Ring

Choraegus has loads of handbell music for you to try, rehearse, and perform. We have scores of all sizes:

  • Six accompanied handbells. Two or three ringers, plus piano accompaniment.
  • Eight handbells. Two to four ringers, sometimes with piano or organ accompaniment. Our eight-bell pieces come in two varieties: “standard” and “Surprisingly Easy”™ (sometimes described as having “all the music, but without the fiddly bits”. Our pieces for eight bells are perfect for learning four-in-hand ringing!
  • Twelve handbells. Three to six ringers. These range from rather simple to fairly challenging, and they all can be used as concert pieces.
  • Sixteen handbells. Four to eight ringers.
  • Small handbell ensemble. These scores range from duets to sextets, with bells being played in a table-based manner.
  • Handbell choir. Our scores for handbell choir range from two to eight octaves, and traverse the entire range of AGEHR levels.
  • Solos. We have a number of solos, including several for a single bass handbell ringer.
  • Low Ding Zone pieces. These are pieces for bass handbell ensemble, so they require accuracy, speed, and strength. Many of them were written for Low Ding Zone, the World’s First Bass-Only Handbell Ensemble, which performed from 2005-2013. We’ve retained the designation for our bass ensemble music!

In addition to our music scores, we have the Bass Ringer’s Notebook (Second edition)Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Second Edition, recommended by Handbell Musicians of America as a reference on the subject of bass handbell ringing.

Handbell Music: FAQs

Licensing Agreement – PLEASE READ

Choraegus Handbell Music Licensing Terms General Permissions | 6 bells | 8 bells | 12 bells | 16 bells | bell choir | solo | small ensemble General Permissions with respect to Performances and Recordings Live (including livestreamed) performance is permitted. For our purposes, “live performance” also includes rehearsals. Personal recordings of live performances are …

About Our Practice Tracks

We have practice tracks for most of our unaccompanied small-ensemble handbell scores (up to sixteen bells). For a small cost, you get a piano-plus-click-track audio version of the score. This provides a way for your group to hear what they’re playing with a guiding metronome. For our “dual-range” eight-bell scores, there are separate practice tracks …

What if you have nine (or ten, or eleven…) ringers?

Are you considering our eight-, twelve-, or sixteen-bell music, but appear to have more ringers than are needed to play? That’s a good problem to have, because it means you’re on the way to enjoying even more music! But if you have, say, nine ringers, that would appear to be too many for sixteen bells, …

Six-Bell Music (Accompanied)

From Larry: I had shoulder surgery in May 2020. The result of this was being left-handed for some months. Carla suggested creating some six-bell music to make playing possible for me, with the idea of playing it as a four-in-hand ringer plus a two-in-one/good-hand ringer. There also would be the possibility of someone playing these …

Eight-Bell Music

Handbell music requiring just eight bells – surprisingly, perhaps, can be exciting and expressive as well as remarkably challenging. Choraegus is proud to present pieces in this genre for your listening and performing enjoyment! Eight-bell music is more versatile than you might think! Here are some possible ways to play it: … as a two-bells-each …

Twelve-Bell Music

Twelve-bell music has been around for quite a while. The usual convention has been to compose for twelve white key bells from C5 to G6 (so, C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, A5, B5, C6, D6, E6, F6, G6). More than a few sets of bells, particularly in the United Kingdom, consist of those notes, possibly …

Sixteen-Bell Music

Here’s some music that requires “just” sixteen bells. You can play it as a four-in-hand quartet, or as an octet with each person having two bells, or anything in between. And if you have a suggestion for a piece that might be great with just sixteen bells, please suggest it below and we’ll think about …

Solos

Handbell – Small Ensemble

We have music for small ensembles as well! Take a look, and enjoy!

Handbell – Full Choir

We have some pieces for “normal” handbell choirs, ranging from two to seven octaves. If you’d like to suggest a piece, let us know and we can look into the possibilities! If you happen to have a smaller ensemble than might make these pieces manageable, you should take a look at our more minimalist repertoire …

Low Ding Zone (Bass Handbell Ensemble) Music

Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Second Edition

The Bass Ringer’s Notebook has been a reference work for bucket slingers since 2007. This second edition provides updated information, new ideas, and illustrations with matching YouTube videos that show how to perform with your bass bells. Topics include: Lifting Bass Bells – Every note played on every handbells starts with a lift. With bass …