Freebies

We have freebies! That, of course, is so you can get a taste of what we have here at Choraegus. We do hope that you’ll be back to check out the rest of our store, but we’d like to give you a chance to see what’s here first. A large, large portion of our catalog consists of music for ensembles of two to eight ringers (so, six to sixteen bells). In hopes that you’ll develop a liking for those works, we have free binder cover pages. Just download and print them, then slip them into the front cover of your binder. They’re for six-bell, eight-bell, twelve-bell, and sixteen-bell music; there are four eight-bell covers so that you can organize your eight-bell scores by whether they’re Christmas/not-Christmas and “standard”/”Surprisingly Easy”™.

Most of our free music is for eight handbells. Many are folk or children’s songs, such as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Happy Birthday”. “Dona Nobis Pacem” and “Doxology” fit in church services nicely; also, they’re in singable keys, so you could even have your congregation add their voices to the mix. If you have a full-sized handbell choir, we even have a free version of “Happy Birthday” for 3-7 octaves. Let the party begin!

When you download our free music, our website will ask for your information. That’s so we’ll recognize you if we meet you in the future. We promise not to share your information with anyone else. And when you’ve taken care of that, the next webpage will have links so you can download your new music and start playing it right away!

Do check this part of our website now and then, too, because we’re planning to keep adding freebies. And if you have a suggestion for another free piece of music, let us know and we’ll consider the idea.

Binder Cover pages

If you’ve started gathering lots of our music for six to sixteen bells, here are some free binder cover pages that you can use to organize your music! Six-Bell Pieces: Download This Freebie! “Standard” Eight-Bell Pieces: Download This Freebie! “Standard” Eight-Bell Christmas Pieces: Download This Freebie! “Surprisingly Easy” Eight-Bell Pieces: Download This Freebie! “Surprisingly Easy” …

Alouette, Gentille Alouette

The traditional (children’s) song Alouette, Gentille Alouette originates from France. It’s about a lark (“alouette”); I think I’ll leave it at that! Download This Freebie! Downloading this free arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain copies for your handbell group, and also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing …

Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year! Here’s a free eight-bell score for Auld Lang Syne! Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne! For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne. Download This Freebie! …

Daisy Bell (Eight handbells)

header Harry Dacre wrote Daisy Bell, also known as A Bicycle Built for Two, in the late nineteenth century by Harry Dacre. If you’re movie buff, you’ll probably remember that Hal, the computer from 2001, A Space Odyssey, sang it. I remember learning it from my mom and grandmother. Most people I know sing only …

Dona Nobis Pacem

Dona Nobis Pacem is an ancient three-part canon whose title translates “Lord, give us peace”. We provide this arrangement as a “dual-range”™ PDF. In addition, we’ve also provided transpositions for C5-D6 and D5-E6 to give you more options, including keys that will make it possible to play as your choir or congregation sings. Hymn Tune: …

Doxology (OLD HUNDREDTH)

The Doxology is sung in churches around the world, often as a congregational response to the presentation of tithes and offerings. We have two versions in our score package based on the hymn tune OLD HUNDREDTH. That way, you can use the one which is more familiar to your church family. Additionally, our score package …

Happy Birthday

Here’s our eight-handbell version of the universal party favorite, Happy Birthday. The Hill sisters wrote the song Good Morning to You in 1893. After much history and (legal!) discussion between forces outside our control, the courts declared some years ago that the famous tune by the Hill sisters was indeed in the public domain. It’s …

Happy Birthday (Handbells, 3-7 octaves)

Here’s our arrangement of the universal party favorite, Happy Birthday, for 3-7 octaves of handbells (add handchimes if you wish!). After much history and (legal!) discussion between forces outside our control, the courts declared Happy Birthday, the famous tune by the Hill sisters, to be in the public domain. It’s our pleasure to provide this …

Home on the Range (Eight handbells)

The American cowboy song Home on the Range romanticizes life in the old West. You know… riding horses, herding cattle, sleeping under the stars, and sitting by the campfire at night. There are some of us who think about how much easier that would be than working in the big city with its manic drive …

O Come, All Ye Faithful

The celebration of Christmas centers on the promise that God is always working toward His ultimate triumph. O Come, All Ye Faithful draws us not just to the manger, but to the everlasting future of Christ’s kingdom. There are three transpositions included in this free score package (PDF): G5-based, F5-based, and a D5-based version that …

The Ants Go Marching

You may have sung this song, The Ants Go Marching, when you were young. It’s the kids’ version of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (hint: give this one a go to get an idea of how much more fun the “big kids’ version” will be!). Download This Freebie! Downloading this free arrangement gives you permission …

The Spider Song

Okay… we hedged our bets with respect to the title, because this children’s song is called Itsy Bitsy Spider in the US, Incy Wincy Spider in the UK. Fortunately, the hand motions are the same in both places! Download This Freebie! Downloading this free arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain copies for your …

This Old Man

The well-known counting song This Old Man tells of a seriously lively and energetic senior citizen. If I’m that spry when I’m his age… well, you get the idea. Download This Freebie! Downloading this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment/instrumental score(s), …

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

The children’s song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star has been around for a long, long time. The tune, “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman”, dates back to seventeenth-century France. You might also know it as “The Alphabet Song”, or “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”; if you took your first music lessons under the Suzuki method, this probably was the …

Wedding Bells / Bell Changes

In England, it’s important to have bells at your wedding; if you don’t, many think it’s bad luck. So if you’re fortunate enough to book a church with a functioning bell tower, you can request the services of the local tower ringers to bless your new life. There, however, are ceremonies where there’s no carillon …