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. . . A Bit of Ringing Theory

Changes and Methods

There are two main types of full circle ringing: call changes and methods. In call changes a conductor swaps the sequence of a pair of bells, to alter the sound they produce. When bells start ringing they do so in a sequence called 'Rounds'. On eight bells this is shown as 12345678, where 1 is the treble (the bell with the highest note) and 8 is the tenor (the lowest). The eight notes form a full octave; if you started with the treble as middle C on the piano and touched all the white notes in sequence down the keyboard until you reached the next C, you would have rung Rounds!

But back to call changes! By calling "2 to 3", for example, the conductor would have altered the sequence from Rounds to 13245678. Continuing with "4 to 5" followed by "6 to 7", a change of 13254768 would result, which ringers know as 'Cross' (because all the inside bells have crossed with their neighbour). Other famous changes are 'Queen's' - 13572468, and 'King's' - 75312468, both very musical, and the first named after Queen Elizabeth I, who, so the story goes remarked on its beauty while passing a tower one day.

Call changes are rung extensively in Devon and Cornwall, but are used in other parts of the country to train people in the early stages of method ringing. The call change ringers in the South West call method ringing 'scientific'!

Methods were first recognised in the 17th century (or possibly even earlier) as a way of ringing every possible change in a pre-determined sequence using a set of simple rules. For example, no change could be repeated in the 'touch'. No bell could move its place by more than one at a time. On four bells it's possible to ring only twenty-four changes without repetition (1 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 24). There are eleven methods which define the sequence of changes on four bells using these rules. On five bells, the extent, as it's known, is 120 (24 x 5). On six, 720; on seven, 5,040 and on eight bells, 40,320. It would take a whole 24 hours of continuous ringing to achieve the extent on eight! Yes, it has been done, but imagine standing in one place for a whole day, ringing continuously, and not making one mistake!

But it takes only four or five minutes to ring the extent on five bells (120 changes), and about 25 minutes for an extent of 720 on six bells.

There are simple methods and complicated ones, some fiendishly difficult to remember, but method ringing is practised by most of the 40,000 or so ringers in the UK and overseas.  Method ringing is intellectually and physically challenging, stimulating, and can be wonderful when performed to a high quality, which is the aim for all ringers.  Ringers call a good piece of ringing "well struck", recognising that it is the clapper striking the bell that makes the noise.  Contemplate the timing difficulty when the object above your head is swinging through the circle, and you cannot see when the clapper will strike - it all has to be done by rhythm and timing, a skill that does take time and perseverance to acquire.

Quarter Peals

Quarters are frequently rung for special occasions or to consolidate previously learned methods, and it can take around forty-five minutes to ring the 1,250+ changes required.

Peals

Peals are the pinnacle of a method ringer's career! Upwards of 5,000 changes are rung, taking three hours or more to complete. They are a true test of ringing ability and resiliance, and usually only the more experienced ringers achieve them. Nevertheless, there were 4,905 peals rung last year, 4,331 on tower bells and 574 on handbells! Most peals are rung for special events, although increasingly they are rung for pleasure, amazingly!

Touches

A touch is where the pattern of a basic method (called the plain course) is extended by calls to achieve a longer length. For example, a plain course of Grandsire Doubles is thirty changes long and would take around a minute to ring.  But it can be lengthened to 120 (the extent on five bells) by calling bobs and singles.

Touches are practised by bands on practice night and performed on Sundays, to provide longer lengths of continuous ringing lasting typically from five to ten minutes at a time.