Category: Choraegus

May 23

Why is handbell music notated an octave lower?

By admin in Choraegus, Handbell Choir, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

In case you didn’t already know, handbell music is notated an octave lower than the bells actually sound. For instance, the “middle C” that handbell ringers read really is the C that’s on the third space (counting upward) of the treble staff. The convention in place, however, is to name a particular note by its …

handbell choir, handbell ensemble, handbells

May 20

It’s small ensemble time!

By admin in Choraegus, Church Music, Classical Music, Eight-Bell, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells, Six-Bell, Sixteen-Bell, Twelve-Bell

Small (handbell) ensembles are much more the order of the day after mid-May, at least in the Northern hemisphere. Pretty much everyone in the United States syncs their calendar to the end of the school year, and so family vacations and summer programs ramp up, resulting in a local population decrease as people get out …

handbell ensemble, handbells

May 15

Here’s the “Surprisingly Easy”™ eight-bell “O Worship the King” (LYONS)!

By admin in Choraegus, Church Music, Eight-Bell, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

We started writing “Surprisingly Easy”™ variants of many of our eight-bell arrangements years and years ago. That was to provide a faster-to-worship learning time, especially for duets, trios, and quartets who are newer to four-in-hand and ensemble ringing. If you aren’t already familiar with our easier eight-bell scores, they’re generally equivalent to a Level 2 …

8-bell, handbell ensemble, handbells, hymn, Larry Sue

May 10

The Flip

By admin in Choraegus

Playing handbell duets is both art and science. The art is about making the music happen, and the science is what has to be done to achieve that physically. The combination/interaction of the two is what you see in our videos and live performances. When we play our really fast music, we each might be …

May 02

New video of (Level 1) “Newness”!

By admin in Choraegus, Church Music, Handbell Choir, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

Newness is one of our very special compositions for handbell choir. In addition to being written for three or five octaves of handbells/handchimes, it’s possible to play it at Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3. The difference between the Level 2 and Level 3 versions is simply whether or not you choose to use …

3-5 octaves, AGEHR Level 1, handbells, Larry Sue, original work

May 02

What’s our easiest handbell choir piece?

By admin in Choraegus, Handbell Choir, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

Sometimes we’re asked which of our pieces for handbell choir is the easiest. Hands down, it’s Celebration. This piece is AGEHR Level 1; for those of you not familiar with what that means, the score has nothing smaller than a quarter note. The piece itself is composed of big block chords; if you’re ringing it, …

3-5 octaves, AGEHR Level 1, handbell choir, handbell ensemble, handbells, Larry Sue

Apr 29

Free sheet music is fun!

By admin in Choraegus, Eight-Bell, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

We love to give people a chance to see what we do at Choraegus. Like everyone else, we provide contact information so that you can ask questions or make suggestions. That’s all normal; you’re supposed to be available to deal with what happens. However, we also want you to be able to try out a …

8-bell, free handbell music, freebie

Feb 28

To God Be the Glory (TO GOD BE THE GLORY) (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)

By admin in Choraegus, Church Music, Handbell Choir, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

Fanny Crosby and William Doane were a “dynamic duo” of hymn-writing in the decades on either side of the year 1900. She wrote the words, and he composed the music. One of their best-known hymns is To God Be the Glory Personal note: This was the favorite hymn of Larry’s great-aunt Pat. Our new arrangement …

3-5 octaves, AGEHR Level 4, handbell choir, handbell ensemble, handbells, hymn, Larry Sue

SUNRISE [OMNI DIE] – Eight handbells

By admin in Choraegus, Church Music, Eight-Bell, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells

The SUNRISE hymn tune (also titled OMNI DIE) from the eighteenth century is paired with with several different texts: At Thy Feet, O Christ We Lay Spirit Working in Creation Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary At thy feet, O Christ, we lay thine own gift of this new day; doubt of what it holds in …

Dec 19

Merry Christmas 2023!

By admin in Choraegus, Christmas, Eight-Bell, Handbell Ensemble, Handbells, Larry and Carla

As usual, our December has been our busy performance season. People associate handbells with Christmas, so that’s when they book us. We’ve been at some fun places: Holland Kerstmarkt. Between Thanksgiving and mid-December, we were the ambience for our city’s Dutch Christmas market. It’s an outdoor event, so we pre-chill our bells, bundle up, and …

Type of PDF score	Number of copies per PDF score you’re allowed to make
6-bell score, accompanied	Three handbell score copies, one accompanist copy, and one full score copy
8-bell score	Four score copies
8-bell score, accompanied	Four handbell score copies, one accompanist copy, and one full score copy
12-bell score	Six score copies
12-bell score, accompanied	Six handbell score copies, one accompanist copy, and one full score copy
16-bell score	Eight score copies
Handbell choir score	Fifteen score copies
(Handbell) ensemble	One copy of each part for each ensemble member