I
mentioned two weeks ago that my mother played in a handbell choir at her local
retirement center. My daughter and son-in-law also play bells. Since I can read
music, it seems logical for me to play bells, too, but I lacked confidence.
When
I sing in a choir, everyone in my section is on the same note. If I make a
mistake, it is usually covered up. Playing handbells is different since there
is only one person on each note. If someone messes up there, it’s more obvious.
And I was scared that my mistakes would stand out.
Then
our music director lost several of her handbell choir players at the same time,
and she was desperate for replacements, so I let myself be talked into joining.
In
my old age, I’ve become more willing to practice. I mentioned two weeks ago
that I practiced the piano as little as possible, and even though I enjoyed
violin more, I didn’t practice that as much as I should have, either. But with
bells I practice regularly at home.
The
photo at the top of this post shows my practice setup. I place my music on a
stand on the kitchen peninsula and use homemade but soundless “bells” as I
play. The “bells” are actually part of a children’s game to catch a ball in the
cup, and I colored their handles to match the colors that I use to mark the
notes on my music. Since there are often many bells playing at once, assigning
each of my notes a color makes it easier to pick them out when I play.
You
may wonder what good it does to practice with soundless bells. The main point
is to count and learn when to play which bell and also whether it is a normal
ringing motion or something else, such as shaking the bell or tapping it on the
table. And since my few notes don’t make a melody, the sound made by playing
just my bells without the rest wouldn’t help, anyway.
I
was very nervous when we started in September, and I still am. I make plenty of
mistakes, but they are getting fewer, and I was satisfied with my performance
on two of the three pieces we played on Easter. Everyone had trouble with the third
one, and misery loves company, so my mistakes didn’t devastate me.
Still,
I look forward to the day when my confidence is high and my mistakes are
minimal. Until then, I guess I’ll just keep muddling along.
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