Ringing Forums

I've been more or less out of ringing for several years now - largely because moving to vairous relatively sparsely populated areas around the country produced only intermittent ringing, on small numbers of bells, and often, dare I say this, with bands not wishing to progress their abilities.

Now, I regret to say, though I am fairly keen to find some decent ringing, but not on small rings, and, generally, I favour peals - but not non-progressing practices ad nauseam. The idea produced is that ringing prowess is in such short supply that it is only in major locations that (a) advanced ringing can be contemplated, and (b) the product of advanced ringing can be relied upon to attract and 'raise' new people to put in the required effort. Too often, in local towers encountered in the past ~10 years, one has seen a status quo where an aspirant(!), even after a great deal of 1:1 teaching, can neither reliably know where their bell is in rounds, nor sustain its place in the sequence.

Many, of course, put in a great deal of time and effort trying to recruit new persons to ringing. This is nothing but laudable. Yet, the failure rate at most levels (in retention, as well as a reasonably useful upward sense of prowess) is high. Without stimulus from the existing band, there is little forward push for a new ringer to hone and advance their abilities.

I know this is 'doom and gloom', but I cannot see where, in the sort of locations I have mentioned, any progress can be made.

Where I started it was the norm, on this middling 10 (25cwt), to ring minor on the front six (which is, of course, a diatonic major and didn't unduly frighten the horses), or, sometimes on the back eight to triples of some sort. (It gave me a detestation of odd-bell methods. But that, of course, is just one person's feeling.) When a new, enthusiastic, and very experienced, tower captain arrived the entire atmosphere changed. We would rarely ring on the front, and only slightly more often odd-bell stuff on the back eight. Very rapidly, the band was strengthening with ringers from towers elsewhere, and we were rapidly onto royal, as such a tower should be.

The impetus was that new tower captain.

Enthusiasm for methods was the key. Quite quickly, several of us were visiting and assisting towers in the area, and joining the 'advanced' towers, too. Ringing at a practice each weekday, and peals put in as often as we could. Happily, there were plenty of eights, some 10s and some twelves to get to.

Absolutely it is most satisfying, if you have an eight, to ring all of them, together, in methods. The front six, however, do have their own piquance - being the first, ascending, six notes of the (modern) Phrygian mode, which is, of course, a standard musical scale.

If, in general, people are happier ringing six, then might it work, as a bridging idea to get to all eight (or at least the back six), to use the middle six? I.e., the Dorian mode (which is, potentially, a little more 'familiar', musically?

I think it should certainly be listed - not only for its ancient origins and present-day continuation (though increasingly patchy), the publicity dimension is worth pursuing wherever possible.

I'd think the custody of keys is a matter for the churchwardens (assuming this is an anglican church). They are, as far as I know, the statutory keepers of the assets of the church.

Anyone else wanting/needing a key might be given one to keep during their term of office or other need, but only with the congisance of the churchwardens, and with the arrangement properly noted.

[That's how it works for me: keys for song room, choir library, organ + organ chamber, other instruments, church doors, etc., until such time as I might relinquish my (paid) sojourn. I have to account for the whereabouts of the keys concerned, and their safety, at any time the chuchwardens might wish.]