Handbell is ……
The handbell has a beautiful, shiny appearance with a pure and elegant sound. When the ringers, the players of handbells, start to swing the different sizes of bells, the beautiful sound they produce is instantly captivating, surrounding the audience with a luscious and harmonious soundscape that soothes and refreshes the mind and soul.
The handbell is also a very suitable instrument for beginners to learn the rudiments of music. They learn how to read scores, count rhythms, practice eye-hand coordination, and develop unique bell-ringing skills. Any ringer can develop and refine his/her skills to increase the number of bells he/she can hold at one time. The ultimate achievement for the player is to play a solo handball piece using the entire range of the bell set. A good handbell choir requires tight teamwork and open communications. The ringers are always working and complementing one another to make music together. An outstanding performance not only exhibits fine techniques and team spirit, but it also communicates the truth, goodness, and beauty of life to the audience.
Bells were used in religious rituals in several parts of the world long before the written language was developed. The musical instrument called “handbell” began in the United Kingdom in the 17th century.
At the time, the church tower bell ringers practiced changing bells in sequence by going up to the tower to ring the enormous bells whose sound echoed around the neighborhood. Eventually, the ringers started practicing with small bells instead of tower bells. This way, they could practice in a much more comfortable place and would not disturb the neighbors. Then, they discovered that ringing handbells could be more than just for practice; it could possibly be used as a musical instrument. So, they began to ring carols and hymns, and later also classical music and pop songs. By the middle of the 19th century, tune ringing on handbells was extremely popular and spread to other countries.
Whitechapel Bell Foundry (1570-2017) was the oldest bell manufacturer in Britain. The famous bells cast by the foundry include the Liberty Bell, Big Ben, etc. The Whitechapel handbells had been produced since 1740s. The foundry ceased manufacturing in 2017 due to a decline in the demand of bells.
The Handbell Family
Handbell
Handbell is a percussion instrument made of bronze with a plastic handle. There are two major manufacturers in the world; one is Schulmerich Bells, LCC (1935), which produces 7 octaves of handbell (85 Bells), and the other is Malmark Bellcraftsmen (1973) which has 7 1/2 octaves of handbell (90 Bells), including 2 octaves of aluminium bass bells.
The prototype of modern handbell was born in England about 300 years ago and was spread to the United States in the mid-18th century, and entered Asia in the 20th century.
When it comes to performance, there are many different combinations of handbells; and the handbell choir is the most popular, made of ten to twenty ringers, and every ringer plays two or more bells. Smaller ensembles with less than ten ringers also exist, such as a handbell quartet or even solo playing. Handbells also fit in well with other instruments, including piano, flute, cello, etc.
Handchime
Handchime is a general name for a similar musical instrument produced by a different company. In 1982, Malmark Bellcraftsmen introduced its line of Choirchimes®. Like a more oversized tuning fork attached to an external clapper, the handchime is lighter and cheaper than the handbell. Ringers can apply many performing techniques. The soft, mellow sound of the handchime encourages many music arrangers to combine it with handbell music to create different moods, colours, and dynamics in a piece.
As of now, there are three major manufacturers of handchimes; “Choirchime®” from Malmark Bellcraftsmen (6 octaves; C2-C8), “ToneChime” from Suzuki Musical Instrument Mfg. Co., Ltd., (4½ octaves; C3-G7) since 1986, and beginning in 1998, Schulmerich Bells released “MelodyChime®” (5 octaves; C3-C8).
Silver Melody Bells
The Silver melody bells® are cylinder-shaped bells coated with nickel. They make a mellower sound than handbells but the sound is brighter and louder than handchimes. They are manufactured by Schulmerich (2 octaves: C5-C7) for the Silver (25th) anniversary of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR) in 1979.
Hong Kong Youth Handbell Ensemble
Conductor: Emily Li
Belleplate
The Belleplate is an aluminium plate with a clapper somewhat similar to a clapper of the handchime. Its tone is not unlike a handbell or a handchime but with a different quality. It is manufactured by Belleplates Ltd., of the United Kingdom (6 octaves, C2-C8). In March 2003, Belleplates Inc. won Best Use of Innovation at the Best of Business Awards 2003.