We’ve found that the best world is one in which we refuse to create limits to what’s possible. While we do a lot here, we haven’t yet done everything that can be done! Here are some reasons that come to mind for you to get in touch with us:
- Suggest a piece that you’d like to see in our catalog. We’ll be happy to look into it, but need to tell you that if the source material isn’t in the public domain, you’ll have to pay the copyright authorization fees for the arrangement.
- Commission a handbell work. Think of the possibilities! You can commission a piece for your handbell choir, or for a smaller ensemble, or even a handbell solo. Contact us so we can talk about what you’d like to do.
- Book Larry and Carla Sue. If you’d like to have us play our eight-bell duet music at your event, you can preview the published ones here at Choraegus. Then you can contact Larry and Carla to reserve a place on our calendar.
- Ask a question. The sky’s the limit. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have an answer, but it won’t hurt to ask.
You can reach us in several ways. Whichever way you choose, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!
- Leave a comment below.
- Go to our Facebook page, and then click on the “Message” button.
- Send an email.
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Hi Larry & Carla—
I want to order some of your excellent 8 bell music but I do not have a printer at home & I doubt I can get the download through our IT security where I work—can you please advise?
Many thanks, Pam
Author
Hi Pam!
How about downloading the PDF, and then taking it to a local office supply store (or even a friend) on a memory stick or thumb drive so you can print it there?
Thanks so much for your interest in our music. We hope you have fun playing it!
Larry & Carla :)…
Could you tell me how you place your bells in your hand for KINGSFOLD? My duet partner and I love your music and so does our congregation.
Author
Hi Mary!
Our four-in-hand configuration is G5/B5 C6\A5 (Larry) and E6/D6 F6\G6 (Carla). Larry prefers the “heavy primaries” approach, while Carla likes having her bells in diatonic order. If you haven’t noticed yet, Larry uses American 4iH and Carla uses British 4iH.
If it helps, we’ve found that learning lots of eight-bell music is easier if you keep as many bells in the same position as you can. That way you minimize the amount of “special” information you have to deal with. It means that some musical passage will have difficult spots… but we’ve also found that if we change the order of the bells in our hands, the same challenge reappears someplace else (it’s like Whack-a-Mole…).
Anyway, we appreciate hearing that you’re having fun with our music – thank you!
Larry and Carla 🙂
Your arrangements are a great fit for our small bell choir and we’ve had nice responses from our congregation. We sometimes accompany congregational singing, and arrangements in a comfortable vocal range afford us that option. Most (if not all) of your arrangements are in 2 ranges, and playing either the high or low is not a problem for us. [Some of our ringers are good to ring “anywhere” and can swing (pun intended) from either end of the table.] Question: Could you list the key of each arrangement, to help folks like us in our decision-making? Thanx!
Author
Hi Jim!
We’re glad you’re able to use our music effectively, and that they’ve been working well in your ministry.
Thanks for the suggestion about adding the keys to each arrangement – it’ll take a little time to get to all of the web pages, but we’ll do that!
Larry :)…
Hi. I retired and moved to a new church and they let me start a, new to them, handbell choir a year and ½ ago. I now have introduced 4IH. What scores do you recommend as an intro to your arrangements and do you have any videos or instructions published?
Author
Hi Richard,
Thanks so much for contacting us – and congratulations on starting the handbell choir at your new church!
We have lots of eight-bell music which can be played by a four-in-hand duo (or a two-bells-each quartet, or even as a double duet on bells and chimes, or…). Just search for “Surprisingly Easy” on our site.
We’d recommend our “Surprisingly Easy” eight-bell collections, because they’re a better deal than buying each piece separately. We have three collections of this sort with hymns, and three more with Christmas pieces. When you’re ready for even more fun, we have “standard” arrangements of hymns, Christmas carols, classical music, and even Irish jigs.
We decided sometime ago that it was essential for us to make a video before releasing each arrangement, just to be able to demonstrate that they can be played effectively. The web page for each score has an embedded video that you can play to get an idea of how the music sounds.
There really aren’t instructions beyond “get the music and play”! If it helps, we use the four-in-hand assignments G5A5B5C6 and D6E6F6G6 (adjusted for accidentals) to play almost everything – that means we don’t have to think about translating the notes to where they are in our hands as much as we would if were changing setups. If a score has a “weird” bell, such as A6 instead of an F6 (as is common to our jig arrangements), Carla will hold the A6 where her F6 normally goes so she only has to think a bit more for one bell (the A6).
One more little bit: Larry holds his bells using American four-in-hand (“ring and knock”), which is what most of us in the USA are taught. Carla is from England, where many ringers learn “British four-in-hand” – it’s a somewhat more comfortable grip for those with smaller hands. If you’re interested in exploring that, Carla’s written a nice article about it.
We hope we’ve been able to answer all your questions, but we haven’t, please write to us again!
Sincerely,
Larry and Carla
Hello Larry and Carla,
We will be playing one of your 8 bell arrangements (The Love of God) this Sunday morning during worship service. We livestream our services. I wanted to see if we could have permission from you to livestream your music.
Sincerely,
Natalie
Author
Hi Natalie!
Thank you for asking about livestreaming your performance of “The Love of God”. Please do – we’ll be hoping that your service is enhanced by your playing!
See http://larryandcarla.com/wordpress/our-music/playing-our-music/faqs/ for more information.
Blessings!
Can you advise which bells each of you hold in each hand? (Please be specific). I have purchased the following: Abide with me, Jesus Walked this Lonesome Valley, Holy Manna, Praise to the Lord the Almighty-easy version, and We gather Together. We want to play 2 or 3 of these in one week if possible. We use the American 4 in-hand style. Do one of you take the low notes and the other the high notes? I would appreciate help on each one if possible. Also is the difference between easy and regular versions just that the regular has an additional more advanced verse in it? A quick reply would be appreciated, especially on “Jesus walked…” Thank you! Nola
Author
Hi Nola,
In general, we split the eight bells that we’re playing into halves of the scale. This usually means GABC (Larry) and DEFG (Carla), switching whichever accidentals apply for these white key bells. If the arrangement doesn’t use a set of notes that can be divided in this way, we usually allocate the odd bell to whoever has three of the “normal” ones – so, for “Abide with Me”, Larry plays A5, Bb5, C6, and E6 (because there isn’t any G5) and Carla plays D6, Eb6, F6, and G6. Note: Larry holds the E6 where his G5 normally is – that way he knows for sure where three of his four bells are, and doesn’t have to be more confused than normal! One of the huge benefits of dividing the bells this way is that we’re able to read our eight-bell music very consistently – we know where most of all of our bells are all the time, and so that means we can think less about finding the notes and more about making music!
Also, Larry holds his bells in thirds (G/B, C\A) while Carla prefers scale order (E/D, F\G). That’s just a personal preference, or if you like, a way of thinking. Each if equally good as long as you know where each bell is!
Our setups for the pieces you’ve purchased are as follows:
Larry uses American four-in-hand (“ring and knock”); Carla holds her bells in British four-in-hand style. Either way of holding your bells works well, and the only reason the two of us differ is that it’s just what each of us learned. One nice note about British four-in-hand: Some people find it easier to deal with because the way the secondary bell is held is a bit easier on the index and middle fingers.
We started with a bunch of eight-bell arrangements, but found that having “easier” versions were desired by some of our friends who explored what we had. So we started writing the “Surprisingly Easy” pieces, which generally have no notes smaller than an eighth note. Many of them are quite similar to the “standard” versions, except, as Carla says, “with the fiddly bits taken out”. 🙂 And, yes, it’s true that many of the “Surprisingly Easy” versions have one less verse, usually because of the complexity of that verse in the standard version.
Best wishes as you play our music – we hope you have a great time!
Hi,
I read an advertisement in Reverberations recently and thought I should contact you. I lead a group of 12 bells (6 ladies) and we are desperate for some new music.I notice that you have several books for 12 bells. How can I see what the pieces are like and do I download all the music or do you have a catalogue and books of music for sale.
Margaret Hopkins
Author
Hi Margaret,
All of our twelve-bell music is available at https://www.choraegus.com/wordpress/ring/twelve-bell-music/, and can be purchased online. Although we don’t provide sample scores, we do have a video of each twelve-bell piece so you can get an idea of how the music sounds and how challenging it is. Purchase of a score give the purchaser permission to make the number of copies required for her ensemble’s use.
We hope you’ll find some pieces that are to your taste! Do let us know if we can help additionally.
Sincerely,
Larry & Carla Sue
Hi Larry and Carla,
I cannot find several pieces I would like to order…..it has not been a problem in the past! It seems like all the titles have disappeared. I am looking under the 8 bell music. HELP!
I wanted:
Beautiful Dreamer
Danny Boy
When Irish Eyes are Smiling
Were you There
I was able to find O Sacred Head and will go ahead and get it.
Thanks,
Mary
Author
Hi Mary,
Here are links to the pieces you wanted:
Beautiful Dreamer
Danny Boy
When Irish Eyes are Smiling
Were You There
You can also find items on our site by using its search feature. In the upper right corner of each webpage there’s a text field with a little magnifying glass icon next to it. Just enter what you want to find in the box and hit your Enter key!
Happy ringing!
Larry & Carla
Dear Larry and Carla,
I just wanted to say how relieved I am to have found such beautiful arrangements for eight bells. I run a team of three four-in-hand ringers and sadly my bass ringer has had to leave the team so thank you very much for saving my handbell life! Your music is delightfully challenging in parts but varied and hopefully we two can carry on playing these lovely pieces to audiences.
Many thanks again.
Mary Miller
I just discovered your website and I am in awe of the music you can make with only 8 bells! My new duet partner doesn’t know how to 4-in-hand yet, so we are looking at playing some pieces in church this summer as a quartet. The ringers who stick around for the summer (we have lots of snowbirds in AZ) are not necessarily our strongest ringers, so my question to you is this. Which of your “surprisingly easy” hymns would you suggest as being the easiest for a quartet to play? Thanks. I can’t wait to try some of your 8-bell pieces.
Author
Hello Janet,
We’re glad to hear that you want to play some of our eight-bell music during the summer!
We’d suggest something like our “Surprisingly Easy”™ arrangements of “Hyfrydol” and “Fairest Lord Jesus” as good first pieces. Both of these are in our first “Surprisingly Easy”™ hymn collection. Getting the collection essentially gives you a bonus piece over purchasing each arrangement separately.
There are other eight-bell quartets that have been playing our music, too. “Ring 4 Glory” of Pacific Grove, California has posted a number of recordings of our music; one of the selections on their YouTube channel is “This Is My Father’s World”, which also is in our first “surprisingly easy” hymn collection.
If you have additional questions or would like to tell us how things go, do contact us!
Enjoy!
Author
Hello Mary!
We’re excited to hear that our music will be providing a way for you and your now-duet partner to keep on ringing! As you may have heard, our first eight-bell arrangements came into being because Carla’s trio in England went through the same experience.
If you have any questions or would like to let know how you’re doing, please send a message!
Sincerely,
Larry & Carla
Hello, please tell me three or more Christmas pieces that are available for 8 bells, using the same 8 bells on all pieces. Then I can check the regular or easy versions
Thanks
Author
Hi Nadine,
Thanks for your question. The page for each eight-handbell score has a list of pitches under “Bells used:”
If it helps, the keys with the greatest number of Christmas arrangements are C major, G major, Bb major, and Eb major.
Do let me know if I can help further!
Larry
I’d like to buy some music but I am getting messages from Microsoft about the site being risky
Author
Hi Linda,
To our knowledge, our site is safe and secure. I’d suggest using this URL: https://www.choraegus.com to see whether the messages purporting to be from Microsoft stop appearing.
A bit of online research also indicates that Windows has been giving “false positives” in some number of cases. It may have something to do with Internet Explorer (which will be going away in the not-so-distant future), so you might try a different browser.
I’d also recommend checking with people who have ordered from us before. You might try asking a general question on Facebook at the Handbell-L or Handbell People because more than a few people in those groups have purchased music from us. Hopefully they can help to reassure you!
Sincerely,
Larry
Hi Larry and Carla. I’m interested in some of your pieces- just to be clear, the purchase price of a title for a handbell choir gives me permission to make however many copies I need for my group? Or, how does that work?
Author
Hi David!
Purchase of the “handbell choir” version of a score allows you to maintain up to fifteen copies for your ensemble’s use. Complete information is at our “Licensing Agreement” page.
We’ll be looking forward to seeing which pieces you choose, and hope you have fun playing them!
Larry & Carla
We have a 3 octave (C4-C7) handchime ensemble at our school and are looking for some pieces in the easy-intermediate range. We only have handchimes and thus aren’t able to do the special handbell techniques notated in much of the music I have seen. Do you have any recommendations?
Author
Hi Jason,
That’s an excellent question!
The techniques available to chimes are ring (R), ring touch (RT), and vibrato (vib.). Thumb damp (TD) can be executed as a finger damp. Martellato is not recommended because it would put a force on the end of the chime that could crack the extrusion. So, given those limitations, I’d suggest starting from whatever score you have, and then playing all the techniques in it that are doable with chimes; for everything else, either just play chimes regularly, or execute some other chime-accessible technique that you find satifactory for your interpretation of the music.
Hoping this helps… feel free to ask any other question you may have!
Larry
I would like to buy some 8 bell music, but can not see how to do it on your web site. Could you advise please?
Author
Hi Marilyn,
Purchasing music from Choraegus is easy! Directions are at https://www.choraegus.com/about/how-to-purchase-music-from-choraegus/.
Do contact us again if you have more questions!
Happy ringing!
Larry
We are presently down to three ringers which makes 8 bell music perfect for us. We are in need of music to play on the first Sunday of April , which is Palm Sunday. What do you have that I could purchase?
Author
Hi Sharon!
Several possibilities come to mind:
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
Morning Song
Also, if you click on one of the above links, a list of all of our eight-bell hymn arrangements will appear in the right sidebar.
Thanks for asking your question!
Larry
Good afternoon! I just purchased a set of handbell music but did not see how I can actually download it. There was an error message after payment processed. Can you email the music, please?
Author
Hi M.V.!
I’ve sent an email with fresh download links!
Thanks,
Larry
Good Morning, Larry and Carla.
With so many churches closed to in-person corporate worship because of the corona virus, the new “norm” is live-streaming on platforms such as Facebook. Your 8 and 12 bell arrangements music allows a few people to ring good arrangements while still practicing “social distancing. Can I have your permission to play your music using video streaming for the four churches for which I direct bell choirs? I’ve purchased many of your arrangements and believe they are just what’s needed at this time . If necessary, I can give you the church names and even ask permission for specific pieces. I’d prefer to give more detailed or personal information through a more private channel.
Thank you for your consideration. Stay safe, stay well, God Bless!
Author
Dear Leah,
The “new normal” that the Coronavirus has forced us to accept requires us to find new ways to maintain and enhance our worship lives. Permission to share our music via livestreaming is most certainly granted. It’s our privilege to offer encouragement and blessings to our friends and family in this way.
Blessings to you as well,
Larry & Carla
Hello Larry and Carla,
My question is the same as Leah’s. We’re currently not worshiping in person, but we are streaming worships and putting them on Vimeo. Could we at University Unitarian church, have permission to livestream and show on Vimeo your arrangement of Holy Manna?
Thank you,
Nick Barnard
Author
Hi Nick,
Thanks for asking. We’re honored to grant your church permission to livestream and Vimeo-post our eight-bell arrangement of “Holy Manna”.
Larry & Carla
We’ve started a 4-person bell choir while I our church is closed until the end of May. I downloaded one of your freebies and it had a note we don’t have in our 2-octave set. I was thinking of purchasing the Surprisingly Easy book but if it has odd notes that we don’t have, it won’t work for us. Can you advise on this issue? Thanks!!
Author
Hi Lynn,
It’s possible to play any of our scores on a two-octave set if you can transpose the bells used in the piece to bell that you have. For instance, our freebie “Dona Nobis Pacem” uses the range G5-A6. If you transpose down a whole step (i.e. to F5-G6), you should have those bells. We have a new page to aid in transposing; would you take a look at it and see whether it works for you?
Happy Ringing!
Larry
Update, December 2020:
With the addition of our “dual-range”™ eight-bell scores, virtually all of our eight-bell scores come as a package with two transpositions of the music. The first is the “G5-based” version, which is the one that Carla and I play. The second is the “F5-based” version, which is the same music transposed downward a half or whole step – this provides a bit of comfort for those who are used to thinking in terms of “space left/line right” assignments. Other transpositions are easy to implement by moving the eight bells played higher or lower, perhaps using a piano keyboard as reference.
I am the director at a small United Methodist Church in suburban Akron, OH. I am very interested in your handbell quartet arrangements. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, we are doing “virtual worship.” If I purchase music, may I have permission to post our performance to the church’s YouTube channel? We have CCLI and OneLicense for this purpose.
Author
Hi Jeremy!
The pandemic has made many of us change how we approach worship. Our church, as well as many others familiar to us, have also gone to online services.
You’re welcome to include music from Choraegus in your livestreamed services and in your church’s social media posts. For details, see our “what you’re allowed to do with our music” page. I’d also suggest you read our licensing agreement to know how many copies of each score to purchase. If you have any other questions, please contact us!
Happy ringing, and stay safe!
Larry
Thanks, Larry!
Hello. I would like to purchase some of your eight bell music. Is it possible to download and print once payment has been made. Thank you.
Author
Hi David,
“Download and print” is exactly how we sell music at Choraegus! Just browse the products on our site, and press “Add to Cart” to put the ones that interest you in your e-cart. Then, when you’re ready to complete your purchase, check out with PayPal (no worries if you don’t have a PayPal account, because they can also handle a credit card). When the purchase confirmation page is displayed, it’ll have download links so that you can get your music and start practicing right away!
You’ll also want to take a look at our purchase licensing agreement, because it details how many copies of a piece you’re allowed to maintain. For instance, if you buy one eight-bell piece, you can make up to four copies for your ensemble – that would allow each person in a quartet to have two bells and their own music stand.
If you have any other questions, you’re more than welcome to ask!
Larry
Hi Larry and Carla
You were fabulous in the Area 12 concert today! My husband was watching and so intrigued and admiring!
May I purchase Hyfrydol for 6 bells?
Have a great Sunday!!
Sending love,
Pattie B
Author
Hi Pattie,
Thanks so much for the kind words! We thrilled that your husband enjoyed the concert!
Hyfrydol for six handbells and piano will be available tomorrow, July 27th, 2020; you’ll be able to find it with our other six-bell pieces!
A wonderful Sunday to you too,
Larry and Carla
I purchased the “Surprisingly Easy Eight-Bell Hymn Collection ” (both) and wonder if purchase includes the rights to include in our recorded worship which is posted on Face Book. We do have CCLI and a streaming license.
Author
Hi Mary,
Yes, you’re allowed to post your performances of our music on Facebook and other social media, including your church’s website. For more information, see https://www.choraegus.com/about/what-youre-allowed-to-do-with-music-from-choraegus/.
Also, we have several other “Surprisingly Easy”™ hymn collections that you might want to check out!
Happy ringing!
Larry
Hi,
In the pandemic, my group, The Smithtonians, will be live-streaming a concert from Bemis Library in Littleton, CO. This is not a church service and not covered in your license. How would I handle this?
Author
Hi David,
Thank you so much for your inquiry! Upon review, I’ve found that our Licensing Agreement needed to catch up to our What You’re Allowed to Do page, and so have changed the former to say “Live (including livestreamed) performance is permitted. For our purposes, ‘live performance’ also includes rehearsals,” so you’re good to go.
We hope the Smithtonians’ concert is a great one!
Happy ringing!
Larry & Carla
I want to pay with my visa card and the site only takes me to pa pal. Am I missing something?
Author
Hi Kathy,
PayPal now allows you to make a purchase using your credit card without requiring you to have a PayPal account. Enjoy shopping with us!
Larry
Hi, I thought I saw a bell arrangement of “In the Bleak Midwinter” in your catalogue (six bells, accompanied), but now I can’t find it.
Author
Hi Felix,
We have one in the works, and it’ll be out soon – we have to make a demo video first. Look for it in the next few weeks!
In case you can use a different arrangement, we have (different) scores for eight bells and twelve bells with accompaniment.
Happyt ringing!
Larry
Hi Larry!
I have been playing your 8-bell music in church for years. Now our service is streamed online live on Facebook and all the musicians are recording their parts to be merged and played during the online services.
How does our church go about getting permission to record your music and play it during our live-streamed online services?
Thank you! Love your stuff and love you and Carla!!!
Author
Hi Marilyn!
It’s wonderful to hear from you, since Carla and I haven’t been able to see you much since we moved to Michigan!
For almost all of our scores, permission to livestream and record our music is free; all we ask is that you provide the title of each piece with composer/arranger credits in the videos you make. More details can be found at our “what you’re allowed to do” page.
We’ll hope to see you again sometime!
Larry
We are trying to work out our usual Christmas Eve service, where we provide 1/2 hour of music before the service. The service will be live-streamed. I have invited various people to sing solos, maybe a duet if we can figure out the logistics, and a handbell piece. All of this pre-service music will be pre-recorded, and “chained,” then played over our Facebook page. Does your copyright permission cover this?
Author
Hi Judy!
Live-streaming music from Choraegus, as well as uploading recordings of those performances to social media, is allowed at no additional cost as long as you include the title and arranger/composer credits with each recording. Please read our “what you’re allowed to do” page for all the details.
We hope your Christmas Eve service is a wonderful time for your church family!
Larry
I was looking online for handbell music for 8 bells and I saw your general hymns, but I didn’t see where to put it in a cart. Help!
Thank you.
Author
Hi Diane,
When you arrive at the list of eight-bell hymns, click on one of the titles. That will take you to the page for that hymn arrangement, and the “Add to Cart” buttons for each item will be there. Here’s a more detailed description of the process if you need it.
Once you’ve selected the items you want and have put them in your cart, you’ll check out and pay via PayPal. The purchase confirmation page will have you links for you to get your music immediately and start playing!
Do get in touch if you have other questions!
Happy ringing,
Larry
Hi
We purchased a score on July 14th. The link you had provided does not work
We had sent an email for help on July 15 but there is no reply.
Kindly address, thanks
Kitt
Author
Hi Kitt,
I apologize for the delay. Rather than try the download link again, I’ve emailed you a PDF of the score you purchased.
Happy Ringing!
Larry
Hi,
We’ve been using your 8 bell pieces since spring of 2020. I saw you on National Handbell Seminar and loved your idea of traveling with a small group to ring outside. We’ve visited homes, businesses and nursing homes using 4 ringers.
Just wondering if you’ve ever thought of arranging “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”? We love the ‘surprisingly easy’ versions and my group can pick up those with a few practices.
Thanks, Karen
Your music is perfect for my two 4-ringer groups. Some ringers prefer to come before choir to rehearse; some prefer after church, hence the 2 groups! Both groups played every Sunday through Advent and we were happy to showcase the bells. Thank you for all of your good arrangements for small groups.
Author
Hi Karen!
I applaud your ringers’ (and your) dedication. It’s a joy to know that our music has been helpful in your ministry!
Blessings,
Larry
Author
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the suggestion – look for it in 2022!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
Howdy.
I wondered if you had any 12 bell music based on pop tunes or secular tunes? We have been invited to provide bell music on a PRIDE parade float here in Charlotte in August. I know a full seven octave choir, which we are, would be cumbersome on a float. But I though 12 bell music might work with each ringer seated and a music stand strapped down with gaffer’s tape!
Thanks,
Ed
Author
Hi Ed,
We do indeed have some twelve-bell selections that are secular in nature. Take a look at our twelve-bell classical and twelve-bell folk song scores.
Hoping you have a great time playing in the parade!
Larry
I just ordered the God Be With You/Benediction. I thought I was purchasing the music on the video recording to use; but the printed copy is just the Benediction. How do I get the whole medley, God Be With You/Benediction?
I love your music and arrangements. I use them nearly monthly. They are just right for our volunteer handbell choir.
Thank you,
Sharon
Author
Hi Sharon,
Thank you for playing our music!
“God Be with You Till We Meet Again” and “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” (hymne tune BENEDICTION) are two separate Choraegus scores. The reason they’re together on the video is that we made the recording for the end of the 2021 Bay View Association season. “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” is at https://www.choraegus.com/ring/sixteen-bell-music/god-be-with-you-till-we-meet-again/.
Happy Ringing!
Larry
I just purchased some of your music using my personal credit card and the music says it is licenced to me, however, I purchased it for my congregation. Can I still use it for this purpose even though my name is on the music? Can it be used by another music director, should I not be doing the handbell choir? If not, that would be a great disappointment.
Author
Hi Udi,
Thank you for trying some of our music, and for your question! It’ll be no problem for you to use the score with your name with the ensemble at your church, or to have them continue using it even after your tenure as director.
One of the reasons we stamp PDFs with the name and email address on the purchasing PayPal account is to provide confirmation as to who’s bought it. That’s because handbell event organizers have been requesting verification of legally owned music at their festivals and rallies – so this is the easiest way for you to show that a printed copy is from your own (or in this case, your church’s) music library.
Carla and I hope that you’ll enjoy playing our music!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
I’d love to see you guys do an 8 or 12 bell arrangement of the dance of the sugar plum fairy! Love your arrangments!
Author
Hi Kate!
Wouldn’t that be tremendous fun? However, Mr. Tchaikovsky wrote Sugar Plum Fairy with quite a few accidentals, and that would make it quite difficult to write an arrangement for eight or twelve bells. 🙁 Perhaps sixteen would work, but even then that would take a bit of careful scoring.
However, in 2013 we found that eight of the pieces from the Nutcracker Suite can be played with eight handbells. Some aren’t too difficult, while others are quite challenging. Perhaps you’d like to try them out!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
I cannot seem to add pieces to the cart. What amI doing wrong?
Author
Hi Anne,
I discovered that the cart was acting up yesterday, so I’ve restarted the Choraegus e-store. Now it seems to be okay.
Do let me know if you have any other questions.
Happy Ringing,
Larry
Hi Larry. I was wondering if you have a digital version of your ‘Bass Ringer’s Notebook Second Edition’ available for purchase? I direct a choir in Canada and have just welcomed a new bass ringer. I’d love for her to have access to this information. I am thankful for publishers who allow digital download as this has been a real blessing to us here in the North!! I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.
Author
Hi Juanita,
I thought about this option some time ago, but decided that providing a hardcopy version was the best way for bass ringers to analyze the information in the Bass Ringer’s Notebook as they learned it. For instance, your bass ringer might learn the various ways to lift a large handbell by comparing what she’s doing with the illustrations in a book that can be laid flat on the table for quick reference.
If it helps, shipping will still be only $6.00 US for sending a book to Canada!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
I have purchased many of your selections and used them with great success. Tonight I’m looking for a handbell number that uses 18 bells. I am not finding much out there. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks for any suggestions you might have. As usual I’m on a time line of yesterday. 🙂
Sharon
Author
Hi Sharon,
I think your problem is a great one to have. It means your ensemble has grown to the point where you need to consider music with more notes to play! It looks like sixteen-bell music isn’t big enough, and three-octave music has too many notes to be handled well.
Fortunately, our “what you’re allowed to do with music from Choraegus” page describes ways you can adapt our scores to fit your needs. Additionally, I’ve just added a new webpage to our site that contains suggestions applicable to your specific circumstance.
Do take a look at these pages to see whether they contain information that will work for you and your ensemble. If you still have remaining questions, then please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Larry
Hello
I have just found your wonderful music for hand bells. I am in the Highlands of Scotland. Will the PDF you send be compatible with my UK software & printer (sorry if this is a silly question). Can I order from the UK, and if so, do you know how much the 12 bell music will be in UK £’s?
with thanks,
Isabel
Author
Hello Isabel!
Thank you for asking!
Your question isn’t a silly one, because the clever people at Adobe made it so that PDFs contain all the information needed to guarantee correct and accurate printing. PDFs should be compatible with any computer/software and any printer.
You can indeed order from the UK, or anywhere in the world where you can use PayPal to conduct transactions. PayPal should also handle the required currency conversion (so, as of this moment, £1.00 = $1.24 US, which means a $10.00 twelve-bell score would convert to a bit over £8). You can use an online currency convertor to calculate your purchase in pounds; just enter the total in US dollars and the value in pounds will change accordingly.
If you have any other questions, do contact me again!
Sincerely,
Larry
Thank you again for your different arrangements. I just purchased two Christmas pieces, my Joyful Noise group is C5-G6, conveniently enough, so no problem. Thanks for doing what you do.
Author
Hi Barbara!
We hope you enjoy playing your new music – do let us know if you make a video!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
Hello,
I am looking for 12 bell arrangements. Can you please explain to me why these arrangements say 12 bells when only 8 appear to be playing?
Thank you!!
Author
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for contacting us!
If you’ll look closely at the videos, you should notice that in the videos with three ringers, each one is playing four-in-hand (two bells in each hand). If there are two frames, each with two ringers, one frame has two four-in-hand ringers and the other has two ringers with two bells apiece. Pausing the videos from time to time may make that easier to see. Also, if you’re viewing the videos on a small screen, such as a phone, you might try expanding to full screen or trying again on a larger device.
Please do let us know if you have more questions!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
Greetings Larry & Carla Sue – I was so excited to prepare and present your arrangement of EBENEZER – “O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” -6-Bells for THIS SUNDAY’S (Jun.6.2024) special music at my church. This is my first purchase with Choreagus Music, and I hope to make more purchases of your wonderful arrangements for bells! I had difficulty finding equipment at my church to allow me to print off my purchased copies and now the email link will not permit me citing that I’ve made “too many attempts” to download. When the customer is already limited to having to download the music within 72 hours – – it’s a bit unfair to ALSO be penalized because of “technical difficulties”. Is there any way that I could be granted a new download link without having to make a new
/additional purchase? Please help! Yvonne Walker
Author
Hi Yvonne,
Welcome to Choraegus! We’re sorry your first experience with us has been a bit difficult. We’ve emailed you the PDF you purchased, and hope you enjoy playing your new music!
If you have the same difficulty finding a quick way to print scores you buy from us, I’d suggest downloading and saving them immediately. That way, you’ll have the PDF(s) handy when you’re able to print them. That way, you could print them from your phone at home, or even email the PDF(s) to yourself there (our home printers are sometimes more cooperative than others!). And if you do this, you also have a master that will make it easy to replace copies that are damaged or lost.
Carla and I appreciate your getting in touch with us so we could have an opportunity to make things right for you! I’d just like you to know that we’re here to answer any questions or problems you might have.
Happy Ringing!
Larry
Just started a handbell group. Mostly beginners-have 2 octaves of bells—G4-G6. Do you have any pieces that we can begin playing. Thank you!
Author
Hi Robin,
Yes, we do! Please take a look at these:
Be Thou My Vision
If you have six ringers, you might like to look at some of our twelve-bell selections such as:
Skye Boat Song
Away in a Manger (CRADLE SONG)
It occurs to us that the pieces that you choose will depend on how many ringers you have. If you have six, then twelve-bell pieces are a solid choice; with more, two octaves will give you a few more bells to play in the score. And if you have four ringers, our eight-bell pieces would probably be a great fit.
I realize that this might not be as complete an answer as you need, so if you have additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
Hi! I love your small group pieces. Covid and beyond we play a lot of quartets. But now we are rebuilding a full 3 octave choir. Sort of. Do you have any arrangements for 2-3 octaves for those of us missing one ringer at the end!
Author
Hi Kristi!
Thank you so much for playing our music! It’s our privilege to be part of what you do.
Choraegus has music that should work well with your almost-three-octave ensemble. Our list of scores for handbell choir is alphabetically-ordered, but there’s a column for octaves of bells (“Oct. bells”) that you can use to find the pieces for two or three octaves. At present, there are some dozens of pieces that might work for you.
Because you’re at short one ringer (so… ten?), the most likely matches will be the easier ones, so you can have one high treble ringer play four-in-hand (probably G6-C7). These should be quite doable:
As with our smaller-range pieces, the webpage for each handbell choir score has a video that you can watch to see how your ringers might look when playing the piece. They can even use the videos as a guide to how their individual parts are played (if you need help identifying which part is which, please ask!).
If you have additional questions, please get in touch with us!
Happy Ringing,
Larry & Carla
What is the difference between the single copy version and the handbell choir version of “Rise up, Shepherds?
Author
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for asking!
The handbell choir versions allow you to make up to fifteen copies of the score for your ensemble. We also use the word “maintain” in our licensing agreement so that you can destroy damaged copies and replace them with fresh ones.
The single copy versions of our more challenging pieces have been well-suited to bronze-level events such as the Bay View Week of Handbells and Distinctly Bronze. They also give directors an opportunity to study the music in detail before purchasing the handbell choir version for their ensemble.
It turns out that if you purchase the single copy version, and then decide it’s something you want your handbell choir to play, and then buy the choir version, the price per copy is still very affordable. If you have eleven ringers, then a handbell choir score for $30 equals about $2.75 per copy. Adding the luxury of a single copy score to know that the choice is right for you will add only about 45¢ per copy.
Also, we have demo videos on our product pages, so you can see how your bell choir might look when playing the music.
If you have any other questions, you’re always welcome to get in touch!
Happy Ringing,
Larry
Hi Larry,
I would love to see more level 1 arrangements of your existing 8 and 12 bell repetoire. Our choir is small and we have 2 ringers who do not read music. One of them is challenged by 8th notes, especially offbeats, which is difficult to balance with a group of 6 – 7 ringers. For this reason, A number of your surprisingly easy collection don’t work for us. Carol
Author
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the suggestion – we’ll give it some thought!
Happy Ringing,
Larry