Feature
Home Alone…with Bells
Keeping Your Quarantined Ringers Busy
Ringers around the world are rising to the challenge in this momentous time to prove that, indeed, handbell ringers are flexible: creating new ways to teach, ring, interact, and even perform while side-by-side ringing is on hiatus. Here are a few examples:
Tips & Tools
Assembling Multi-Track Videos with Acapella
Plus Music to Get You Started
Like many performance organizations, handbell ensembles have canceled rehearsals and performances during the pandemic. In order to simulate a larger ensemble, we have been recording multi-track handbell videos using a mobile app called Acapella.
What's Happening
A Message from the National Seminar Planning Committee
These uncertain times have been difficult for all our members. However, they have also encouraged creativity, leading us all to try new things and find new ways to connect, hold rehearsals, perform, and communicate with our fellow handbell musicians. With many events and performances cancelled or postponed, we have struggled with how best to proceed [...]
Chiming In
Hello, handbell friends. I hope everyone is staying safe, well, and sane out there. Things certainly have changed in the world since our last issue. We hope you’ll excuse this issue’s lateness as we ended up in a position of having to research possibilities for National Seminar at the same time as making a transition [...]
From the President's Pen
As Jenny Cauhorn moves on in a new direction this spring, I thought it might be prudent to take a look back at some of her major accomplishments while she has been here at Handbell Musicians of America (HMA). I’m sure this article doesn’t create an exhaustive list, but I wanted you to get some [...]
Executive Notes
The transition to find a new executive director for the Handbell Musicians of America has begun. It’s a time for our organization to consider new possibilities, new methods, new ideas, and new hopes.
Membership Matters
Are you lucky enough to get new ringers in your group every year? Whether you are the director or a ringer, in a church, school, or community setting, there are lots of ways to roll out the welcome mat for your new ringers.
What's Happening
We are pleased to provide our annual financial report. This report covers Fiscal Year 2019 which began October 1, 2018, and concluded September 30, 2019. Following is an explanation of the income and expenses for that period.
What's Happening
On behalf of the national board of directors, I am pleased to announce the results of our recent National Board and Bylaws election.
Handbells in Education
Bells Save the Day
How Handbells Helped an Advanced Math Student Get an A+
I am a college student with a math major and a music minor. Many people think that’s a strange combination. Some tend to believe that math and music have little to nothing in common (even that they somehow use different halves of our brains), and many math people tend to believe that they aren’t creative. [...]
Handbell Musicians Roundtable
Most handbell musicians didn’t originally start out to be handbell ringers or directors. It’s always interesting to hear the path that led people to the art of handbells. We asked some handbell musicians to share their stories. Some people gave us simple, two-word answers; others shared detailed bios. A common answer was “my mom (friend’s [...]
Handbells in Worship
Aloha, Handbells!
Challenges of Maintaining a Handbell Program in an Isolated Area
Aloha! Hawai‘i is roughly 2500 miles from the west coast. We are no stranger to geographic isolation. In fact, this might be a reason why many of us live here. A laissez-faire attitude coupled with a loose interpretation of time comes with the territory as locals throw a shaka hand gesture which translates to “hang [...]
