A handbell is a compound word made of hand and bell. When we hear bell we usually think about church bells and cowbells. However, there is a set of bells that can be handled skillfully, and they are called handbells. They require the use of multiple skills to make the desirable sound, and a high level of focus leads to great and successful performances.

“Leading a handbells choir is like sitting in a lab and leading a group of novice inventors who are looking forward to seeing their newly discovered items make the desired sounds individually and as a group.”

Musicalway using a creative approach to directing a multigenerational handbells choir that does not read music. In other words, most volunteers church choirs do not know anything about the musical symbols they see in their songbooks. The situation is not different for those members who show interest in playing a musical instrument, such as the handbells.

Musicalway created a literacy way to Handbells performance

Musicalway believes that every learner can achieve his utmost potential by applying basic steps that that suits his abilities. Musicalway believes that every learner can be trained. For instance, a singer and/or an instrument player must be able to follow a melodic contour, which consists of melodic motives that go high [up], low [down], and the same direction.

Every successful endeavor is always strategic. Musicalway used one of the most successful ancient combat techniques like the example of Gideon’s army as told in the Book of Judges. I divided the choir into four small groups separated by vocal ranges. As a rule of thumbs, most standard choirs have four parts. The subdivisions quickly created small but strong units sharing the same pitch.

Musicalway created a handbells filled with harmony

The handbells choirs sections are identified by the size of their instruments. Of course, the sizes determine the pitch, the voice, the range. The smaller handbell is the soprano, and as the size increases we can identify the alto, the tenor and the bass. The biggest handbells represent the low pitches. The Musicalway to literacy, in this instance, was to create a sound chart for each section that was written on individual staves (plural for 2 or more staff). Each group developed the ability to follow their melodic contours individually and as an ensemble, thus my handbells choir was created in 2001.