Change Ringiing

What is change ringing?
Change ringing is an English tradition which consists of ringing bells so that the order in which they sound is systematically changed.

How is it done?
The bells are tuned to a normal (diatonic) scale and it is usual to start with ringing down the scale, a sequence which ringers call "rounds". The order in which the bells sound is then altered to give different sequences called "rows" or "changes".

Changes may be called out individually by the conductor, and this style is known as call-change ringing. Alternatively, the changes may be made to a pre-set pattern or "method", and each ringer must learn that method in order to know when his or her particular bell must sound in each row. This style is known as method ringing.

Call changes and a few standard methods are rung in most towers and this makes it very easy for ringers to visit and ring with other bands. There are many more advanced methods which provide a continuing challenge as ringers gain proficiency over time.

Change ringing is also performed on handbells either to provide additional opportunities for practice or as an activity in its own right. It is, of course, popular with groups of ringers who live far from towers with change-ringing bells.

History
Change ringing evolved in England in the early part of the 17th century. It is probable that a if ringer from that time could visit one of our towers today he would have little difficulty in recognising much of our ringing.

Today there are more than 40,000 ringers in the UK and smaller numbers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Southern Africa and the USA. They are young and old, men and women, short and tall, girls and boys, non-musical and musical, church-goers and non-churchgoers. They come from all walks of life, but they share a fascinating hobby and a commitment to their team.


When are bells rung?
For church services
for weddings
for special occasions
for ringers' practice and pleasure


What's in it for me?
A hobby which involves:

being part of a team
providing a service for the church
a good social life
continually learning something new

Bell ringing is good fun! Once you have learned the basic technique you will always be made welcome when you visit other towers. There are more than 5,000 church towers and a small number of secular towers with bells suitable for change ringing.

How long does it take to learn?
Initial teaching takes place on a one to one basis and most beginners will be ready to ring with a band in a few weeks or months. The basic skill lies in being to control a bell that rotates full circle using a rope attached to its wheel.

There is always something new to learn and ringers progress at their own pace, depending on the time and effort they devote to increasing knowledge. Please click here for more information about the learning process and the support services which are available.

Bell ringing celebrates the joy of weddings and victories, intones the sadness of deaths and funerals, and summons people to church. The casual listener immediately recognizes that some bells play hymns, songs and melodies. Those bells are called carillons or chimes. They do not swing, and the striking of the clappers is controlled by one person, the carillonneur or chimer.

The bells of the towers listed in these pages produce no recognizable tunes. Yet they are rung in sequences as disciplined and orderly as the stones and timbers of the towers themselves. These bells, rung in an ancient yet very modern way, produce a rich cascade of sound. This is change ringing.

Change ringing requires special bells, special "music", and ordinary people who enjoy climbing towers, working as a team, and performing "The Exercise." The human ingredient is critical because change ringing is very different from playing a carillon or chime. It is not a single person sitting at a keyboard. There are no computers or electronic devices. Change ringing depends on real bells, each swung in a complete circle by a single person: six bells - six people, eight bells - eight people, usually standing in a circle.


The Bells
The bells are special in several ways. They are large, ranging in weight from a few hundred pounds to several tons. A ring of bells consists of four to twelve bronze bells.



A Bell in Her Usual Position a. Stock
b. Stay
c. Slider
d. Blocks
e. Wheel
f. Groove of Wheel
g. Fillet
h. Ball of Clapper
i. Flight of Clapper
k. Cannons
l. Timber of Cage
m. Gudgeons
n. Lip of Bell

Bells for change ringing are hung in stout frames that allow the bells to swing through 360 degrees. Each bell is attached to a wooden wheel with a handmade rope running around it. The mechanism achieves such exquisite balance that ten-year-olds and octogenarians can control the largest bell easily. The harmonic richness of a swinging bell cannot be matched by the same bell hanging stationary, but each swinging bell requires one ringer's full attention.

The bells are arranged in the frame so their ropes hang in a circle in the ringing chamber below. Into each rope is woven a tuft of brightly coloured wool (sally), which marks where the ringer must catch the rope while ringing. Bells are rung from the "mouth up" position. With a pull of the rope, the bell swings through a full circle to the "up" position again. With the next pull it swings back in the other direction.



The Science

Because of their great momentum, bells take about two seconds to rotate, so they cannot be used to play ordinary "melodic" music. But they can be made to follow one another in order, each ringing once before the first rings again. Ringing bells in a precise relationship to one another is the essence of change ringing. Rung in the order from the lightest, highest pitched bell to the heaviest, the bells strike in a sequence known as rounds, which ringers denote by a row of numbers:



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

To produce pleasing variations in the sound, bells are made to change places with adjacent bells in the row, for example:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7

These rows are the musical notation of change ringing. No bell moves more than one place in the row at a time, although more than one pair may change in the same row.

The 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.


Plain Hunt Minimus


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.

MKV Bells Home Page