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Handbells The handbell choir at Peace Church participate in one worship service
per month (September through May) and occasional concerts in the
church and in the community. We do concerts for community groups,
assisted living facilities and other organizations. Contact Dave
if you are interested in having us play for you. |
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| The bells are often referred to as "English Handbells" to indicate the type of bell. A handbell's clapper is on a hinge and moves back and forth in a single direction, unlike a school bell in which the clapper swings freely in any direction. The term "English Handbells" is not necessarily a reference to the country in which they were manufactured; there are two major foundries making handbells in Great Britain and two in the United States. Peace Church owns a four octave set of Schulmerich bells. |  |
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Each individual bell is tuned
to a single note that is unique to its position in the chromatic scale.
To ring the bell, the ringer moves it in such a way that the clapper
strikes the inside surface of the bell. The tone of the bell will
continue to resonate, decaying naturally until it stops completely,
or until the ringer stops the tone by damping the bell with a hand,
on the body, or on a padded surface. It is impossible to play a Handbell off-key, it is the perfect instrument for beginners and pros alike! |
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| Handchimes are light-weight
aluminum tubes with fixed external clappers. They are pitched percussion
instruments which create sound by being held in the hand and moved
forward to cause the clapper to strike the tube. Some brands of handchimes
are designed to produce a pure fundamental pitch, while others produce
the fundamental pitch and overtones. While hand chimes are beautiful instruments in their own right they are often used with handbells or other instruments in a piece of music. As they are easy to ring and perfectly pitched they are perfect "first instruments" for the young musician. We hope to extend the use of hand chimes to local youth music programs. |
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Other links and Information Peace Church also sponsors one of the premier Bell Ensembles in the Country, "Twin Cities Bronze".Information about their tour schedule and CDs can be found at www.handbells.org We are members of AGEHR (American Guild of English Handbell Ringers).
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