Living Water - Dissertations - Bass Ringer's Notebook - Gloves

Gloves

The main reason for wearing gloves is protection. First of all, they protect the bells from moisture which is on your hands, and which, if not dealt with, will cause your bells to tarnish.This, of course, is dependent on just how dry and clean the gloves stay in the first place; if you have especially sweaty palms, then your gloves may very well soak clear through. If this is the case, be aware of when this happens and have extra pairs of gloves - or a polish cloth - ready.

Gloves also protect the bells from jewelry and other hard items which may scar their castings. They don't provide a huge amount of padding, though, so it's important to be careful. The best application of "careful" is to remove all jewelry before you head for practice or performance!

Gloves also protect your hands from wear and tear. Bass ringers' hands experience more friction and abrasion than those of treble ringers because of the greater weight of their bells. That means you need to shield them against undue stress by wearing gloves so that you can continue enjoying the art of ringing for a long, long time to come.

Cotton gloves are okay. The fabric is absorbent, but it's also thin enough so that if you perspire a lot, they'll get soaked and therefore will still transfer moisture to the bells. They also provide a little bit of cushion for your hands, but it usually isn't enough for bass bells, and some people double-glove to improve matters.

Leather works well. I went to leather gloves some years ago, and won't use anything else for bass bells now. That's because the leather is less permeable than cotton, and so keeps moisture away from the bells. Better yet, leather provides more cushioning, and if you get leather sports gloves (for baseball, for instance), they frequently have some additional padding in just the right places (if you're new to bass bells, those places are your palms and the "V" between your thumb and index finger). Some of them have grippy materials included, so be aware that they might also make life a little more difficult if you're assigned to play high treble bells for a piece or two - for that reason, I don't use golf gloves any more - they're just a little too sticky for me.