Ringing practice toolkit

Pip Penney, well known for her involvement in the Kids.Ring.Out project in South Wales, has put together a number of worksheets, method listings and generally helpful things for the use of tower captains, and indeed anyone running ringing sessions.

What follows is an online version of some of these goodies. They are grouped together in a fairly arbitrary, but hopefully logical, manner with a short explanation of what they are. Most of them consist of colourful diagrams dotted with all the explanations anyone could wish for. They are all in .PDF format and need Acrobat Reader or similar to view. You can either download them to print at leisure or you can simply click on the link to have a look at what's on offer. Whilst viewing you can also choose to print individual pages.

Introduction

A PDF version of the introduction is available here.

Preface

This collection of hands-on teaching aids, wall charts, quizzes and guidance notes have been drawn together for use in the tower by people teaching ringing, such as tower captains, ringing tutors and those running occasional practices or local ringing courses.

They are broad in their content thus providing plenty of variety for those ringers (and they are numerous) who find moving on to change ringing a long arduous task.

Material is provided at each stage for development and consolidation of skills and also for a choice of ringing on practice nights. In some bands the less experienced ringers have previously been limited to ringing call changes.

The variety offered here at each stage provides the ringing teacher with ideas for keeping his band interested and preventing boredom. Fundamental skills can be practised in different and imaginative ways.

Included are methods and exercises which allow a ringer or ringers to develop one particular skill in isolation, also strategies to assist the ringing master to cope with some of the difficulties encountered when running practices.

Ringing should be fun. It is a progressive skill and this product provides ideas plus practical teaching aids which enable it to be taught in a structured fashion. There is no attempt made to disguise the fact that learning to ring is not easy. It requires time, patience and application.

Change ringing changes lives; it brings achievement to some people who are not used to it. It develops the mind, trains thinking powers, builds team working skills and self confidence.

The art of the ringing tutor is to use the experts to teach the learners while at the same time advancing the skills of the experts.

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The concept of a "prime ring"

During each practice night every ringer should have at least one piece of ringing specifically to suit their needs. It may be several advanced ringers ringing a touch they are learning together or Bob Doubles where there is only one learner in the band. Putting several learners together into a touch will not allow them to hear their own bell and therefore they will be unable to learn from the experience. In a "Prime Ring", because the other ringers are ringing well, the learner is able to appreciate better what his own bell is doing and how accurately he is striking it.

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Special circumstances and difficult practices

Need something to entertain or prevent boredom in call changes band?

Ideas for having fun with call changes. See Foundation Skills.
Use Kaleidoscope exercises and find out how to build up towards Mexican Wave. See Foundation Skills.

Need to entertain Doubles ringers?

More Doubles methods, plus front works for Doubles methods. See Doubles Methods section.
Use variations and different bobs and singles from More Doubles from Doubles Methods section.
See All Change section for Original, Bastow Little Court Doubles Penultimus and Churchyard Bob, Cornwall Slow Course, Reverse St Bartholomew and Stedman quick sixes or Cloister Doubles, which provide variety but should prove reasonably easy to ring.

Meet short? How to still have fun.

See All Change section.

Slapton Slow Course, which can be rung with one very inexperienced ringer, one plain hunter, three method ringers and a ringer who can cover.
Cottesmore Slow Course Minor, where the 2 just makes seconds and leads again.
Cornwall Slow Course, the 2 makes seconds and thirds while the other bells ring the method.
Cloister Doubles, two bells hunt to thirds place and back while three ring the method.

Want to ring treble bob but no treble ringer? Try Little Kent Court Minor (see All Change section). The treble makes seconds and leads etc, while the other bells ring Kent Treble Bob but without the front work
Want to practise Kent Treble Bob but not enough ringers? Try Forward Minor, which is a principle where all the bells ring treble bob hunt but with Kent places in 3/4. See All Change section
Practise ringing up and down in peal in small numbers (3 or 4).
When short of ringers for Doubles methods Minimus methods can be rung: see All Change section.
Try Original or Penultimus from All Change section. These can be rung with ringers who can plain hunt but not ring methods. They are not strictly speaking "methods" but will provide variety and improve ropesight skills.

Need to improve handling skills? See Foundation Skills.

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Ideas for developing bellhandling/control skills

Need to teach listening skills? See Foundation Skills: Practical ideas to help develop listening skills.
Need to develop ropesight skills? See Foundation Skills: Practical ideas for developing ropesight.
Learners unable to count their place? See Foundation Skills: Place counting or All Change section: Churchyard Bob Doubles.
Plain Bob Doubles too much to learn all at once? See Bob Doubles plus 39 Steps to Bob Doubles in the Doubles Section.
Dodges need improving?

Practise continuous dodging as an exercise with the bells on either side of the learner. Start at handstroke and then progress to backstroke.
Use Kaleidoscope ringing. Foundation Skills section.
Use Funny Bob Doubles before ringing the whole plain course to learn one dodge at a time. See Doubles Methods.
Use Bayles Bob Doubles for a learner who is ringing the plain course but having difficulty with one of the dodges. See Doubles Methods.

Stedman Doubles proving a huge step? Try Stedman Quick Sixes from All Change section or Erin Doubles from Doubles Methods to develop the ringing skills required for Stedman.
Not enough support to move on to Minor?

Plain hunt on 6 and move round a rope. This will give the band practice from all the different starts which will keep them from becoming bored. It also has the advantage that the learners will be repeating the first 11 blows of Plain Bob Minor which will enable them to practise all the different beginnings of each place bell for Bob Minor.
Ring plain hunt starting at backstroke, both for variety and to develop skills needed later in certain Surprise Minor methods.
Penultimus Minor. This again is plain hunt practice but with a little more ropesight required. See Foundation Skills.
Original Minor gives more plain hunt practice but adds coping with dodges at a call and changing coursing orders. More skill is required as the treble does the work and is therefore not in a predictable position in the coursing order. See All Change section.

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Need to maintain enthusiasm and motivation?

Try using goal setting. This may be for individuals or the band as a whole. It may be applied to developing skills such as listening or bellhandling or learning new techniques such as plain hunt. Any target can be used and targets of small steps are very much indicated early on in learning to ring. The Sherbourne Bell Club Awards Scheme has a personal target award badge scheme designed for children but adults may like to work towards the same targets even if they don't want the badges! Later on goals of learning to call a touch could be used. For the whole band ringing a quarter of a method might be appropriate. Goals work best when set in partnership with the ringers and not imposed upon them.
Encouraging ringers to call elementary things such as plain courses of methods.
Use of positive re-enforcement to praise performance.
Encourage learners to look at theory when they are not ringing. Maybe do quizzes, use worksheets, draw out blue lines, or write out 120 of a method etc.
Encourage ringers to stand behind other ringers whilst standing out.
Use a blackboard or whiteboard for explaining methods and supply paper and pens for drawing them out.

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Making the most of people in the tower

Use the interpersonal chemistry of the ringers, e.g. if there is a good relationship between a learner and a more advanced ringer let that ringer stand with the learner when they are ringing.
Ask helpers from other towers to come to your practice.
Take your ringers to other practices or on outings.
Encourage your learners to go to other practices or on outings, emphasising that this is a good way to make progress.
Poor striking the problem? To make hearing easier

Use Kaleidoscope ringing: see Foundation Skills.
Use continuous dodging. Start pairs off one by one e.g. 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 followed by 2/3, 4/5.
As ringing master take the treble and starting with yourself let each ringer in turn face outwards from the circle so they cannot see the other ropes for a few rounds whilst maintaining the accuracy of their striking.
Use a simulator. See 10 ways to use a simulator in Foundation Skills.

Ringers unwilling to learn methods properly.

Try quizzes to demonstrate lack of knowledge and level of knowledge expected and required.
Encourage standing behind during ringing while a more experienced ringer talks to them about the method as they ring.
An experienced ringer stands behind the learner as they ring and asks pertinent question (as to what piece of work is coming next or where they pass the treble etc).

Intelligent learners struggling to learn.

To keep them from becoming bored try getting them to learn to call call changes.
Use methods from All Change section in which the treble or the two rings very simple work but the ringer is involved in method ringing.
Get them involved with other aspects of tower life e.g. maintenance or arranging social events.

Experienced ringers not interested in progress. Why?

Fear of failure?
Fear of criticism?
Insufficient confidence to take a challenge?
Too much work?
The enjoyment gained through putting the effort in does not compensate enough for the work required?
They are happy in their comfort zone?

When you have managed to work out their attitude you will be better placed to address the problem. Try ringing different but easy things to develop confidence to progress; methods chosen will vary with the current level of ringing within the band. Not all ringers want to progress, some are content with ringing for Sunday service and you may have to respect this desire.

Experienced ringers who discourage the band from moving forwards

Offering new things to ring at a parallel level of ability which can be easily learned will give a sense of achievement. Achievement will improve confidence and lead on to better motivation.

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Using quarter peals

Quarter peals are traditionally rung by learners who progress to the point of being able to cover or to hunt the treble to Doubles. However, more imaginative use of quarter peal ringing can help lay the foundations of a sound basis for future progress. Ringing a quarter peal gives roughly 45 minutes of ringing with a strong band. In 1 below the learner has the experience of solid rhythmic handling and striking practice, whereas in 2 the ringer is developing ropesight and learning to hunt up slowly and down more quickly, which is the basis of all change ringing. Having mastered the ropesight on four bells the move on to five bells is not too difficult.

Ideas for early quarters
1. Ringing the second covering bell to Plain Bob Minimus (6 bells)
2. Ringing the treble to a Minimus method

After this the ringer can be moved on to the more traditional approach of covering or hunting the treble to Doubles.

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Foundation skills

This section contains a number of useful bits and pieces to help a tower captain build up the skills needed to get a learner to the plain hunting stage. There is a very handy jargon-buster (how often do instructors baffle learners with admonitions to "pull it in" or "course the third down to lead" without giving the poor student a clue what it all means?). Some tower captains might like to try out "Dodgy Mexican Wave" which, despite a dodgy name, could prove very handy.

A file of helpful notes on the use of the aids in this section appears first
A call change quiz is a quiz which should test most beginners' understanding of call changes
Kaleidoscope ringing and the Kaleidoscope wall chart give a brief explanation of the system of Kaleidoscope ringing developed by Gordon Lucas as a complement, or even an alternative, to call changes
Plain hunt on five bells plus a quiz on the same subject and a worksheet are all designed for the student of plain hunting
10 ways to use a simulator is fairly self explanatory, though there are probably quite a few ideas which are new to a lot of people
A list of ringers' jargon, together with a quiz and a comprehensive chart of the names of various pieces of work complete this introductory section.

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Doubles

Bob Doubles

Bob Doubles is a general file with detailed instructions on how to set about ringing the method
The Bob Doubles worksheet contains an outline grid for the learner to complete.
Calling Bob Doubles has an explanation of calling positions etc, and includes a list of touches.
Planned progression to Bob Doubles provides a list of 39 steps from learning to handle a bell right through to ringing a touch on any bell.
The Bob Doubles quiz contains 30 questions (but no answers) about Bob Doubles and how to ring it.

Grandsire Doubles

Grandsire Doubles is a general file with detailed instructions on how to set about ringing the method.
The Grandsire Doubles worksheet contains an outline grid for the learner to complete.
Calling Grandsire Doubles has an explanation of calling positions etc, and includes a selection of touches.
The Grandsire Doubles quiz contains 20 questions (but no answers) about Grandsire Doubles and how to ring it.

Stedman Doubles

Stedman Doubles includes detailed instructions on how to set about ringing the method, including touches.
Stepping stones introduces methods such as Erin which provide stepping stones to Stedman.

Miscellaneous Doubles stuff

More Doubles gives basic instruction for eight further Doubles methods and a further 13 variations. Also included is a basic introduction to some more Doubles variations of the St Simons type. A number of calling variations is shown too, including Grandsire extremes and Antelope singles.
Doubles joindots provides a blank sheet for drawing methods around a preprinted treble. The output from this sheet is intended to be laminated so it may be reused.

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Minor

Bob Minor

Bob Minor is again a general file with detailed instructions on how to set about ringing the method, including work at bobs and singles.
The Bob Minor quiz contains 20 questions (but no answers) about Bob Minor, and also a further 7 supplementaries on the method's differences from Doubles.

Miscellaneous Minor stuff

Minor joindots provides a blank sheet for drawing methods around a preprinted treble (the Minor version includes a sheet for Treble Bob methods). The output from this sheet is intended to be laminated so that it may be reused.
More Minor gives basic instruction for a number of other Minor methods including Little Bob and moving on to Kent and Oxford TB.

Surprise Minor

Cambridge is a diagram of the method, fully annotated with a verbal descripion of all the pieces of work.
Cambridge to Primrose is an explanation of how to get from a 2nds place method to its 6ths place variation by changing as the treble is passed.
41 regular methods is a cross-reference list of all 41 regular Surprise Minor methods, with an explanation of how it works.

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All change

Methods useful for the early development of change ringing

The following sheets present some simple methods (some of which are not "proper" methods) that can be used to practise specific skills or that can be used in certain circumstances. These are explained on each sheet. These methods can often prove quite good fun for the more experienced members of the band, as well as benefiting the learners, as they are usually easy for experienced ringers to learn but a bit different.

1. Minimus methods (11 different ones)

2. Doubles methods and variations (updated 16 July 2008)

Original Doubles (good for developing ropesight, reinforcing the necessity for a ringer to count his/her place)
Penultimus Doubles (provides a simple (and fun) variation on plain hunt which is a useful aid to ropesight
Churchyard Bob (plain hunt with a Grandsire start)
Slapton Slow Course Doubles (useful for developing early ropesight)
Cornwall Slow Course Doubles (can be rung with few experienced ringers)
Reverse St Bartholomew's (starts to develop skills for ringing Doubles variations)
Stedman Quick Sixes or Cloister Doubles (useful for ringers learning to plain hunt/develop early ropesight)
Bastow Little Court Doubles (provides practice for the treble ringer to gain ropesight and practise the changes of speed between leading and making seconds)
Barrow on Humber Bob Doubles (teaches versatility and quick thinking)

3. Minor

Treble bob hunt (exercise to develop the skill of treble bob hunting)
Forward Minor (provides a stepping stone towards Kent Treble Bob Minor)
Kent Little Court Minor (as above but does not require a treble ringer who can treble bob hunt)
Bastow Little Court Minor (provides practice for the treble ringer to gain ropesight and practise the changes of speed between leading and making seconds)
Cottesmore Slow Course Minor (useful if the band meets short of experienced ringers)
Adrian Parry Slow Course Minor (another method useful if the band meets short of experienced ringers)
Down Places Little Hybrid Minor (gives practice in ringing Cambridge places down)
Original Minor (good for developing ropesight/reinforces the neccesity for a ringer to count his/her place)

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