Teaching ringers to sightread handbell music

[Wendy Cheng]

Hi!

Hope you are all enjoying the rest after the last performances of the spring 2026 season!

I have decided I am going to teach my ringers how to sightread handbell music over the summer.  My community handbell ringers ring mostly level 2 music.

I have at least one novice ringers who didn't start ringing until a year ago, and I have several ringers who mark their music.  I have noticed that at handbell festivals (even for level 1 and level 2 ringers) at least one session is devoted to sightreading new repertoire.

So if you were teaching novice or less experienced ringers sightreading, how would you answer the following questions?

a.  Why learn to sightread?  What are the benefits of learning how to sightread?

b.  Does learning to sightread mean letting go of the need to circle your own assigned notes?

 (Personally, I'm trying to get away from circling my notes when I'm ringing a piece.  But I can only do that if I'm reading level 1 or easier level 2 music.  I have to mark the music if I'm being asked to learn a level 3 work.)

What materials do you use to teach your ringers to sightread music?  I assume I'll have to assemble easy level 1 and level 2 music, but I'd like to hear from other directors regarding instructional materials.

Thank you!

Wendy

[Linda Lamb]

Hi Wendy,

At the beginning of the semester I asked my ringers what they would like to be better at.  Several mentioned sightreading. (Did I say I live in Level One and Two Land?  Sometimes I think my ringers do better sightreading a piece than they do in final performance.)  I wrote a couple of short pieces for them to sightread.  I didn't feel it was a good use of church money to purchase music we would never ring in church (another reason we don't go to festivals - we can't use the repertoire.).

First of all, decide what your ringers need to be better at.  Is it techniques, changing a bell, recovering from getting lost? 

If you have a music writing program, you could write your own exercises.  If you would like, I could send you a couple I used with my group. 

Good for you, working on this skill.

Best of luck,

Linda Lamb

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[Paul Kinney]

My answers to your questions.

1. The benefits of learning to sightread are to: (1) Allow learning of music more quickly. Less time is spent decoding rhythm patterns. (2) Get performers more comfortable with music notation in general.

2. I started a series of sightreading exercises for my bell choir. At the time two ringers marked each note. After several sightreading sessions one of them saw he no longer needed to do that, though he still does it for complicated passages.

I wrote those exercises myself, usually adapting a hymn. That way I could focus on something I thought the ringers needed to learn, perhaps encounter in the next piece we played. Kat Wissinger would frequently create exercises to teach a new rhythm that would appear in the music she was about to hand out.

For a few years I taught music theory and ear training at the college level. My ear training class focused on three things: (1) Listen to a piece of music and determine the meter. (2) Listen to a melody or melody and simple harmony and write it down. (3) Sight singing.

I mention all that to say the way to learn to sightread music is to sightread music.

Paul Kinney

Redford Aldersgate UMC

Redford, Michigan

[J.-C. Coolen]

Hi, folks.

This discussion raises a question for me (which I would throw out to
any/all of you):

What is the difference/what are the differences between sight-reading
and reading music?

(I see potential Festival workshop material here...)

For me (and this is a possible answer to Wendy's original question),
I structure my bell rehearsals around reading music--making my
ringers use and develop their music reading skills throughout the
rehearsal (e.g. no colour-coding; focus on line/RH+space/LH and
rhythms; etc.); but, I rarely, if ever, work on "sight-reading" with them...

Thoughts, everyone??

jc

[Rima Greer]

I think Paul’s comments are right on the money.  I wish I were better at sight reading…

BUT, I think the biggest problem most groups face isn’t the ability to sight read, but the lack of rehearsal.  When most groups perform, they engage in what I refer to as “rehearsed sight reading,” rather than really knowing their music. This is what leads to lower performance quality and the dreaded train wrecks, not to mention pre-performance nerves. Not. Enough. Rehearsal.

And yeah, I know that it’s hard to get enough time in, especially with a volunteer group that changes repertoire frequently.

And yeah, improved sight reading might really help such a group get to the point of being well-rehearsed faster.  So yes, it’s an important skill.  Again, I wish I were better at it.

But sight-reading skills aren’t a substitute for really knowing your music.  The two things are two sides of the same coin, I think…  

The difficulties in changing bells, getting lost, and the myriad of challenges that ringers face - ALL of those things are improved not by sight reading, but by rehearsal.  IIWY, I’d try to focus on both, simultaneously!  After all, we ringers are really great at doing two different things at once! 🤹🏼

Rima

Campanile

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[Derek H]

When I was conducting ensembles (hoping to do so again sometime soon), I would always start off rehearsals with sight reading either a new piece I had written or a piece from our handbell music library. The important part that I emphasized was that ringers were required to ring a different position. At first, some ringers only wanted to ring one position up or one position down (e.g., F5/G5 ringer would either ring D5/E5 or A5/B5). Some challenged themselves and moved several positions up or down. The ringers were provided two or three minutes to look through the piece without me saying anything or prompting for any tricky sections. So, for me, sight-reading is reading something for the first time.

Derek Hakes

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Derek Hakes
("...people are beautiful.  Not in looks.  Not in what they say.  Just in what they are." - from "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak)

[Paul Kinney]

JC asked about the difference between sightreading and simply reading.

I can think of one difference, though I'm sure there are more. In reading music you may have seen it before and you are confident you'll see it again. If you don't get a few notes this time you don't feel bad because you have a chance to go through it again and get the notes then. Add to that is the possibility of rehearsing it, of going through the passage several times until you (or at least the director) is confident you'll play it correctly.

In sightreading you haven't seen it before. You probably won't see it again. You may have a few minutes to look the piece over (or may not). You don't have time to mark the music for bell changes or anything else. The goal and the practice is to learn how to get as much right as you can in one pass.

Paul Kinney

Redford Aldersgate UMC

Redford, MI

[long...@aol.com]

Sight reading is a skill that can be enhanced through practice (and some people are simply good at it naturally), but be sensitive to ringers who simply can't process new information at a rapid pace.  I've known good musicians who, once they reach a certain input load, simply shut down because they can't react this fast. 

 

Kath Wissinger

[silve...@cox.net]

In my opinion, the best tool for improving sight-reading is learning how to read ahead.  Many ringers, particularly new ringers, follow each note as it comes, therefore they aren’t ready for something different (time signature change, key change, accidental, technique change, etc.).  Hal Leonard has a couple of collections of rhythm flash cards (8 ½”x11”) that you can use with your ringers as a group to start introducing this concept.  You can organize these cards in any order.  I hole punched them and use them like a flip chart with the ringers clapping the rhythms.  Increase the speed at which you change the cards.  The ringers have to remember the pattern they just saw and clap it as the new pattern appears.  Of course, you could make your own cards – either with just rhythms or with snippets of actual bell music.  Could be a great tool to help with page turns, too!

 

Happy Ringing!

Silver

 

Mrs. Silver D. Woodbury

Silverbell Enterprises

10012 Carnie Circle

Yukon, OK  73099

405-519-0331

silve...@cox.net or sbesil...@gmail.com

 

Artistic Director

Oklahoma City Handbell Ensemble

www.okcbells.com

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[Jeannie Cushman]

I've thought about this for a long while because I think that better sight-reading skills will make you a better ringer.  Silver's post nailed it.  The skill that is needed that I don't think of when speaking of "reading music" is the ability to look ahead.  If you can look ahead and still play the measure you're in, and not get lost, the notes can still be musical.

Functionally this applies to time changes, key changes, and PAGE TURNS!  The ability to remember the last measure or 2 before the page turn is important to keeping everyone together.  "Memorize" the first 2 measures on the next page in order to turn late is somehow more scary than simply remembering the measures you're in to turn early, to my mind.  There's also the trick of where you don't ring and can scanning ahead.  It's in these measures I try to make my bell changes, with time to get re-oriented.

An expansion of sight reading skills is to be able to hear and follow the treble and/or the bass to keep track of how you fit in.  It's also useful for getting back on track after being distracted or missing a beat.

The first community group I rang with wanted ringers who could sight-read level 3 music.  To Rima's point about rehearsal time, the music is not yet performance worthy.  With a little score study, I would think that solid, level 3 ringers would have the music half-memorized after several run-thru's.  These are the ringers who make it on the "Snag a Sub" roster.

Just my 2 cents.

Just a ringer --

Jeannie Cushman

Proctor, VT

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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[linda mckechnie]

Paul- I have a Dorico question regarding your 2 Seminar classes. Since I don't have your personal contact, Would you please respond to me- li...@lindamckechnie.com. Question- is there a website/video that I can watch to get me started? Appreciate hearing from you. 

Also- your first class was "Full" and I was only able to sign up for class 2. However, I talked Marie, and I think she is willing to squeeze me in. I have also noted that class 2 was not full and wondered if people realized that it was not a repeat of class 1.

Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Linda McKechnie

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[Wendy Cheng]

Hi everyone -

Thank you SO much for taking the time to respond!

I think I have enough materials to teach sightreading!

Wendy

Wendy Cheng

Director, Bells of Glenaire

Cary, NC

[jgcl...@gmail.com]

I'm not sure if any one touched on this but much of sightreading comes down to basic music literacy.  We have to know how to read music and speak music. It is no different than learning how to read and speak words. We need the music vocabulary to read and speak it. That means more than just knowing terms. It's knowing what the music notation (writing) on the page actually means. Just like the letters and symbols of the alphabet and on keyboards, we have letters and symbols in music. Just like picture symbols used to navigate direction (men's/ladies room, stop sign, no crossing etc) we have picture symbols for music (dots, rests, beats, accidentals etc.). Without the foundational literacy sightreading will be challenging.  Understanding rhythms, duration, counting, resting, etc. What comes to mind is Carol Krueger workshops and Takadimi.  Look it up. Very good resources.

Jeff