IMPORTANT POINTS
AIMS* Always emphasize the importance of not touching any of the ropes unless asked to do so,
* Try to arrange more than one session per week since a learner will learn much more quickly that way (although this is not as important as is sometimes made out),
* Make sure that the teaching bell (a bell of suitable weight for the learner) is in good order and the rope is the correct length.
* If there is any chance of complaints, tie the bell's clapper,
* Before each session, make sure that the learner removes coats and maybe bulky pullovers that would restrict their movement. Make sure they secure any loose clothing. Those that wear glasses, especially to correct short sight, ought to keep them on,
* If teaching children MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THEIR PARENT/GUARDIAN or other responsible person present.
STEPS* To produce a smooth style:
* sufficiently efficient to allow full control of the bell,
* sufficiently tidy that there is no danger to adjacent ringers,
* To make the learner feel confident about handling the rope and that they are making progress,
* To keep the learner's interest by making adequate progress,
* To proceed in steps small enough to be easily mastered.
The following describes the order in which the steps should be carried out. However, at the start of each session, go back over the previous lessons. For instance, if the last lesson involved ringing single handstrokes then go back to ringing the backstroke and then some single handstrokes before going on to catching the sally. This reminds the learner of what they have done and gives their muscles time to loosen up a bit. You can also employ some psychology by emphasising the rapidity with which they pass through this revision and how this means that they are making exceptional progress.
1. STUDY A BELL
At an early stage, show the learner a real bell or a model bell and describe the movement of the bell and rope. Show what the stay is for (standing the bell at the end of ringing, NOT stopping the bell going too far). Show the point in the bell's rotation at which the clapper strikes the bell and at which the ringer has control of the bell. Name the major parts of the bell mechanism.
Demonstrate the ringing of a real bell to show both strokes and relate this to the movement of the model bell. Define the terms:
sally
tail end
handstroke
backstroke
balance point
The inevitable question is "do you go up with the bell?". Don't be tempted to recount the dramatic incident when you were flicked out through the louvres after breaking a stay. Whether or not this question is asked this is a good time to describe the remote possibility that at some stage a ringer just may break a stay and be carried up if they keep hold (using the model to explain why) but that a serious accident is extremely rare (which it is). Tell them that this won't happen because you will be with them all the time.
2. OUTLINE THE SYLLABUS
Tell the learner the steps taken when learning to handle a bell and maybe state the future aim of ringing in Rounds. Give an approximate time scale - at least 3 to 4 weeks to handle, another 3 to 4 weeks to ring barely adequate Rounds unattended. Stress that people make progress at different rates and that longer or shorter learning times are not unusual. Don't say that if adequate progress is not made then the learner will be sacked.
Don't go into great detail about the technicalities of advanced ringing since some will be deterred by this. This last point applies throughout the teaching of learners - give them enough information to retain interest but not enough to confuse them. Fend off any difficult questions with simplistic answers.
3. RINGING THE BACKSTROKE
In this first stage the instructor handles the sally and the learner handles the tail end.
3.1 Preparations
Position the learner at the rope and give them the tail end, asking them to grip it in both hands as if they were playing tug-o-war whilst you also hold it below the sally. Most people will place their right hand nearer to yours on the rope than their left, indicating that they are most comfortable this way round. Such people will hold the tail end in their left hand. If the learner grips the tail end with their hands the other way round then they will be more comfortable holding the tail end in their right hand. We will call the hand in which the learner is to retain the tail end the "tail end hand". Most learners will have looked up at the ceiling at this point so now is a good time (the first of many opportunities) to discourage this kind of behaviour.
After asking the learner not to touch anything, stand the bell at backstroke. Get them to reach up with their tail end hand, keeping their feet on the floor, and, without pulling, hold the tail end. Make a note of where the learner is holding the rope. Make the learner let go and then bring the bell back to handstroke. You need to be able to reach above the learner's hands on the tail end, so get a box if necessary. Place the learner's tail end hand onto the tail end two or three inches above the point where they previously held it (otherwise they will bump the stay) and place their other hand immediately above the tail end hand, with both thumbs pointing up the rope. Next, make the learner relax their arms while retaining the rope so that their hands are loosely hanging with their thumbs pointing downwards.
Describe that you are going to pull the sally, which will come down about 3ft and then shoot off towards the ceiling, taking the learner's arms with it. Lift the rope with the learner's hands in place and show them that the tail end will end up above their heads with their arms straight out. Stress that the learner must let the rope get to this position before gently pulling the tail end downwards in a straight line. Insist that the pull should be a long one, with the arms ending up fully extended downwards. Tell the learner to pull with enough effort to keep the rope tight plus a bit extra but no harder than this (you can adjust the strength of pull when they have done a few). Tell the learner to flick the loop of rope towards the floor at the end of the pull. You ought to go through this twice, even if the learner claims to understand what you have just said.
3.2 Basic Technique
Before actually doing anything, tell the learner that if you say "let go" they must simply drop their hands down by their sides and do nothing else. Once this is clear you should state that you are about to pull the sally, and then pull it (hard enough to get to the balance). Make sure that you get a hand onto the tail end as discreetly as possible and as soon as possible (this hand should feel the bell but neither ring it for the learner nor pull the rope to one side).
Watch how the learner handles the tail end and advise if the rope is being pulled too soon, too late, too hard, not hard enough, not straight, not long enough, not flicking the loop. If the bell starts to drop too much, (casually) take the tail end off the learner and recover the situation, stating that it is normal for this to happen to learners. A learner can't be expected to recover from a significant dropping of a bell so don't make them. You will be able to feel if the bell is balancing correctly. When it does, tell the learner that this is what it should feel like. Tell the learner how to recognise an over pull and an under pull. Don't be tempted to leave the learner alone with the tail end until the style has reached a consistent state.
3.3 Advanced Technique
Once the backstroke is reasonably consistent you should start to put your hand up to the tail end without actually touching it and gradually start to not put it up at all. Quite soon you will have the learner ringing the backstrokes independently. Eventually you can tell the learner that you are not helping them at all. This realisation often results in a temporary loss of control but, once control is regained, the learner will have gained some confidence that he is making real progress.
The next step is to get the learner to stand the bell at backstroke a few times, gently, without bumping. You must go back to feeling the bell whilst you do this because if the bell starts to ring itself after failing to reach the balance the learner will continue to hold the tail end above their head, resulting in the rope going slack. You should tell the learner at this point that if there is no weight on the rope they must ring it straight away. To illustrate this, you should deliberately fail to pull the sally hard enough a time or two so that the learner gets to feel the slack rope in a controlled situation.
3.4 The End Of The First Phase
The teaching of the ringing of the backstroke ends when you can confidently let the learner ring it without intervention and you feel that he can set the bell at will and he can recover if the sally is not pulled with the correct strength. There is no point in continuing until the learner is consistently pulling with the correct strength and the rope is behaving correctly.
4. RINGING THE HANDSTROKE
In the second stage the instructor is handing the tail end and the learner is handling the sally.
4.1 Teaching The Basic Sally Movement
There is more danger attached to the ringing of the handstroke than to the ringing of the backstroke. The reason is that if the learner doesn't let go in time the sally will snatch through their hands and may cause a rope burn or may cause discouragement. To overcome this it is a good idea to get the learner to place their hands (reaching up as far as possible without lifting their feet off the floor) on either side of the sally, without gripping it at all, and to follow its downward motion whilst you ring it. The aim is to get the learner to remove their hands at the correct time and drop their arms by their side in a smooth movement. At this stage, the learner should not make any attempt to catch the sally, although many do. Usually, about 6 or 7 attempts at this is sufficient.
Whilst teaching the handling of the sally the instructor should be stood on the floor so that his hands can catch the sally at the bottom, thus not getting in the way of the learner's hands. Many learners don't make the expected progress because the instructor obstructs the learner's access to the rope.
4.2 Pulling The Sally
Once the learner has appreciated the motion of the sally he should be asked to grip it with both hands, the tail end hand lower than the other hand and no gap between. He will now perform the same single strokes as in the previous stage except that he will be pulling the sally himself. It is important to realise that each of these pulls starts with the bell set and that, in order to create the correct impression of the strength of pull, you help the learner to get the bell to the balance. If this isn't done the learner will end up pulling the sally too hard because it will feel heavy. Continue with this until the pull is smooth and of the correct strength and length. You can tell when the correct strength is used by the bell's behaviour at backstroke.
4.3 Catching The Sally
Once the handstroke pull is correct the learner must learn how to catch the sally. It is difficult to explain to a learner how to know when the sally should be caught but the basic idea is to tell them that, after they pull the sally, you will ring the backstroke. As you do, the sally will come down from the ceiling and then start to rise. As it rises, the learner should attempt to grab it, without snatching, at the correct place (slightly above where they hold it to pull off), let it rise to the balance and then pull it again. Explain the motion of the rope at least twice and then explain that the only way to learn this bit is to have a go and to keep trying until it is correct.
If the learner is told when they have caught the sally too high, too low or just about right they soon get the idea. Common faults at this stage include: not letting the sally rise after catching it, pulling with the wrong strength, hands apart, letting the sally slip through the hands so that it bumps the stay, trying to ring too quickly.
After a while, the learner will begin to catch the sally reasonably consistently and you should reduce your involvement in the process. Finally, you should teach the learner to stand the bell at handstroke five times in succession.
4.4 Dummy Tail End
Place the dummy tail end in the learner's tail end hand and get them to ring some more handstrokes. At the start, the dummy tail end should be pushed into the corner of their thumb and forefinger (where it should end up after each handstroke) and the right hand should be placed above the left on the dummy tail end after letting go of the sally. Emphasise that they do not need to take the dummy tail end into account and that they should just open their hands as before and catch the sally. Insist that they will not drop the tail end. Most learners worry at this point that they will drop the tail end and this is the biggest source of handling faults. You might even feel confident of showing what happens if you do drop the tail end by ringing the bell, dropping the tail end as you catch the sally and then calmly, and in full control, ring the sally and collect the tail end as it rises.
Once the learner can catch the sally with the dummy tail end ending up on the learner's side of the sally it is time to move on. If the learner insists on keeping hold of the dummy tail end with one or more fingers whilst catching the sally then persist until they stop. The next stage is to get the learner, with the dummy tail end, to follow the motion of the real tail end as you ring it. Most learners feel silly whilst doing this. Warn them of this beforehand. Make sure that at the end of the learner's dummy backstroke the dummy tail end is tucked into the corner of their thumb and forefinger by ensuring that they give it the correct downward downward flick with the tail end hand bent towards them.
5. PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Once the learner can catch the sally with the dummy tail end and can follow the motion of the real tail end whilst getting both hands onto the dummy tail end after releasing the sally the final stage consists of symbolically throwing away the dummy tail end and given them the real one. Many learners progress to ringing on their own very rapidly at this point but some will not pull quite hard enough. Nevertheless, a short period of practice is all that is required. Don't be afraid to walk away from the learner but keep a careful eye on what they are doing.
If the learner does not pull hard enough and the bell starts to drop then try to get them to recover by themselves. If this does not seem likely then take the rope off them before they become discouraged. At this stage you must pile on the encouragement as thickly as possible, whilst pointing out any faults as they arise.
6. FINAL STEPS
Once basic control is achieved, make the learner ring other bells, working round one at a time to heavier bells and then back to light bells. At the same time, make a start on Rounds. Most learners will develop handling faults at this stage. These should be dealt with before they become habitual. Finally, the learner should be taught to ring a bell up and down.
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