Hell's Bells ...

[Contratrombone64]

here is a fascinating YouTube video of an impressive bell tower in Perth, Western Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnoZH...mbedded#at=108

[wljmrbill]

Very interesting.. Great video.. Thanks

[Contratrombone64]

yeah - it is interesting, and, as a bell ringer myself, a tower I'd love to visit.

[jhnbrbr]

So that's where all our bells are going! It does look a fascinating place, though.

[marval]

Thank you for sharing that CT. There are three bell ringers in my family, not me but that was very interesting.


Margaret

[greatcyber]

Thanks for sharing this info here. I always thought that the bell ringing was a purely mechanical thing, having no clue that there were actually people pulling ropes. There's my something new learned for today. So that makes today a productive day.

[Contratrombone64]

Bell ringing in north america is rare (at least by that I mean "change ringing"), mostly in Britain, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

[Krummhorn]

I've always been fascinated with bell ringing like this. Here in the states, some churches (that have playable bells in their towers) employ Carillonneurs, but they peal them from a keyboard type of mechanism.

Change ringing is truly an art - precise timing is required by each player ... much more than simply tugging down on a rope.

[marval]

This tells you a little about how it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RtN3urZiDk

[methodistgirl]

The courthouse where I live plays chimes instead of bells. The building
looks similar to my church. The only bells my church has is the bell
choir which I just joined. Some are the size of mixing bowls and some
are very small. I have the ones in the middle.
judy tooley

[marval]

That sound interesting Judy, I would love to hear your bell choir.


Margaret

[zolzayn]

here is a fascinating YouTube video of an impressive bell tower in Perth, Western Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnoZH...mbedded#at=108

Really nice!

[Soubasse]

Almost a whole page on bell ringing and no-one's said "Campanology" yet.

Fixed.

Tried it once and nearly killed myself (and everyone else in the room) when I lost control of the rope. Very happy to sit and watch as I frequently do.
Nice clip CT

[Contratrombone64]

"Campanology" is the study of bells (by definition). As a bell ringer I'm not a campanologist (as I don't study them) but a "bell ringer".

[Soubasse]

Fair point, I only say it because most of the bell ringers I met referred to themselves as campanologists - probably because at least two of them actually were. This troupe also had attended conferences and workshops that apparently put them slightly above and beyond someone who just pulls the ropes (but which unfortunately for others gave them a bit of superiority complex).

cyber, some bell towers do have both manual and automated bell ringing systems (like the ones in most tower clocks) but I certainly couldn't tell you how they worked.

Carillonning (sp?) is another thing altogether with their "thumper" action keyboards. I recall having very sore fists after playing the carillon in Canberra many long years ago.

I do admire change ringers and their ability to calculate ahead of time, particularly since it's based on the weight of the bell which in turn is based on your assessment of that weight which in turn is based on your own strength, which in turn ... etc etc