What is a Handbell Ensemble?
Consider a single instrument that takes many people to play. The individual notes in the handbell instrument each require a musician’s hand upon it, to place its tone in exact relationship with the other notes in the score, all in the shared context of rhythm, tempo, dynamics, articulation, and the overall musical line. This extremely complex process becomes second nature to the virtuoso handbell musician, who, like a pianist, must be aware of the character of the entire work, while controlling only a few of the tones in the instrument. This instrument consists of a variable number of cast bronze bells fitted to flexible handles and equipped with clapper mechanisms that move in a single plane, striking the casting at only two places (forward and back). The tone of the bells can be varied by the tuning of the overtones at the time of manufacture, or by changing the density of the clappers at the strikepoints during performance. Similar tuned instruments with clappers can be made from ot
