This PDF version of the manual is arranged to look like the original A5 booklet. Page 1 of the booklet is on a page by itself (to the right of this note), pages 2 and 3 come !Methods next to each another etc. Page 16 is on a left page by itself. a church bell ringing program by Kate & David Crennell Church bell method ringing demonstration Contents on RISCOS computers. The application !Methods animates a band of from 4 to 16 church bell ringers page with any of a selection of almost 200 standard methods. If you do not ring An introduction to church bell ringing 4 church bells yourself, first read the section: An introduction to methods rung on church bells 6 ‘An Introduction to church bell ringing’. Program running instructions 8 Ringing a Plain Course 10 Program tested on versions of RISCOS 3, 4 and 5 “Calling” a Touch 12 including an A4, 7500FE, Making minor adjustments to the pitch of the ring 12 Kinetic StrongARM RISC PC, Iyonix Format of methods data file 13 and VirtualAcorn* on PCs running Windows. Adding methods 13 2 February 2006 Format of touches data file 13 ‘Diagrams’ 14 Kate and David Crennell, Disc contents 16 ‘Fortran Friends’, PO Box 64, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0TH. Email: [email protected] Tel: 01235 834357 The software to which this manual relates remains our copyright: You must not alter the program or manual in any way but may distribute them in their entirety to others for non-commercial use. The users of such copies should be asked to send us a minimum donation of £10 towards guild bell restoration. (Cheques to ‘Fortran Friends’ at the above address). Our web page for RISCOS ringing applications is: http://fortran.orpheusweb.co.uk/Bells/ Type conventions. If you know of any other ringing applications for RISCOS, please let us know so that we can add them to these web pages. There are also useful This program uses the usual RISCOS conventions in the text with respect links to a glossary and to ‘Learn to ring’ pages. to mouse buttons: <Select> the left mouse button We appreciate comments and suggestions for improvements from users <Menu> the middle mouse button who have sent us a donation towards bell restoration. <Adjust> the right mouse button Words normally spoken in the tower are enclosed in double quotes, We thank John Norris for his help in showing how to use place notation and e.g. “Look To”. both he and Alan Griffin for their explanations of some of the more Italic text is used for technical terms used in bell ringing and in the program. complicated methods and help in improving the ringing style in the Bold text is used for headings and when defining keywords in program animations. windows. * Available from http://www.virtualacorn.co.uk bell An introduction to church bell ringing clapper wheel Church bells hung for change ringing are mounted on a ‘headstock’ slider stay belfry supported in bearings. A rope wrapped around a wheel attached to the headstock allows the ringer to swing the bell. bell rope sally ringing chamber tail end Handstroke Backstroke These two diagrams show the positions of a bell ringer just before pulling off on the two strokes. On the left is the handstroke where the hands are on the thick fluffy sally. On the right is the backstroke with the hands near the end of the rope. Between these two strokes the bell and wheel do a complete turn. The ringer always keeps the end of the rope held in one hand even while they are both on the sally. The bell ropes are usually arranged in a circle in the ringing chamber so that each ringer can easily see all the others and notice how their arms move. The person with the highest note (Treble) bell starts the ringing by calling “Look To” to get all the ringers to hold their ropes in preparation, then “Treble’s Going” and finally “Treble’s Gone” when the bell has passed the balance point and begun to fall. “Stand” is called to stop the ringing; the Before change ringing can begin the bells must be ‘rung up’. The ringer ringers all allow their bells to pass the balance point and rest gently on the pulls on the rope in time with the natural swing of the bell, increasing its stay. amplitude until eventually the bell rises to and just passes the mouth up Rounds is the name given to ringing the bells in order from the highest to position. A piece of wood called a ‘stay’ pushes the ‘slider’ to one side or the the lowest note, and is how all ringing begins and usually ends. other, allowing the bell to rest in the ‘Up’ position. After the bell has been rung up, the ringer pulls it back gently to the balance point and then each For six bells this is written out as the line of numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 . successive pull of the rope turns the bell through a full circle, first in one direction and then in the other. These two pulls of the rope are called Look at our web page: ‘handstroke’ and ‘backstroke’ respectively, the two together being known as a http://fortran.orpheusweb.co.uk/Bells/software/change.htm ‘whole pull’. The clapper turns faster than the bell, catching it up and striking it to see the animation of the ringers above. when it is about 3/4 of the way round. Notice how the clapper rests against the rim on opposite sides of the bell at the top of the two strokes in the next For more information on bells and ringing, look at the web site of the diagram. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers: http://www.cccbr.org.uk 4 5 So ‘Plain Bob Major’ means the Plain Bob method rung on 8 bells. An introduction to methods rung on church bells In most methods all the changing bells except the treble follow the same pattern but start at a different point on the path. The treble usually has a simpler ‘plain hunting’ or ‘treble bob hunting’ path. In a few methods, known Church bells have been rung in England for almost 1000 years to call as ‘principles’ all the ‘working’ bells follow the same path. (The most famous parishioners to church. Originally churches had just one bell, probably rung of these is ‘Stedman’, invented by Fabian Stedman in the 17th century.) by the priest who conducted the service. In time more bells were bought and In ringing text books the paths of the treble and an ‘inside’ bell are drawn rung and a band of ringers recruited. in. Traditionally the path of the treble was drawn in ‘red’ and About 400 years ago the idea of changing the order of the bells was 1 2 3 4 5 6 the path of an inside bell in blue and ringers still talk of suggested. Bells are heavy, often very heavy, and a ringer can only make a 2 1 4 3 5 6 learning or ringing a method ‘by the blue line’. The diagram on small alteration to the swing of a bell when it is in motion. However, late 16th 2 4 1 5 3 6 the right shows a course of Plain Hunt Doubles with the ‘blue’ 4 2 5 1 3 6 century developments in bell hanging made it possible for two bells to change line through bell 3. (In monochrome the red looks much darker 4 5 2 3 1 6 places. The one earlier in the order holds their bell on the balance point in the than the blue.) 5 4 3 2 1 6 inverted position long enough to allow the following bell to ring before it. The A ‘plain course’ is the number of changes needed in this 5 3 4 1 2 6 one later in the order stops their bell rising to the balance point by catching 3 5 1 4 2 6 pattern for the bells to get back to ringing rounds. Usually the the rope earlier, so that the bell swings down sooner. 3 1 5 2 4 6 ‘plain course’ of a method produces fewer changes than the 1 3 2 5 4 6 At first a conductor called the ‘changes’ to tell the ringers which pair of bells total number of possible permutations of the numbers because 1 2 3 4 5 6 were to swap. ‘Call Changes’ are still rung in most church towers from time to bells can only swap one place at a time. Grandsire Doubles, time and are often the first thing a beginner learns after rounds. However, for example, has only 30 changes in the plain course out of the 120 changes early in the 17th century ‘methods’ began to be developed where the order of possible. A conductor can call ‘Bobs’ or ‘Singles’ at appropriate points to the bells was changed according to a pattern memorised by the ringers. access the remaining changes. With five changing bells, a ‘Single’ swaps the Some of the old methods, such as Grandsire and Plain Bob, are still position of two bells; a ‘Bob’ affects the position of three bells. A piece of popular today and are usually those learnt first by beginners because of their method ringing which includes these calls is called a ‘touch’ as opposed to a relatively simple pattern. Many ringers progress to more complicated methods plain course. such as the ‘Surprise’ ones as they gain experience.