Best Practices: Trial and Error

Why are we so attracted, almost to the point of obsession, to this unique instrument known as handbells? Many handbell directors, including many who responded to my Facebook post several months ago, started directing with little or no formal music training, and many trained musicians knew little or nothing about handbells when they began their handbell directing careers. Even with little or no experience with the instrument, we desire to put ourselves out there and give ringing, then directing a try. Here are a few of the most frequently occurring reasons we started directing, based on responses to my Facebook post:

• A ringer volunteers to take over “temporarily” after the former director quit and no one else stepped up to direct handbells.
• A musician on staff is asked to start up or continue a handbell program.
• Novices/volunteers are asked to direct as a handbell program expands and more
  directors are needed.
• A volunteer takes over so that the program remains viable when a church is unwilling or unable to pay a trained musician.

My first handbell directing job was with a junior high choir after the director said she needed to step back and direct fewer choirs. Those kids gave me a run for my money! This was the class that had a horrible reputation for misbehavior and hijinks. Sunday school teachers mysteriously gave up teaching when this group moved up to their class. In retrospect, it was a good ensemble to start with. They didn’t pay much attention to me as a director and did not notice my glaring errors. After one rehearsal, another director who had been in the room observing told me quietly that “in 4/4 time, beat two goes to the left.” She was gentle and kind, but I was mortified. Because the ringers and I learned to depend on each other, that choir and I bonded. I did not abandon them, and they learned how to ring handbells. Several of these ringers continue to ring with me more than a decade later, whether during the program year or asking if they can play for Christmas Eve when they are in town.

Things improved after my disastrous first year. I took them on a road trip to an Area 8 youth handbell festival. The entire trip was magic; they rang with other youth choirs and became an ensemble. I observed seasoned directors as they worked with a massed choir of junior high students. During that trip, I witnessed the transformation that handbells can create within an ensemble. I wanted to keep conducting ringers of all ages and levels!

I audited a conducting class at a local college to improve my directing skills. I was shocked at how much I had to learn, yet I persisted. I had to overcome my own sense of inadequacy by gaining more experience, education, confidence, and trust. My earlier small successes gave me the assurance that I was in the right place, with the right people, and we could only move forward. I started attending National Seminars and took as many classes as I could. Additionally, I took every opportunity to ring under experienced directors at national and local ringing events. Ringing under David Davidson and his successors at Distinctly Bronze has been my own conducting master class every year.

I am so encouraged, humbled, and awed by church handbell directors who stood before me and with me, taking on the task of presenting music for worship, starting with a completely empty bag of tricks. We tried a few things; some worked, some didn’t. We kept moving forward, discarding the chaff and filling our bags with useful information that helps our choirs today be more musical, professional, and collegial. The term “trial and error” is critical to the handbell world for both ringers and directors. Our instrument is relatively new, and we continue to learn new techniques, sounds, compositional techniques, and more.

We all have rehearsals when we feel that nothing worked. After some reflection, I can usually go back to the score and see if there are new ways to teach a rhythm or help someone with a problem spot. The new teaching techniques usually work, but sometimes they fail. I try, I fail, and then it’s time to try again. Fortunately, our bag of tricks still has room for more tried-and-true resources. As the ringers and I work together, we create meaningful worship music performed by ringers who feel a sense of accomplishment. They, too, have learned how to use failure as a springboard to success. My examples of learning from failure have taught the ringers that it’s okay to use mistakes to better understand the instrument and the music.

Our desire to continue to improve, to master directing and honor the instrument, and to create a community in faith is what emboldens us to put ourselves out there, be willing to make mistakes, and still bring beautiful music to a worship service. Because of this, handbell ringing is somewhat unique in the world of music. Let’s keep asking questions, continue to talk and listen to each other, try new ideas, and say a few prayers!

Why are we so attracted, almost to the point of obsession, to this unique instrument known as handbells? Many handbell directors, including many who responded to my Facebook post several months ago, started directing with little or no formal music training, and many trained musicians knew little or nothing about handbells when they began their handbell directing careers. Even with little or no experience with the instrument, we desire to put ourselves out there and give ringing, then directing a try. Here are a few of the most frequently occurring reasons we started directing, based on responses to my Facebook post:

• A ringer volunteers to take over “temporarily” after the former director quit and no one else stepped up to direct handbells.
• A musician on staff is asked to start up or continue a handbell program.
• Novices/volunteers are asked to direct as a handbell program expands and more
  directors are needed.
• A volunteer takes over so that the program remains viable when a church is unwilling or unable to pay a trained musician.

My first handbell directing job was with a junior high choir after the director said she needed to step back and direct fewer choirs. Those kids gave me a run for my money! This was the class that had a horrible reputation for misbehavior and hijinks. Sunday school teachers mysteriously gave up teaching when this group moved up to their class. In retrospect, it was a good ensemble to start with. They didn’t pay much attention to me as a director and did not notice my glaring errors. After one rehearsal, another director who had been in the room observing told me quietly that “in 4/4 time, beat two goes to the left.” She was gentle and kind, but I was mortified. Because the ringers and I learned to depend on each other, that choir and I bonded. I did not abandon them, and they learned how to ring handbells. Several of these ringers continue to ring with me more than a decade later, whether during the program year or asking if they can play for Christmas Eve when they are in town.

Things improved after my disastrous first year. I took them on a road trip to an Area 8 youth handbell festival. The entire trip was magic; they rang with other youth choirs and became an ensemble. I observed seasoned directors as they worked with a massed choir of junior high students. During that trip, I witnessed the transformation that handbells can create within an ensemble. I wanted to keep conducting ringers of all ages and levels!

I audited a conducting class at a local college to improve my directing skills. I was shocked at how much I had to learn, yet I persisted. I had to overcome my own sense of inadequacy by gaining more experience, education, confidence, and trust. My earlier small successes gave me the assurance that I was in the right place, with the right people, and we could only move forward. I started attending National Seminars and took as many classes as I could. Additionally, I took every opportunity to ring under experienced directors at national and local ringing events. Ringing under David Davidson and his successors at Distinctly Bronze has been my own conducting master class every year.

I am so encouraged, humbled, and awed by church handbell directors who stood before me and with me, taking on the task of presenting music for worship, starting with a completely empty bag of tricks. We tried a few things; some worked, some didn’t. We kept moving forward, discarding the chaff and filling our bags with useful information that helps our choirs today be more musical, professional, and collegial. The term “trial and error” is critical to the handbell world for both ringers and directors. Our instrument is relatively new, and we continue to learn new techniques, sounds, compositional techniques, and more.

We all have rehearsals when we feel that nothing worked. After some reflection, I can usually go back to the score and see if there are new ways to teach a rhythm or help someone with a problem spot. The new teaching techniques usually work, but sometimes they fail. I try, I fail, and then it’s time to try again. Fortunately, our bag of tricks still has room for more tried-and-true resources. As the ringers and I work together, we create meaningful worship music performed by ringers who feel a sense of accomplishment. They, too, have learned how to use failure as a springboard to success. My examples of learning from failure have taught the ringers that it’s okay to use mistakes to better understand the instrument and the music.

Our desire to continue to improve, to master directing and honor the instrument, and to create a community in faith is what emboldens us to put ourselves out there, be willing to make mistakes, and still bring beautiful music to a worship service. Because of this, handbell ringing is somewhat unique in the world of music. Let’s keep asking questions, continue to talk and listen to each other, try new ideas, and say a few prayers!

Beth Ann Edwards serves as Director of Arts at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines, Iowa, where she assists with arts programming and directs handbell choirs. Beth Ann holds a Master of Church Music degree with Handbell Emphasis, a Bachelor of Science in secondary English education, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in visual art, and a Master of Business Administration. She attends advanced ringing events, including Bay View Week of Handbells and Distinctly Bronze. She is a founding member and co-director of Des Moines Concert Handbells. Beth Ann chairs the Donald E. Allured Original Composition Award committee, serves on the HMA National Seminar Committee, and has served on the Iowa and Area 8 HMA boards. She has held several appointed and elected positions in community and civic organizations such as the Des Moines Choral Society and Arts in the City.