Handbells - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Handbell

Classified as a percussion instrument, the handbell - explained in an eponymous manner- produces a chiming sound if a certain pattern is to be followed. To ring a handbell, the player grasps a slightly pliable handbell, traditionally of animal skin but also of plastic and uses the wrist to clap the bell inside. Such a chiming sound may be produced by one bell, but handbells are usually used in tuned sets, each bell conveying one note at the time.

Contrary to popular opinion, the history of the handbell is fairly recent. One might date the handbell back to times immemorial, yet it was originally developed by the Cor siblings, Robert and William at the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century. Their vision of the mechanics of the handbell was classic enough: one movement of the clappers inside the bell, one accurate, fundamental tone. While it remains uncertain who initially came up with the idea to use handbells in music, the Cors are acknowledged to have put the idea in practice, that is tuning the bells more finely to suit musical purposes.
Later on, the handbell was brought on the other side of the ocean to the US to finally establish a reputation as a musical percussion instrument.

The ringing techniques for handbells have been also subject to change. Depending on the number of bells needed for a particular piece of music, a ringer may be required to ring a various number of bells in quick succession.
The initial handbell meant ringing six bells, able to produce different sounds of their own while a more modern version, like the one brought to the US, would require ten bells.
Handlings techniques thus vary when interpreting musical pieces. With two bells, the ringer would ring one in each hand. With the four-in-hand technique, two bells are held in each hand, each clapper forming a 90-degree angle with the adjacent one. Such a technique is compulsory if the ringer is to coordinate his hand movements properly in order to obtain a bell sound.Another technique, the six-in-hand bell one, comes with a different arrangement from the previous ones. Each hand holds three balls; two bells are initially grasped and afterwards the third one is positioned.

Handling techniques of different bells simultaneously may seem tricky to tackle with for novice ringers. As practice makes perfect, difficulty disappears with the amount of experience accumulated. A particularly strenuous technique is the more recent weaving. The use of fairly big bass bells implies shifting from the traditional technique- grasping various bells per hand- to a weaving-like movement of the bells. Ringers reach across their bodies for a support to place on additional bells so that a free hand is always available to pick up the following bell in the sequence. A weaving of hands and bells is thus created, requiring a certain degree of mastery from the part of the ringer. Perhaps the weaving technique may not constitute the perfect first lesson for a dilettante, but at the end of the story, the act in itself, handbell playing, constitutes an absorbing and stimulating experience.