Handbells (or) Topics Shamelessly Ripped From Other Blogs

The always inspiring Anne recently posted some reflections on handbells. I started to leave a comment, but then I got overly wordy, as I am wont to do, so I moved the comment on over here where it would have some room to stretch. I have some experience with handbells. I hid in the bell cupboards under the table during rehearsal all through my childhood, and then played as a substitute when I was more or less able to read music and my dad was desperate for someone to play high C other than himself from the conductor's podium. The thing about handbells is that, yes, they're so weird. It's easier than playing a whole instrument in some ways, because you're only responsible for usually 2 and sometimes 4 notes at a time (counting your accidentals!) In other ways, it's so much harder than "normal" music making, because as Anne points out, you split the music up into little chunks and then expect it to sound just as musical as if one person were playing everything. I've heard amazing, professional type choirs, and you might be fooled into thinking they had perfected a hive mentality, but the other thing about handbells is that most people's experience with them is Sunday morning at church when the regular choir has the day off. And they end up with bad reputation because 1) everybody thinks they can play the handbells, because hey, it's only one note at a time (this is so very misguided) and 2) because there are so many amateur choirs, there is a lot of music that is geared toward them. Consequently, there is a huge body of easily played but mediocre or downright terrible music floating around thanks to Agape Press et al. But there's also some really bizarre and insanely difficult stuff out there, a lot of orchestral arrangements and the like. I heard a recording of a handbell choir doing Flight of the Bumblebee once. Handbells tend to be the butt of a lot of jokes, and probably most choirs deserve those jokes (as long as they take them in good humor). All the handbell choirs I have known have been...well a little neurotic, on the whole. They're like all the fun of church choir, plus the difficulty of cooperating with your fellow musicians (because, as we all know, regular choir involves very little of that on a regular basis. Zing!) All in all, I think handbell choirs are pretty cool! When you play well, it's pretty neat! When you play less well, it's pretty hilarious, so it's a win/win situation for listeners! But don't get me started on choir chimes.