I was at the training centre using the simulator and there was no one else around. Other than the odd grockle who came in for a look at the History of Change Ringing exhibition on the walls and a ringer from a neighbouring association who was sussing out the joint in preparation for bringing some learners over for a play, I was on my own and could do what I pleased without interruption. I decided to try something different and ring Kent from an inside bell.
I have no problem with the line because I know it from handbells and chose the 3 bell because I thought that if I got one set of places out of the way before I even started treble bobbing, I might have more success. This proved to be the case and I rattled along quite successfully until I came to the last lead – the slow work. In handbells, once grasped, the slow work is a delight because it provides some breathing space. The pattern becomes more stable and even on 12 bells it is straightforwardly repetitive. However, on tower bells it was a nightmare and I crashed and burned again and again. What was so difficult about lead /seconds that I could not get my head around it?
Two teachers arrived because we were meeting up for some in-person handbell practice. I picked their brains and explained my problem – "I can't get the work of the 2 bell" I moaned, "what do I need to do?" They looked puzzled - probably because they failed to see why I was attempting to ring Kent when I can't yet ring Plain Bob properly, but also what was the issue with the slow work? Suggestions were made about watching the treble to know when to start with it and looking at the grid to see the order of the bells that one makes seconds over to know when to stop. Neither ringer mentioned handstrokes and backstrokes but on reflection they are the key. If one is 100% confident which stroke is needed at which change, then errors are likely to be reduced. Of course, the striking might still be uneven, but at least one would know where one wanted to be, even if one did not quite make it there. Being slightly out allows the ringing to continue until the lead end when those seconds can be abandoned. Being totally out and upside down just confuses everyone else, who quite reasonably will blame you for their mistakes because you started the ball rolling down the mountain side. Abel is not so easily led down the wrong path, but real, fallible people may be.
This then, as I see it is the clue – as you move into the slow work you dodge with the treble ringing over her at backstroke, lead full and then move into seconds on the handstroke each and every time. If you can't spot when the treble wants to dodge with you again, either try and count 4 blocks of lead/seconds or ask a kindly person to say something useful, so that you are ready for the pattern change. For a plain course you can rely on the fact that the seconds are conveniently made over bells in plain hunt order and you will probably hear it about to come round anyway, but if there have been some calls it might not be so obvious.
Understanding and feeling the hand/backstroke should make all the difference and if you can do it for Kent, then you can do it for lots of other things that also have a lead/seconds sequence - a moment of security in an uncertain world which should be eagerly anticipated as a chance for a mental breather, not dreaded as a chance to disgrace oneself by crashing around between first and second place and not really knowing which way is up (or down). Indeed, once I have executed my theory (it is still in my head at this stage), I may find it so "obvious" that I switch my allegiance to the 2 bell and get off to a good start.
I am sure that no-one thinks to mention this little crib because it is so blindingly obvious to the experienced ringer – just another example of how when you can do something it is easy but before you can do it, it seems vastly complicated.
There are rather a lot of those examples in method ringing.
No comments:
Post a Comment