Change Ringing Step By Step A Guide for New Ringers at Trinity Wall Street, New York November 1 st 2007
Introduction This guide provides a step by step approach for developing the skills required to become a successful change ringer. Each step includes one or more ringing exercises to practice the skills being described, and it also shows how learners will be able to take part in ringing at Trinity as they master the different steps. This guide is aimed at both learners and their instructors. It does not cover learning to handle a bell the starting point is developing full bell control once basic handling has been achieved. It also does not explain, or fully explain, every term used. For example, the rules for ringing call changes are not included. Additional guidance will be provided to the learners by their instructors to fill in the gaps, and the learners will also be pointed to other material that provides more detailed descriptions of the various aspects of change ringing. The guide is directed toward Trinity s specific needs. My aim as Ringing Master is to develop a band as quickly as possible that can ring an interesting and musical method well on 12 bells. The method should be one in which the bells are passed in a reasonably predictable order in the plain course, and should not be too fast moving (i.e. the method should not have too many consecutive rows of hunting). It should also be a method that lends itself to both short and long touches (including peals), and be of interest to experienced ringers, as well as newer ringers. Erin Cinques meets that requirement and this guide therefore builds up to touches of Erin Cinques. The steps do not cover methods such as Plain Bob on an inside bell, or ringing methods on even numbers of bells. We will continue to practice methods that are outside the scope of this guide in order to meet the wishes of the variety of people who will ring at Trinity, but the following is intended to be the core program we will use to develop a 12 bell band at Trinity, and to provide a structured approach to training our learners. While we have a number of varying goals in developing the band at Trinity, I propose that to help keep our practicing focused on a single, core objective, we aim to ring a peal of Erin Cinques with an all-local band before the end of 2008. The opinions expressed in this guide are my own. Essential Skills The four essential skills required for successful change ringing are: Bell control: the ability to speed up, slow down and pause your bell on the balance at will, both at handstroke and at backstroke; Individual striking: the ability to strike your bell at the correct interval after the bell in front of you, by observing the interval between the pull on the rope of the bell in front of you and the pull on the rope of your own bell, and relating this (approximately 1½ seconds later) to the interval between the strike of the bell in front of you and the strike of your own bell; Ropesight: the ability to identify the bell (that is, the rope of the bell) that you are ringing after at each and every blow; Overall striking: the ability to sense the rhythm of the overall ringing, and adjust your striking accordingly. Following are 20 steps that aim to develop the above skills on 6 to 12 bells, taking a learner (hopefully) up to the level of being able to ring well-struck touches of Erin Cinques. Of these steps, number 12, hunting down, is usually the step that new ringers find the hardest to master. Ringers who master this step often move on quite quickly to becoming capable Surprise ringers. When people talk about ringing taking years to learn, it is normally this step that represents the sticking point. It appears that many experienced ringers originally mastered this step over time (sometimes years) through continual practice, ending up with a seemingly innate ability to hunt down, as opposed to being specifically taught how to do this. In doing so, they did not necessarily develop a clearly defined sense of what, exactly, are the combination of skills they are applying in order to hunt down. Consequently, learners do not always receive clear guidance from experienced ringers on how to cross this major hurdle in their ringing development. An analogy to learning to hunt down might be learning to hit a baseball with a baseball bat. If you practice this over an over, you will learn how to do this innately, even though you might not be able to explain to someone else exactly the steps you are taking to hit the ball. The fact that younger people learn innate skills via repetition more quickly than older people explains why those who first learn to ring at an older age often take longer than those who start in their teens or twenties. Tim Barnes Page 2 of 20 November 1 st 2007
This guide seeks to actively and deliberately teach and explain all the essential skills required for change ringing, with the aim of reducing the amount of time it would otherwise take our new ringers to develop their ringing abilities. This recognizes that in New York City in 2007, people have plenty of options for how they spend their leisure time. To keep our learners interested in ringing, we want to make sure they are progressing constantly and being challenged continually. Being stuck at a particular stage without being able to see a way through to the next level is demoralizing, and may lead to us losing some of our new ringers. At the same time, we will not overpush those learners who are happy to progress at a steadier pace. Note that as learners advance through the steps below, they should also continue to practice the earlier steps in order to fully master each one. The Twenty Steps Step 1: Understanding bell mechanics Learners should start by visiting the bell chamber and watching a bell being rung full circle. The operation of the stay and slider, the path the rope follows as a result of the garter hole and pulley being positioned as they are, the location of the bell s mass relative to its pivot point, and the path traveled by the clapper should all be explained so that the learner develops a clear understanding of the effect on the bell of pulling the rope in the ringing room. Learners should also watch a bell being rung up and down, and receive an explanation of what is meant by a bell going up wrong. Step 2: Bell control at the balance Bell control at the balance is best demonstrated by the learner being able to hold their bell on the balance for each of 20 consecutive strokes (i.e. handstroke and backstroke). Over time the aim should be to do this without the bell touching or bouncing off the set position on any of the 20 strokes. Step 3: Bell control below the balance Bell control below the balance is best demonstrated by the learner being able to ring a bell up and down individually with good rope control and tidy style. Note that ringing up and down in peal is beyond the scope of this guide. Step 4: Rounds Start by ringing rounds on 6 (not on the treble). Look at the rope of the bell in front of you and pull your own rope slightly after the rope in front of you (the time gap between the pull of the rope in front of you and your own pull will be approximately 0.3 seconds when ringing on 6 bells). Watch the rope in front of you at both the handstroke pull and the backstroke pull. Listen to the corresponding time gap between the bell in front of you sounding, and your own bell sounding. If the delay is too great, pull your rope earlier at subsequent strokes relative to the bell in front of you. If the delay is too short, pull your rope later relative to the bell in front of you. The right gap is the one that is consistent with the gaps between the pairs of bells sounding ahead of your bell. Once you ve found the right gap, practice keeping that gap consistent, change after change. Practice this initially on 6 bells and then work up to 12 bells. Once a learner has made good progress with steps 1 to 4, they will be ready to join in with performance ringing at Trinity i.e. ringing intended to be heard by the public, including ringing for Sunday services, weddings and special occasions. Step 5: Slow motion rounds Ring slow motion rounds on 6, whereby all 6 ringers hold their bells on the balance at each stroke. The aim should be to do this without the bell touching or bouncing off the set position. When the instruction is given to Tim Barnes Page 3 of 20 November 1 st 2007
start the next stroke, a well-struck change of rounds should follow, using the skills described in Step 4 above. Practice this initially on 6 bells and then work up to 12 bells. Ringing rounds in slow motion combines practice of bell control at the balance with practice of individual striking. Slow motion ringing will also be used later in this guide to assist with the learning of ropesight. Step 6: Call changes Call changes let you practice ringing over all the different bells in the tower, and develop an understanding of how the required gaps between pulls on ropes of adjacent pairs of bells differ depending on the size of the bell you are ringing, and the size of the bell you are following. The larger the bell you are following, the wider you will need to pull from the bell in front of you. The larger the bell you are ringing, the closer you will need to pull to the bell in front of you. Once you ve found the right gap (using the technique described in Step 4), practice keeping that gap consistent, change after change, until the next change is called. Practice this initially on 6 bells and then work up to 12 bells. We regularly ring call changes on 12 for performance ringing, so once this step has been mastered, a learner will be able to take part in this. Note to instructors: call change ringing involves changing the speed of your bell, which will be explained and practiced in Step 8 below. In this step, the emphasis is on ringing accurately over the different bells in the tower. It is therefore to be expected that the learner may not get their bell into exactly the right place for the first few blows of a new change, as they have not yet been introduced to how to change the speed of their bell. Step 7: Leading off the tenor This step allows you to learn the relative positions and movements of the tenor rope compared with your own rope when leading. The skills involved are the same as in Step 4, except that the position of the tenor rope will be different (in fact nearly opposite) to that when following another bell from an inside place. Practice this initially on 6 bells and then work up to 12 bells. This step enables the learner to ring the treble to rounds and call changes during performance ringing, as well as to be called into the lead when ringing call changes on an inside bell. Step 8: Changing the speed of a bell Change ringing involves moving your bell between the different places that make up a change, in the pattern defined by the method you are ringing. The rules for this movement are straightforward: at the next change you will either stay in the same place, or move one place lower (unless you are already leading), or move one place higher (unless you are already at the back). For example, if you are currently ringing in 4ths place, at the next change you will only ever be required to ring in 3rds place, 4ths place or 5ths place. Moving among the different places involves changing the speed at which your bell rings. This step teaches the techniques required to change the speed at which your bell rings. The paragraphs below provide a fairly detailed explanation of what is involved in changing a bell s speed in various ringing situations. If the following seems a little daunting to learn and put into practice, the good news is that new ringers are generally able to develop these skills without too much difficulty through practice in the tower. However, understanding the theory behind what is involved in changing a bell s speed will help the learner master this skill more quickly, and will also be useful when the learner progresses to ringing heavier bells, where changing speed is more challenging. Before long, changing speeds will become second nature, and you will not have to give much thought to how to do it while you are ringing. If you are ringing the 4 th to rounds on 6 bells, you will be ringing in 4ths place in every row. Your bell s speed will therefore be constant, with 5 other bells striking between successive blows of your bell. Let s denote this speed as Speed M, where M stands for medium. However, if you are now required to move down to 3rds place for the next change, there will only be 4 other bells striking between your blow in 4ths place and your subsequent blow in 3rds place. Because the spacing between the bells doesn t alter, you therefore need to speed up your bell to strike it correctly. Let s denote this speed as Speed Q, where Q stands for quicker. Conversely, if you Tim Barnes Page 4 of 20 November 1 st 2007
are required to move up from 4ths place to 5ths place, there will be 6 other bells striking between your blow in 4ths place and your subsequent blow in 5ths place. You therefore need to slow down your bell to strike it correctly. Let s denote this speed as Speed S, where S stands for slower. These three speeds are the only ones required in all change ringing. Speeding up a bell means taking energy out of it so that it doesn t swing up as far towards the balance as it would when ringing rounds. Slowing down a bell means adding energy to the bell so that it swings further up towards the balance. However, when ringing a light bell on higher numbers (e.g. ringing the treble when 12 bells are ringing), the bell will need to be rung up to the balance and paused there momentarily at every stroke. This is because a small bell rotates more quickly than a heavy one, and the light bells therefore have to wait at the balance while the heavier bells finish their rotations. Changing the speed of a light bell in this situation therefore involves altering the amount of time you pause the bell on the balance before pulling the rope to start the bell on its next stroke. In the following exercises, the learner will be ringing on Trinity s middle 6 bells, none of which requires pausing at the balance. The descriptions given below will therefore cover changing a bell s speed when pausing at the balance is not required. Towards the end of this step, a short explanation will be given on how the technique is modified when pausing on the balance is necessary. Changing your bell s speed will be practiced using two common ringing maneuvers: making places and dodging. Making places means changing the place you are ringing in at every two or more blows. Dodging means moving between adjacent places at every blow. It is very important to keep looking at the bells you are ringing over when you are making places or dodging. The skill you learnt in Step 6 (determining how you need to pull your rope relative to the rope of the bell you are following) provides important feedback on whether you are speeding up or slowing down your bell by the right amount. Making places: For this exercise you will start by ringing the 4ths to rounds on 6. As noted above, you will therefore start by ringing at Speed M. When the instructor calls Go places, you will ring 2 blows in 3rds place, and then revert to ringing constantly in 4ths place. To move down to 3rds place, you need to speed up your bell to Speed Q, as noted above. However, if you kept your bell ringing at Speed Q, it would continue to move down to successively lower places. That is, at the next blow it would be in 2nds place, and the blow after that it would be leading. Changing a bell s place at every blow is a very necessary skill in change ringing, and we will practice this starting in Step 9. However for now, we only want to move the bell by one place and then keep it in that place. To do this, you need to increase the bell s speed to Speed Q for just one blow, and then return it to Speed M in order keep it ringing in 3rds place. Similarly, to get back to 4ths place, you need to ring at Speed S for one blow, and then revert to Speed M to keep it in 4ths place. Slowing down a bell involves pulling harder at the stroke before you want to slow down your bell. This results in the bell going further up towards the balance at the next stroke than it otherwise would, and it therefore starts rotating in the opposite direction later, and its next strike therefore comes later. Speeding up a bell involves two actions by the ringer: the first is to pull the rope less hard at the stroke before you want to speed up your bell; the second is to check the bell as it comes up towards the balance at the next stroke. This is done by resisting the rope s upward movement (using either the sally or the tail-end, depending on which stroke you are at). These two actions together result in the bell not going as far up towards the balance as it otherwise would, and it therefore starts rotating in the opposite direction sooner, and its next strike therefore comes sooner. Note that there is a trade off between these two actions: if you pull very lightly at the previous stroke, less checking will then be required, and vice-versa. Through practice you will soon find a happy medium where your input on the rope is comfortably divided between these two actions. If the checking of the bell will occur at backstroke, some ringers like to take in about 4 of tail-end rope beforehand to assist with the check. The alternative is to ring with your hands going up to a height that is about 4 lower than Tim Barnes Page 5 of 20 November 1 st 2007
they would on a normal stroke. The equivalent for a handstroke check is to catch the sally about 4 higher, or otherwise to ring with your hands going up to a height that is about 4 lower than they would on a normal stroke. The above is shown in the diagram below. Making places in 3rds and 4ths: Note that the check at next stroke action combines with the next required pull. So when ringing in 3rds place for the first time in the above diagram, there is a check of the rope as the bell comes up to the balance (resulting from the check at next stroke requirement from the previous stroke), followed by an immediate harder pull as the bell swings back down from the balance. Note also that a harder pull to slow down the bell is required twice once to slow it down from Speed Q to Speed M, and then again to slow it down from Speed M to Speed S. Similarly, speeding up is required both to go from Speed M to Speed Q at the beginning, and to go from Speed S to Speed M at the end. Once the learner is comfortable making a single place as above, they can move on to making continuous places two blows in 3rds, two blows in 4ths, two blows in 3rds, etc. It will be seen that this requires two consecutive harder pull blows in 3rds place, followed by two consecutive lighter pull + check at next stroke blows in 4ths place. The above exercises should also be practiced starting at both handstroke and backstroke. Dodging: When dodging, the speed changes required are more pronounced because you are required to change the bell s speed from Speed S to Speed Q, and vice versa, in one go. The actions for speeding up and slowing down by two speed measures are the same as for one, except that approximately twice the amount of input by the ringer is required. So a lighter pull + check at next stroke becomes twice as light a pull followed by twice the amount of check at the next stroke, and harder pull becomes twice as hard a pull. This is shown in the diagram below. Tim Barnes Page 6 of 20 November 1 st 2007
Dodging in 3-4: The exercise above includes all the possible speed changes that are required in all change ringing: std pull; harder pull; 2X harder pull; lighter pull + check at next stroke; and 2X lighter pull + 2X check at next stroke. The 2X actions can be practiced by continuously dodging in 3-4. The exercise above can also be extended by following the two blows in 3rds place with a 3-4 up dodge followed by two blows in 4ths place, then another 3-4 down dodge, and so on. The above exercises should also be practiced starting at both handstroke and backstroke. Changing speed when pausing on the balance is required As mentioned earlier in this step, when you are ringing a light bell on higher numbers, the bell will need to be rung up to the balance and paused there momentarily at every stroke. Changing the speed of a light bell in this situation therefore involves altering the amount of time you pause the bell on the balance, instead of changing how far up to the balance your bell rings. On very light bells (e.g. the treble and 2 nd when ringing on 12 bells), all three speeds (M, Q and S) will likely require pausing at the balance. On slightly heaver bells (e.g. the 3 rd, 4 th and 5 th ), speeds M and S may require a pause at the balance, but Speed Q may be slightly below the balance. The key point to note is that when a bell s speed is changed by altering the length of pause at the balance, there is no energy being removed or added to the bell since it is essentially stationary at the balance. The techniques above for altering the amount of pull therefore do not apply. A standard pull is always used, and the speed is determined solely by the time the bell is paused at the balance. If, as described above, speeds M and S require a pause at the balance, but Speed Q is slightly below the balance, then the Lighter pull + check at next stroke and Harder pull actions will be used to move from both speeds M and S to Speed Q, and vice versa. Note therefore that even when moving directly from Speed S to Speed Q (e.g. when dodging), the 2X actions are not required, because the height of the bell is only being moved from at the balance to slightly below the balance. Additional instructions and points to note: 1. Practice these exercises initially on 6 bells and then work up to 12 bells, noting how the required changes of speed become less significant the higher the number of bells. This is because on 12 bells, Speed M has 11 other bells striking between successive blows of your bell, Speed Q has 10 and Speed S has 12, and so speeds Q and S are therefore relatively closer to Speed M than they would be on six bells. 2. Practice this first on lighter bells, but then move on to practicing it on heavier bells. The amount by which you are required to adjust your pull in order to speed up or slow down your bell can be quite subtle on light bells. On the other hand, dodging on heavy bells can require forceful and precise use of these skills. Tim Barnes Page 7 of 20 November 1 st 2007
3. The speed measures above do not take into account the handstroke lead gap; neither do they consider that your bell may be odd-struck. Both of these have a small effect on how you are required to change the speed of your bell. 4. When ringing a heavy bell, the technique of taking in tail-end rope prior to checking a bell at backstroke generally becomes a requirement. You need to be reaching up high in order to get the length of pull required to control a heavy bell. Because of the larger wheels on heavier bells, you may need to take in 8 or more of tail-end rope. 5. Extra effort needs to be put in only to get a bell to change its speed. Once a bell is ringing at any given speed, the amount of pull required to keep it ringing at that same speed is relatively constant, regardless of what that speed is. So ringing a bell at a constant Speed M, a constant Speed S or a constant Speed Q requires broadly the same effort. Finally, this step does require one further consideration. As we have seen, a key requirement for striking your bell accurately over the bell in front of you when you are changing speeds is to pull harder or more lightly at the previous stroke. However, the previous stroke itself must also be accurately struck. Pulling harder or more lightly has a small effect on the current blow, as well as setting up the bell for its next stroke. Pulling harder makes the bells strike slightly quicker at the current blow, whereas pulling more lightly makes the bell strike slightly later at the current blow. This must therefore be taken into account by pulling slightly later if you are required to pull harder, and pulling slightly earlier if you are required to pull more lightly. An analogy can be made to a pool player. The first goal of a pool player is to pot the ball. The second goal is to leave the cue ball where you d like it to be for your next go. Similarly in ringing, your first goal is to accurately strike your bell at any given blow. The second goal is to also pull your rope at that blow in such a way that the bell ends up close to where it needs to be to accurately strike the following blow. With practice, this will all become second nature as you sense what the bell is doing via the feedback received through your grip on the rope. Step 9: Plain hunting by knowing the order in which the bells will be passed At this point, the learner should be shown how plain hunting on 5 bells with a cover works. He or she should be shown that when hunting out to the back, there is one extra bell between successive blows of the learner s own bell (i.e. Speed S), compared to ringing rounds. Conversely, when hunting back to the front, there is one less bell between successive blows of the learner s own bell (i.e. Speed Q), compared to ringing rounds. When leading for two blows, or lying behind for two blows, there is the same number of bells between successive blows of the learner s own bell as when ringing rounds (i.e. Speed M) for one change only. Note that when turning around at the front or the back, there are three speed changes in three consecutive blows: 2nds place to 1sts place: Speed Q 1sts place to 1sts place (i.e. leading): Speed M 1sts place to 2nds place: Speed S 4ths place to 5ths place: Speed S 5ths place to 5ths place (i.e. lying behind): Speed M 5ths place to 4ths place: Speed Q Also note that in plain hunting, you are only required to change your bell s speed by one speed measure at a time. This is shown in the diagram below. Tim Barnes Page 8 of 20 November 1 st 2007
A lead of plain hunt on 5 with a cover: The aim of this step is for the learner to be able to accurately follow the bell in front of him or her, when this bell is changing at each stroke. This involves using the individual striking skills developed in Step 6, as well as the skills learnt in Step 8 that enable you to change your bell s speed. The instructor will tell the learner the order in which he or she will pass the bells. At each stroke, the learner should look at the rope he or she will follow next, and adapt the point at which the learner pulls their own rope so that their bell sounds at the correct interval after the bell in front of them. This should be practiced on 6 bells, with the tenor covering and the learner initially ringing the treble. This exercise (and several that follow below) should be practiced in three stages (referred to hereon in as The Three Stages ): 1. The learner watches, with the instructor pointing out the bells that are being rung over; 2. The learner watches, pointing out to the instructor the bells being rung over; 3. The learner rings. Tim Barnes Page 9 of 20 November 1 st 2007
When the learner rings, they should tell the instructor the number of the bell they are following at each stroke. Once this has been mastered from the treble, the learner should then practice it on an inside bell (again being told in advance the order in which the bells will be passed). This will help the learner practice turning their heads from one side to the other in order to see the ropes on either side of them. The 3 rd is a useful inside bell to practice this on, as there will be two working bells on each side of the learner. Step 10: Ropesight ringing behind This is the first stage of learning ropesight. Ring the tenor behind to a doubles method and observe the ropes of the five working bells. Try to identify which is the last rope to start its blow in each change, and then follow that rope using the skills learnt in Step 6. The first skill to develop is being able to see the bell you will be following next. The second skill to then practice is being able to react to the sight of the rope of the bell in front of you and adjust the pull of your own bell to accurately strike it over that bell. This exercise should be practiced in The Three Stages described earlier. When the learner rings, they should tell the instructor the number of the bell they are following at each stroke. Another practice technique is to ring this in slow motion, using the bell control skills practiced in Step 5 above. This will give the learner more time to identify the last rope of the five working bells to start its blow in each change. Once a ringer has mastered this step, they will be ready to attempt their first quarter peal on the tenor behind to any doubles method. Step 11: Ropesight hunting up from the treble The second stage of learning ropesight is to be able to pick out the bell that is following you, and then follow it at the next stroke. As soon as you have pulled your handstroke or backstroke to the point where your hands are below the level of your face, look around the rope circle and try to pick out which bell has rung directly after you. Do this by looking at the relative positions of the ropes and seeing which rope is in the position that would mean it is following your rope. The instructor will select a method where the bells will be followed in the same order when returning to the front as they were passed on the way out to the back. Therefore part of the exercise is to memorize the order in which the bells were passed on the way up, and ring after them in that same order coming down. This should be practiced on 6 bells, with the tenor covering and the learner ringing the treble. The first skill to develop is being able to see the bell you will be following next. The second skill to then add is being able to adjust the pull of your own bell to accurately strike it over that bell. As described in steps 8 and 9, if the current blow involves a change of speed, this second skill will involve altering your pull at the previous blow in order to accurately position it for the current blow. This exercise should be practiced in The Three Stages described earlier. When the learner rings, they should tell the instructor the number of the bell they are following at each stroke. Another practice technique is to ring this in slow motion, using the bell control skills practiced in Step 5 above. This will give the learner more time to identify the rope of the bell that is following them in each change. Once a ringer has mastered this step, they will be ready to attempt a quarter peal on the treble to any plain hunting method where the bells are passed in the same order coming down as going up. Step 12: Ropesight hunting down from the treble The third and final stage of learning ropesight is probably the hardest skill to learn in change ringing. It is the skill of picking out and following the bell you are ringing over when hunting down. When hunting up, the rule for finding the bell that one should follow at the next blow is straightforward: it is the bell that follows you at the current blow. With practice, this bell will be observable from the point at which the mouth of your bell is at about the 10 minutes past position, which corresponds to the mouth of the bell that is following you being at about the 5 minutes past position. Because you don t need to pull your rope to follow this bell at Tim Barnes Page 10 of 20 November 1 st 2007
the next stroke until the O Clock position, you have nearly a whole rotation of your bell to find and then watch the bell that is following you, and prepare to accurately strike your bell after this bell at the next blow. However, the situation is quite different when hunting down. In this case, the bell that you are required to follow at the next blow only becomes identifiable just before you are required to pull your rope to follow it. This bell can be either of the two bells that are in the n-2 and n-3 places below you at the current blow. For example, if you are in 4ths place at the current blow, and will move down to 3rds place at the next blow, then your blow in 3rds place will be over either the bell that is in 1sts place or the bell that is in 2nds place when you are ringing in 4ths place. The technique for hunting down is as follows: as you are pulling your rope for the current blow, look around the rope circle and pick out the two bells that are below the bell you are following. Watch these two bells as your bell comes up to the balance, and you ll see that one pulls off ahead of the other for the next blow. Follow the one that pulls off second, and then, assuming you need to continue hunting down, immediately start the process again of picking out the two bells that are below the bell that you are now following. This should be practiced on 6 bells, with the tenor covering, the learner ringing the treble, and using a method such as St Simon s Doubles that has the feature that the bells are not passed in the same order on the way down as on the way up. This prevents the learner from memorizing the order in which the bells are passed on the way up, and using this to hunt back to the front. The first skill to develop is being able to see the bell you will be following next. The second skill to then add is being able to adjust the pull of your own bell to accurately strike it over that bell. As described in steps 8 and 9, if the current blow involves a change of speed, this second skill will involve altering your pull at the previous blow in order to accurately position it for the current blow. Note that you will also be required to make a place at the back i.e. two blows in 5ths. The technique for making a place is essentially the same as ringing the tenor behind, as described in Step 10, i.e. watch the bells below you and ring after the last one. It can also be thought of as a variation on the technique for hunting down: the bell that you follow for your second (or subsequent) blow in the same place is one of the two bells that are in the n-1 and n-2 places below you at the current blow. For example, if you are in 5ths place at the current blow, and will stay in 5ths place at the next blow, then your next blow in 5ths place will be over either the bell that is in 3rds place or the bell that is in 4ths place when you are ringing your current blow in 5ths place. You therefore only have to watch the current bell you are following and the bell below it to find the bell you will be following at the next blow. This exercise should be practiced in The Three Stages described earlier. When the learner rings, they should tell the instructor the number of the bell they are following at each stroke. Another practice technique is to ring this in slow motion, using the bell control skills practiced in Step 5 above. This will give the learner more time to pick out the two bells below the current bell he or she is following. Ringing in slow motion also allows the same pair of changes to be repeated multiple times until the learner has found the bells he or she is looking for. Another practice technique is to ring the method with 4 8 changes of each row (or to continuously ring the same change until the conductor says Next ), again giving the learner more time to find the bell they are ringing over. Once a ringer has mastered this step, they will be ready to attempt a quarter peal on the treble to any plain hunting method, regardless of whether or not the bells are passed in the same way coming down as they were going up. Step 13: Developing overall rhythm using a simulator So far, all the steps covered have developed the first three essential skills described near the beginning of this guide. This step now develops essential skill number 4 overall striking. This involves sensing the overall rhythm of the ringing and adjusting your own striking accordingly. There are two ways in which this can be done: The first is to practice ringing the treble to plain hunt on 5 with a cover on a simulator. The second is to ring the same thing in the tower, but standing facing the opposite direction to normal (i.e. with your back facing the rope circle). Because these exercises don t allow the use of ropesight, they will help develop the learner s sense of the overall rhythm of ringing, and will reinforce the speed changes involved in plain hunting. Ensure the learner is aware that ringing only by rhythm is not the goal in the tower. This is due to the small and continuous variations in ringing speeds involved in real life ringing, and the need to be able to adapt to this ahead of time based on ropesight, not after the fact based on the sounds heard. Nevertheless, practicing on a simulator where the other bells are Tim Barnes Page 11 of 20 November 1 st 2007
ringing perfectly is a very valuable training exercise. It might be viewed as the ringers equivalent of a pianist practicing their scales and arpeggios it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. A good overall rhythm is built out of individual ringers firstly being able to strike their bells accurately and consistently over the bell in front of them; secondly, by hearing how the other ringers in the band are striking over the bells in front of them; and thirdly, by converging their striking with that of the other ringers to the point where the gaps between all the adjacent pairs of bells are as similar as possible. It does not start with people putting their heads down and trying to ring like a metronome. This is because firstly everyone will have a slightly different view of what the required rhythm is, and secondly, no one will keep to exactly the rhythm they are aiming for. Good striking requires reacting to what the other bells are doing. If this wasn t the case, a band taking part in, say, the UK s National 12 Bell Striking Competition ought to be willing to ring their test piece blindfolded. I am doubtful that you would find a band that wouldn t view this as putting them at a significant disadvantage. Sometimes more experienced ringers feel that asking the band to put their heads down and ring primarily by rhythm will improve the quality of whatever is being rung. However, this nearly always indicates that the band is trying to ring something that is too difficult for them. It may also be an indicator that some members of the band have not fully mastered all the skills described in the steps above. In this situation, it is better for the band to ring something simpler, and focus on practicing the skills described in this guide. Step 14: Plain course of Erin Doubles from the treble Ringing Erin Doubles involves applying the various skills learned above. The dodging involves applying the ropesight skills learnt in Steps 11 and 12 in consecutive blows, as well as the skills learnt in Step 8 that enable you to change the speed of your bell. From a ropesight perspective, dodging up involves a blow of Step 12 (hunting down) followed by a blow of Step 11 (hunting up), and vice versa for dodging down. Erin Doubles has places made in both 5ths place and 3rds place. The skills required for making places were introduced in Step 10 and were further discussed in Step 12. Leading is also required, including the blow leading when dodging on the front. This was covered in Step 7. The learner should study and learn the blue line, starting from the treble (the blue line is shown further below). The blue line can be written out as a script, and be learnt in the same way that you might learn lines in a play. Erin (and also a related method called Stedman) lend themselves to two different scripts. The first script describes the method in terms of the work being done, as follows: Script for Erin Doubles from the Treble Point seconds (this is the end of the 1-2 down dodge) Lead wrong Make thirds Double dodge 4-5 up Make 5ths Double dodge 4-5 down Make 3rds Lead wrong Dodge 1-2 up Make 3rds Point lead (this is the start of the 1-2 down dodge, at which point the method finishes in rounds) Point denotes a single blow in a given place. Therefore point lead would mean a single blow in 1sts place, whereas lead means two blows in 1sts place. Wrong as in lead wrong indicates that your two blows of leading will be a backstroke blow followed by a handstroke blow. This is the other way around to the leading in plain hunt, which is handstroke then backstroke, and which is described as lead right or just lead. Make as in make 3rds denotes two blows in the same place. Make is not used in the context of making places in 1sts place, since this is denoted as lead. The second script for Erin simply lists the places that you are required to ring in, as follows: Tim Barnes Page 12 of 20 November 1 st 2007
Alternative Script for Erin Doubles from the Treble 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3 4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5 5, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1 The learner should use whichever of the above scripts they feel will be easier for them to learn and use when ringing Erin. The key challenge involved in ringing Erin Doubles for the first time will be holding in your mind the position you have reached along the blue line, at the same time as picking out the bell you are ringing over at each blow, and accurately following that bell in conjunction with the overall rhythm of the ringing. Expect this to take several weeks or more of practice to master. It is OK for the learner to memorize the order in which some or all of the bells will be passed initially. Two diagrams of the plain course of Erin Doubles are shown below, one with the blue line from the treble, and the other with the blue line from the 5 th. The latter makes it easier to see the symmetry of Erin s front work. Plain courses of Erin Doubles: Tim Barnes Page 13 of 20 November 1 st 2007
The circled numbers are explained in the next step. This exercise should be practiced in The Three Stages described earlier. When the learner rings, they should tell the instructor the number of the bell they are following at each stroke. Another practice technique is to ring this in slow motion, using the bell control skills practiced in Step 5 above. This will give the learner more time to think about where they are on the blue line, and pick out the bell they need to ring over at each blow. Step 15: Plain course of Erin Doubles from an inside bell This further develops ropesight as you are required to look across a wider angle to find the rope you will be following at the next blow. The circled numbers in the diagram in Step 14 show the starting positions in Erin Doubles for all five bells. If, for example, you were ringing the 3 rd, you would start by double dodging in 4-5 up. If you were ringing the 4 th, you would start at the beginning of the front work. An important point to realize is that in all standard change ringing methods, all the bells ring the same blue line, they just start at different positions on that same line. If you were to print out the diagram in Step 14 on transparent paper, cut it along the horizontal lines into five sections of six rows each, and lay the resulting five pieces of paper on top of each other, you would find that the blue lines would cover all the places in each of those six changes once and once only. This demonstrates the cyclical nature of change ringing methods. Step 16: Touch of Erin Doubles from the treble, then from an inside bell This further develops ropesight, ensuring that the learner can pick out the bells to ring over when they don t come in the plain course order. Erin Doubles has only one type of call: a single that affects the bells in 4ths and 5ths places. The two diagrams below show the altered work of these two bells. Tim Barnes Page 14 of 20 November 1 st 2007
The work at a single in Erin Doubles: In most change ringing methods, there are only two calls: single and bob. A single typically swaps over two bells. In the diagram above, it can be seen that the single is swapping over 1 and 2, and so the last row above, after 5 sixes, is 21345, instead of 12345. If the band carried on and rung another 5 sixes of Erin Doubles with a second single being called in the same place (i.e. in the 3 rd six), this would swap 1 and 2 back to their original positions, and rounds would come up at the end of the second set of 5 sixes. In this way the method has been extended to twice the length of a plain course. A bob typically rotates three bells, so three bobs called at the same place in three consecutive courses are required to bring up rounds. Bobs are not used in Erin Doubles, but they are used in Erin on higher numbers. The work at a bob will be shown in Step 18. When ready, ring a quarter peal of Erin Doubles. Step 17: Plain course of Erin Triples from the treble, then from an inside bell This develops ropesight on 8. It is OK for the learner to memorize the order in which some or all of the bells will be passed initially. Two diagrams of the plain course of Erin Triples are shown below, one with the blue line from the treble, and the other with the blue line from the 7 th. These show the two points of symmetry one at the front and the other at the back. Tim Barnes Page 15 of 20 November 1 st 2007
The script for Erin Triples is an obvious extension to that for Erin Doubles: in the first script replace make 5ths with double dodge 6-7 up, make 7ths, double dodge 6-7 down. In the alternative script, insert 6, 7, 6, 7, 6, 7; 7, 6, 7, 6, 7, 6 between the 2 nd and 3 rd rows. Plain courses of Erin Triples: Tim Barnes Page 16 of 20 November 1 st 2007
Step 18: Touch of Erin Triples from the treble, then from an inside bell This further develops ropesight, ensuring that the learner can pick out the bells to ring over when they don t come in the plain course order. Erin Triples uses both bobs and a singles. A bob affects the bells in 5ths, 6ths and 7ths places. The three diagrams below show the altered work of these three bells when a bob is called. The work at a bob in Erin Triples: Tim Barnes Page 17 of 20 November 1 st 2007
A single affects the bells in 5ths and 6ths places. The two diagrams below show the altered work of these two bells when a single is called. The work at a single in Erin Triples: When ready, ring a quarter peal of Erin Triples. Tim Barnes Page 18 of 20 November 1 st 2007
Step 19: Plain course then touch of Erin Caters from the treble, then from an inside bell This develops ropesight on 10. It is OK for the learner to memorize the order in which some or all of the bells are passed initially. Touches ensure that the learner can pick out the bells to ring over when they don t come in the plain course order. The script for Erin Caters (in either form) will be apparent from the pattern of the blue line. The calls for Erin Caters are the same as for Erin Triples (i.e. bobs and singles), except that they are made in 7ths, 8ths and 9ths places, as opposed to in 5ths, 6ths and 7ths places. Plain course of Erin Caters: When ready, ring a quarter peal of Erin Caters. Tim Barnes Page 19 of 20 November 1 st 2007
Step 20: Plain course then touch of Erin Cinques from the treble, then from an inside bell This develops ropesight on 12. It is OK for the learner to memorize the order in which some or all of the bells are passed initially. Touches ensure that the learner can pick out the bells to ring over when they don t come in the plain course order. The script for Erin Cinques (in either form) will again be apparent from the pattern of the blue line. The calls for Erin Cinques are the same as for Erin Triples (i.e. bobs and singles), except that they are made in 9ths, 10ths and 11ths places, as opposed to in 5ths, 6ths and 7ths places. Plain course of Erin Cinques: When ready, ring a quarter peal of Erin Cinques. Tim Barnes Page 20 of 20 November 1 st 2007