At its core, ringing is a skilled performance based activity. Many extra layers can add to a richer experience – art, science, heritage and social friendship – but underneath it all a ringer is a performer. That fact is often forgotten as we strive to learn the next method, ring the next quarter peal, grab the next tower.
Most performers practise in private and perform in public. They practise what they are going to perform in order to perform to an acceptable standard. In contrast most ringers practise in public sometimes with little consideration to their involuntary audience.
Ringers don’t compare well to other church musicians. Choristers are expected to sing the right tune in the correct rhythm. Humble village choirs may not achieve the immaculate sounds heard in our cathedrals but even they generally sing the correct notes on most of the right beats. Ringers don’t need pitch notes they ‘only’ have to get the timing right. Whereas a village choir may occasionally hit a wrong note, some bands will struggle to strike a clean row.
Ringing tower bells is not an easy art, trying to swing half a ton of metal to a precision of a fraction of a second would seem impossible to the layman – but it is well within the reach of a person with ordinary ability if they develop the right skills and exploit the rhythmic nature of the process.
Unfortunately many ringers will never have heard good striking let alone having taken part in any. If a church organist played several wrong notes in every line of a hymn we might want them to give up or at least take lessons to try to improve.
The public have no option but to hear our performance, we use the loudest musical instrument there is. Is it therefore fair that we inflict unrhythmical ringing on them. It has been suggested that as we ring for divine service, is it disrespectful to ring badly?
As well as the impact of the quality of our performance on the public there is also the question of the impact on ourselves. With any activity that we do we are motivated to achieve the best that we can, be that dance, music, flower arranging, sport or any of a myriad of pastimes we have. We feel satisfaction when we have done well and are motivated to continue to improve. Yes, we have fun while ringing but we could get our fun in many other ways. The buzz we aim for is found when doing a job well. That buzz is even more heightened when the whole team have performed well.
The answer to being able to ring well is to consciously listen and hear our ringing and therefore to work to strike well. It is a skill that can be learned and with continued practice, achieve.
Sue Carter
West Dorset Training Officer
