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Eight-Bell Music

Handbell music requiring just eight bells – surprisingly, perhaps, can be exciting and expressive as well as remarkably challenging. Choraegus is proud to present pieces in this genre for your listening and performing enjoyment!

Eight-bell music is more versatile than you might think! Here are some possible ways to play it:

  • … as a two-bells-each quartet, a four-in-hand duet, or a trio.
  • … as a double-ensemble piece with one ensemble on bells and the other on chimes.
  • … as a two-octave piece by doubling the octave below (it’ll work best if you can obtain a duplicate G5 so that someone will be doubling both G5 and G6).
  • … or even as an octet where each person playing one bell.

And if you have a suggestion for a piece that might be great with just eight bells, please suggest it below and we’ll think about it!

About Our Dual-Range Eight-Bell Scores

“Dual-Range”™ PDFs: Almost all of our music for eight unaccompanied handbells comes as a “dual-range”™ PDF. Each PDF contains “G5-based” and “F5-based” versions of the music. The G5-based version is first; it’s the original version of the score, with notes almost always in the range G5-G6. This is the version we record in the demonstration …

Eight-Bell Christmas

Eight-Bell Classical

Eight-Bell Collaborations

“Eight-bell collaborations” are arrangements (or original works) for eight handbells and other instruments. Most of the time, the “other” is piano or organ, but we also have pieces such as “Heather’s Dance” that have a more unusual instrumentation (bells, harp, and other instrument). Some of these were created for a melody that didn’t… well, almost …

Eight-Bell Collections

What’s better than buying a bunch of eight-bell scores from Choraegus? Buying an eight-bell collection from Choraegus, of course! The reason is that the collection is priced so you get one piece for free. Now, we admit that you’d usually want to be able to use all of them – but if there’s a piece …

Eight-Bell Dances

We started exploring jigs and hornpipes as a possibility for new eight-bell music. Amazingly, we found them to be very well-adapted to our instrument, and have since then made quite a few arrangements. We’ve enjoyed playing them, having found the following: They’re fast. Jigs and hornpipes are happy, lively music, and are made for rapid …

Eight-Bell Hymns (General)

We’ve arranged at least 100 hymns for eight bells. Many of them have both “standard” and “Surprisingly Easy”™ versions as well. That means you can almost certainly find something that will work for you (if you don’t find something but have a suggestion, you’re welcome to tell us via our contact page). Our list of …

Eight-Bell International Music

We admit it… our “international music” category is a parking place for the eight-bell arrangements that weren’t hymns, or Christmas carols, or dances, or… But still, it’s a fascinating hodgepodge of music from around the world. Some of these, such as Auld Lang Syne and Happy Birthday, even made it to our list of freebies, …

When You Don’t Have All the Bells in the Score

Sometimes you might not have all the bells that are required to play one of our eight-bell scores. Don’t let this stop you. See whether one of the solutions below works for you. If your set of bells is two or more octaves: You should be able to transpose the bells in the score to …

16 comments

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    • Irene Harris on October 17, 2012 at 7:51 am
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    Are your arrangements for sale? I’d love to purchase some of them!

    • admin on October 17, 2012 at 4:09 pm
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    Hello, Irene!

    Yes, our arrangements are indeed for sale. Just surf to https://www.choraegus.com/wordpress/ring/eight-bell-music/, select a piece, and click on the “Add to Cart” button. When you’ve selected all the pieces you’d like to buy, then click on the “Check Out” button on the cart on the right!

    Thank you for asking, and happy ringing to you!

    Larry Sue

    • Jim Rossetti on October 20, 2012 at 10:03 pm
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    I’m looking for some SIMPLE (think beginning ringer who has limited music reading experiece) for some new ringers I’m starting at my church. What do you have available?

    Thanks,

    Jim Rossetti
    Area 2 Past Chair

    • admin on October 21, 2012 at 1:36 am
      Author
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    Hi Jim,

    I have more music to put into the store, of course… I do have some L1/L2 music that would work well. Would you be able to give me a few days to prepare and post it?

    Larry

    • Jane Heald on October 24, 2012 at 6:39 am
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    Hi

    I need some fairly simple eight bell Christmas music for use in shopping centres, nursing homes, Christmas events etc where we will only have a limited amount of space available to us. The pieces need to be well known to the English public! I would be grateful for anything you have.

    Thanks

    Jane

    • admin on October 24, 2012 at 5:48 pm
      Author
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    Hi Jane,

    We just put this collection of simple Christmas pieces together to day! Do take a look.

    Larry :)…

    • admin on October 24, 2012 at 5:49 pm
      Author
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    Hi Jim,

    Here are some simple eight-bell Christmas arrangements for you to check out!

    Larry :)…

    • Janice on January 5, 2015 at 10:14 pm
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    I have purchased several of your 8 bell arrangements. We have enjoyed playing them. Just wondering if you have 8 bell arrangement for In the Garden, or they that wait upon theLord. Thanks

    • admin on January 6, 2015 at 9:17 pm
      Author
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    Hi Janice!

    Thank you so much for purchasing and playing our music. It’s great to hear that you’ve enjoyed the pieces we’ve arranged!

    And thank you, also, for asking whether we have “In the Garden” and “They That Wait Upon the Lord”. Sorry to say, we don’t have either of those – yet – and we’ll take your inquiry as a suggestion, and will hope to have one or both of them available soon!

    Update! We now have an eight-handbell arrangement of “In the Garden” – do take a look!

    • Judith Blair on December 31, 2018 at 1:59 pm
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    What happened to the “Surprisingly Easy” category for 8 bells? I have 4 ringers, plus me, in our church handbell choir right now (a couple are snowbirds and will be back when the weather warms up). One ringer has problems with 8th notes, especially when there are a lot of them. We currently have “Kingsfold,” “Let All Mortal Flesh,” and “All creatures…” Can you suggest a couple more?

    • admin on January 1, 2019 at 2:27 pm
      Author
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    Hi Judy!

    Our “Surprisingly Easy”™ eight-handbell pieces are found alongside their corresponding “standard” scores. Thanks for pointing out that organizing that part of our site in that fashion makes it harder to spot them just by looking at a directory.

    To make it easier, we’ve now added a page of links to our “Surprisingly Easy”™ eight-bell music which is accessible from the pulldown menu at Ring -> Eight-Bell Music -> “Surprisingly Easy”™ Eight-Handbell Pieces.

    Have a great 2019!

    Larry

    • Judith Blair on January 3, 2019 at 9:17 pm
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    Found it! Thanks!

    • Art Durkee on October 24, 2019 at 1:22 pm
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    Hi, looking for easy Christmas music for 8 bells in the key of C, for children, Sunday School related songs. What would you suggest from your collection?

    Thanx. Art

    • admin on October 25, 2019 at 8:06 am
      Author
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    Hi Art,

    (I’ve sent this reply by email as well…)

    I’d suggest you look in a couple of places on our site:

    Eight-bell Christmas music (https://www.choraegus.com/ring/eight-bell-music/eight-bell-christmas/). Although our eight-bell music spans many different musical keys, there are a fair number in C major/A minor that might work for you. The usually-American version of Away in a Manger composed by Murray, and O Come, O Come Emmanuel might work for you.

    Eight bell “Surprisingly Easy”™ Christmas collections (https://www.choraegus.com/ring/eight-bell-music/eight-bell-collections/eight-handbell-collections-surprisingly-easy/.In) each one, you’d get an extra piece for the price you pay.

    The videos we attach to each arrangement’s page should give you an idea as to whether your young musicians will be able to handle the music.

    If you need more accessible music, there’s some amount of eight-bell music available. Also, our eight-bell music typically uses the range G5-G6, so you’ll want to compare that to the range of bells that you have.

    Please feel free to write back if you have more questions!

    Larry

    • Jerry on February 12, 2020 at 9:17 pm
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    Thanks

    • admin on February 12, 2020 at 9:38 pm
      Author
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    Hi Jerry,

    You’re welcome! We hope you enjoy playing our music!

    Larry

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