Ring My Bell Trivia Quiz

Answer: P. T. Barnum

Barnum discovered handbells and ringers in Wales. He dressed the ringers in Swiss costumes (to further his sales pitch) and booked them on an American tour, ca. 1840s. Some people still think that handbells are Swiss...a tribute to the legacy of a powerful salesman and showman. Barnum also promoted soprano Jenny Lind. Annie Oakley belongs to the legacy of the Wild West Show and Franz Liszt was a 19th century phenomenon in his own right.

The Liszt craze was known as Lisztomania and to my knowledge received no help from P. T.

Answer: change ringing of tower bells

In 17th century England, change ringing (mathematical formulae of bell tones...i.e. Westminster Chimes heard in your clock or your doorbell) was performed by ringers playing the tower bells in the church belfries. Drawbacks to change ringing rehearsals included cold, drafty belfries in which to rehearse and annoyed townspeople who didn't like all the noise. So a portable (and quieter) alternative evolved in the form of the tuned handbell.

Many pubs in 17th, 18th and 19th century England had sets of handbells available so that the change ringers could sit by the fire, purchase a pint or two apiece, and practice their changes. Eventually the melodic potential for the handbell was realized and non-change music was developed for the instruments.

Answer: copper and tin

The alloy for Schulmerich and Malmark bells (American) is 80% copper and 20% tin. Whitechapel handbells (English) also have zinc in the alloy. Other famous bells made by the Whitechapel foundry include Big Ben, the Liberty Bell, the bells of Westminster Abbey and "The Clock Bells" of London's St. Paul's Cathedral.

Answer: waist

The waist of the bell is found just below the lip (open edge) where the bell begins to flare. A small jeweler's mark etched on the inside of the bell casting indicates the optimum strike point of the clapper for the best sound. The fundamental and the 12th overtone are the only partials of the bell tone which are tuned into the casting.

The composition of the alloy and the special tuning gives the instrument it's unique timbre.

Answer: martellato

The basic martellato strike has a totally damped sound after the intitial strike. Variations on the martellato technique include the martellato lift or mart-lift. The martellato lift continues to ring (vibrate) after the initial strike because the ringer lifts the bell off the padded table. Be sure to strike only the padded surface of the table!

Answer: laissez vibrer

Laissez vibrer means to let the bell continue to vibrate after ringing. Normal procedure is to ring the bell for only the note value indicated (quarter note, half note, etc.) and then damp or stop the sound. A laissez vibrer marking suspends the normal rules of damping until further notice. Tower bells are rung "laissez vibrer" because of the safety factor. Pity the poor ringer who tries to damp one of those monsters!

Answer: shelley ringing

In 1976, a young high school bell ringer named Shelley Weaver was having a difficult time making the bell changes required of her assignment in a piece of music. She put two bells together in one hand and voila, problem solved. The other ringers began talking about "shelley-ing" the bells when they needed to use the same technique and the art of shelley ringing was born. To execute a shelly ring, two bells are picked up so that the clappers of both are facing forward.

When the ringer rings them, both bells sound simultaneously.

In 4 in-hand ringing, one bell is rolled so that the clappers face different directions. This enables the ringer to ring the bells separately while holding both in one hand.

Answer: concert C, an octave lower

Although notated in the key of C, concert pitch, handbells are written one octave below where they actually sound. In handbell notation, notated middle C (called C5) is heard as the C an 8ve above middle C. Regardless of notation idioms, handbells are beautiful when heard alone or in combination with other instruments.

Answer: full score

Unlike orchestral music that presents indivdual scores to each instrument part (the conductor is the only person with the full score before him), each handbell ringer reads the same full score presentation of the music. In some arrangements that use other instruments in conjunction with bells, the conductor has the extended full score and the ringers have only the full handbell score.

Answer: pizzicato

The pizzicato sound on handbells approximates the pizzicato or plucked sound of the violin or 'cello. The vibrato sound is achieved by ringing the bell, then gently rocking it from side to side in order to produce a wavering, pulsing sound. Legato technique is attained through hard work and musical sensitivity.