Handbell - Ringing Techniques - Other Techniques

Other Techniques

There are other ways to play music with handbells besides traditional ringing. Other techniques include plucking, shaking (or trilling), table damping (or martellato), and malleting bells (both on the table and suspended).

Echo technique adds a brief pulse of increased volume to a sustained handbell note. This is accomplished by gently touching the rim of a vibrating bell to the padded table.

Malleting bells involves using one of several types of rubber, plastic or yarn-wrapped mallet to strike the casting of the bell. This can create a staccato tone when the casing is pressed into padding, a normal ringing tone when the bell is suspended or even a drum-roll effect when multiple mallets are used or multiple hits on the bell are played. Suspended malleting can be employed to create a bell tree which allows many bells to be played by one ringer.

Martellato also creates a staccato tone and is accomplished by striking the bell into the foam-covered table in such a way that the clapper strikes the casting immediately after the bell strikes the foam. A variation, called a "Mart Lift" is accomplished by lifting the bell casting off the table very soon after the clapper strikes. This creates a staccato tone followed by a softened sounding of the bell.

Plucking is accomplished by using the thumb and forefinger to force the clapper head into the casting while the bell is on the table with the handle towards you, producing a staccato tone. Each pluck is a single note.

Shaking is accomplished by rapidly ringing the bell back and forth so that the clapper strikes both the front and back of the bell casting in quick succession. This technique creates a continuous sound, as opposed to normal ringing in which the tone decays rapidly after being rung. Because of their size, bass bells are rarely shaken.

The Singing Bell technique creates a sustained pitch similar to the sound a wine glass makes as its rim is stroked with a wet fingertip, and is accomplished in much the same way. A short wooden dowel or stick is touched to the outside of the rim of a handbell, which is being held in the other hand. The dowel is then used to stroke the rim of the bell in a circular or "stirring" motion. The Singing Bell technique is adapted from the "Singing Bowl" tradition of Tibet.

A Tower Swing is when the bell is rung and then swung down and a bit behind the ringer and back up to a normal position. Doing this creates an "echo" effect. The mouth of the bell must rotate around to create the sound change that resemble a tower bell. Usually this is done over a period of three or four beats' worth of time.

Thumb damp technique provides a staccato sound similar to plucking or malleting. This is often described as a "tinkling" sound. The bell is rung normally with a thumb or several fingers touching the outside of the bell below the rim. This damps the bell's sound immediately after it's rung. With smaller bells, this technique can often be easier than plucking or malleting because the bells don't have to lay on the table.