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Learning to Ring
When bell ringing, each person controls one bell via a rope. The rope has a fluffy coloured part, which is called the sally.
The action of ringing a bell can be broken into two components; a handstroke and a backstroke. It is usual to start by practising backstroke with the tutor looking after the handstroke.
After becoming proficient at backstroke, the learner will attempt the handstroke whilst the tutor looks after the backstroke. The next stage is to combine the two actions.
It may take a few weeks before moving on to ring with other ringers. A bell can easily lift a grown man to the ceiling at great speed but ringing is a very safe pastime because participants are taught how to handle a bell safely.
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About Bell Ringing
In change ringing, each bell has a wheel with a rope and swings full circle, from the 'mouth up' position all the way around to the 'mouth up' position again.
The bells are held in place in their upright position by a piece of wood (the stay), which is designed to break under excess force to avoid damaging the bell.
The bells in the tower are extremely heavy. This, accompanied by gravity, creates a huge momentum, while the bell swings round over 360 degrees. As a result, the bells take approximately 2 seconds to rotate. This means that traditional 'tunes' cannot be rung. Instead, ringers make each bell strike (ring) once, one after the other (known as a change), before each striking again, often in a different order.
To ring bells you need
commitment and enthusiasm
a good memory
a good ear
a sense of rhythm
To ring bells you do not need
musical ability
religious belief
strength
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