringing exercises for warm-ups!  Read more ... and scroll down to discover additional details. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page The tower captain tells you about safety and how to ring safely for your sake and the safety of everyone else in the tower (Coleman 2016).  Safety is your responsibility.  Visitors are also told about safety.   Even though 'ringing is far safer even than gardening, let alone playing sport.  Safety is important ...' (Coleman 2016:288).  Always remember that moving bells and moving ropes are dangerous so its safety first and always. Remember that 'up above your head is a huge mass of metal weighing a quarter of a ton or more, and it's rotating through an entire full circle and back again ever...

This collection introduces bellhandling, shows you how your bell works, helps you to see this in slow motion, and to watch what is happening when you are ringing your bell.  You will see what is going on above your head and be able to see the way the ringer is pulling the rope.  Read more ... and scroll down to find additional links to resources. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Bell Handling - How Bells Work (1 min) Now in Slow Motion (5.5 mins) Bellringing Animations - What is Happening During Bellringing Take a look ...  Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page

Practice nights are when the tower band meet to practice and develop their bellringing skills.  There are new ringers, experienced ringers, teachers, improvers, members perfecting methods, and people who enjoy making music with church bells.  In this collection, you'll discover more about practice nights, useful tips, understand what people are doing, what you should be doing, the differences between practice and performance ringing, and see a band ringing in peal.  Read more ... and scroll down for extra resources. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page From Beginner to Bellringer: Some Useful Tips Practice Nights Practice Nights in Ireland   Take a look at this table to find out more ...   Come to Practice Nights - What Should I Be Doing? Come along ready to practice what you have learned or want to improve on Come having read up on the method and the blue line If you have questions for your instructor be ready to ask them or to find ou...

Making sure you can handle your bell, do so safely, and in time are key aspects of bellringing.  This collection introduces you to what good bell control looks like at handstroke and backstroke, some jargon 'upwards' and 'downwards', ringing a bell up, ringing a bell down, and you can see what is happening overhead on split screens.  These skills are essential to master, read more ... and scroll down for additional links. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page What Good Bell Control Looks Like (Handstroke and Backstroke) When the Conductor calls Upwards Ringing Up A Bell  Ringing A Bell Up - Graham Knabb (Educational) When the Conductor Calls Downwards Ringing A Bell Down - Graham Knabb (Educational) Ringing Down (Tenor for example) Watch this again and listen to the bells striking, look at what is happening with the handstroke, and the backstroke, and focus on how the ringers are making the coils (shortening or lengthening the rope...

Making sure you are striking well, can hear your bell, and know your place are key aspects of bellringing.  This collection introduces those topics along with ropesight, knowing your place, chiming your bell, and seeing a band in action ringing rounds, then call changes, going back to rounds - putting it all together.  Read more ... and scroll down to discover additional resources. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Listening and Striking Well (Eds Bells Ropesight) Listening To Your Bell (Association of Ringing Teachers) Chiming Your Bell (Association of Ringing Teachers) Bellringing At St Patricks Cathedral, Dublin (Liam Connellan) Showing rounds, call changes, and back to rounds ... a chance to listen to the striking, listen, and observe the ringing. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page

The collection here moves on to present the first stage of ringing, ringing rounds as part of a band.  You'll be reminded of what this should sound like, shown the method to follow,  and see what ringing on five bells looks like.  Rounds rung on twelve bells helps to see what is happening over head as well as in the tower.  Find out about ringing up (raising) and ringing down (lowering) in peal.  Read more ... and scroll down for additional links.  Rounds rung for performance sound brilliant when the spacing and striking are perfected at practice nights. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Ringing in Rounds - What [Good Ringing] Sounds like The Method 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rounds On Five Bells - What It Looks Like What the Bells Above Your Head Are Doing... Rounds rung on 12 bells at Buckfast Abbey: And later, when more confident with handling your bell, you move on to ringing up (and down) in peal.  Take a look at what ...

This collection is about call changes once ringing rounds are mastered.   The Limerick towers call  down  so the method for calling down is the focus here.  However, information on calling up is included because it is good to know both ways.  Here you'll find change method, and rules to follow, and be reminded of good striking and listening for your bell.  Read more ... then scroll down for additional links. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Going from Rounds to Call Changes Explained (2 mins video) Change Ringing (Ringing Up Example) Watch the video above and keep listening to the striking, what the conductor is saying at the start and at the end, and begin to focus on how to ring your bell at speed (fast, slow, holding up) and the way to ring after another bell when the conductor calls the change. The ringers get 'from one  change  to the next - from one  row  or  ordering  to the next - by swapping o...

This collection relates to leading and the blue line that ringers follow.  Included also is the Tenor bell because of its importance in setting the beat and covering (ringing behind) during plain course methods.  Read more ... and discover the art of leading and tenoring as part of method ringing. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Leading (Trebling and Listening)  In this clip there is a part on leading,   take a look at this in practice: Covering (Ringing Behind - Tenor Bell) Read more about this ...  Tenor Ringing Read more  ... The Tenor Sets The Beat (Ringing World) Read the Learning Curve again to understand more ... Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page

This collection looks at developing ropesight, understanding places, knowing your place when rining a method with a band, and gives an example of ringing the treble to plain hunt.  Read more ... and scroll down for further information Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page What is Ropesight? (2 mins  explanation video) Note: Examples in this video are from a Tower that calls UP not down. Developing Ropesight (watch again) Ropesight - Hunting Up (to the back) Understanding Place Bells (2 mins) Activity for Practice Night - Trebling To Plain Hunt Read ringing the treble to plain hunt doubles ... Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page

This collection focuses on a method called Plain Hunt starting with hunting on five bells with the tenor bell covering.  Learning to ring this method usually follows on after leading but an inside bell can be rung first as well.  Here the method is explained (blue line) and links to various toolboxes provide.  Read more ... and scroll down for additional information. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page First select a bell that you would like to ring this method from.  You can begin by choosing an odd numbered bell or an even numbered bell.  Eventually, it is useful for the band if each ringer can ring this method two different bells.   Click here for the  Method  - the diagram - to follow and to learn for practice night. Plain Hunt Double s (Tenor Ringing At Back) Plain Hunt Overview of Five Bells (Ringbell) Look at Band Ringing Plain Hunt and the Method in Action Plain Hunt on Five Bells (Educational Video) Solving Comm...

This collection introduces ringing on more bells for example eight (triples), nine bells (caters), and ten bells (royal).  Links are provided to each of these method diagrams enabling Plain Hunt Triples to be rung in both St Mary's Cathedral and Mount St Alphonsos.  Additionally, Plain Hunt Caters and Plain Hunt Royal are included because this can be run on nine and ten bells.  Read and discover more ... Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page Plain Hunt Triples (Tenor Covering) See more ... and read the sheet with further information and alternative ringing diagram shown below Plain Hunt Major (All 8 Bells Hunting) See method ... Plain Hunt Caters (10 bells with Tenor Covering) See method ...  Plain Hunt Royal (All 10 Bells Ringing) See method ... And at this point more new language as the number of bells that are ringing (in play) are introduced.  This helps with understanding the range of methods but also what the conductor is asking to be run...

Here the concept of dodging is introduced because when you have learned Plain Hunt the next stage is to move on to ringing other methods which will have dodge's included as part of the course (music).  That way, more methods can be learned and rung such as Bob Doubles, Grandsire, etc.  Read more ... and discover the meaning of dodging as part of a course of bellringing. Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page What is meant by Dodging when ringing a method? A dodge occurs when a bell which is hunting takes a step backwards and then continues to hunt in the original direction. The diagram shows the line of two bells dodging. The bell represented by the blue line is ringing a dodge while hunting down. This is known as a  down dodge.  The bell represented by the red line is ringing a dodge while hunting up. This is known as an  up dodge. (Association of Ringing Teachers, 2023) Read more about successful dodging ...  and see the example of the...

There are different exercises and methods that bands ring to develop bell control and to have some fun when ringing.  The Mexican Wave is one of those methods especially useful when learned early as a new ringer or an improver.  This collection includes some teacher's resources for reference.  Read more ...  Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page What is Mexican Wave? Mexican Wave is a simple form of kaleidoscope ringing which involves sequential place making. It is good fun to ring and can be rung on any number of bells. (Association of Ringing Teachers)   Take A Look At An Example Which Used ABEL Teachers Links Method  read more ...   (Association of Ringing Teachers) Down Mexican Way (Ringing World) Teaching Mexican Way (Treblesgoing) Teaching Kaleidoscope Ringing read more ... (Association of Ringing Teachers) Return to  Homepage  or  Contents Page