PLAIN BOB DOUBLES - TOUCHES 1

In this session we will be looking at the calling positions in Plain Bob Doubles and other doubles methods and we will deal with the fundamental effect of bobs on the coursing order which underpins the whole of what comes later.

It is assumed at this point that you have got some grasp of seeing who's leading and who you pass when ringing Plain Hunt or Plain Bob Doubles. Great expertise at sorting out mistakes isn't required at this point but the ability to see if the ringing is still correct would be useful. Get as much practice as you can.

Basic Ideas

Having got used to the idea that a plain course of Plain Bob Doubles can be checked and corrected by making sure that the bells lead and are passed in the coursing order we can proceed to seeing what happens when a bob is called.

The plain course of Plain Bob Doubles is:

12345 13524 15432 14253

21435 31254 51342 41523

24153 32145 53124 45132

42513 23415 35214 54312

45231 24351 32541 53421

54321 42531 23451 35241

53412 45213 24315 32514

35142 54123 42135 23154

31524 51432 41253 21345

13254 15342 14523 12435

13524 15432 14253 12345 H

Fig. 1 - Plain Bob Doubles.

Points Arising From The Diagram

The places where bobs may be called are known as "calling positions" and a course of a single hunt doubles method, such as Plain Bob or St. Simon's, has 4 of them. Each calling position is at the point where each bell takes on the work of a new place bell, at a lead head. The fundamental function of a bob is to say to some of the ringers "make the appropriate change to your work and become a different place bell from that which you would have become". The effect of the bob, then, is to change the work of some of the bells for one blow only and they then resume the method from their new position as if they had arrived there naturally.

In this session we will deal with the calling position where the 5th (or other bell if you prefer to regard some other bell as the reference point) is unaffected at the bobs. For Plain Bob Doubles this is where the 5th makes long 5ths to become 5ths place bell. We must first define some terminology.

Terminology

Calling positions are named after the position that the Tenor ends up in as a result of the call. If the tenor ends up at its own starting place as the result of a call it is said to have been called "at home", or simply "home", and the calling place is called a "Home". For Plain Bob Doubles this is long 5ths, for Plain Bob Minor this is 5-6 down and for Bristol Maximus this is 11-12 down.

It is important to realise that it is the position that the Tenor ends up in as a result of the call that gives the calling place its name and not where it would have ended up otherwise.

The names of the calling positions are abbreviated and that of the Home calling position is abbreviated to "H". Hence in the diagram above the row where the Tenor ends up at home as the result of a bob is labelled "H". In this case it would have ended up there without any call anyway but that doesn't matter.

We will deal with the names of other calling positions in later sessions but many of them can be guessed.

A touch is any piece of ringing but the term is often applied to any piece of ring that is less than a quarter peal and which contains calls. Using the calling position that we are considering in this session, Plain Bob Doubles admits of but one touch and this is the touch obtained by calling a bob 3 times when the 5th (or any other bell) is making long 5ths. To extend the jargon a bit further one might say that the 5th is " called unaffected" (because a bell is unaffected when doing long 5ths) or "called (at) Home" or "called in (long) 5ths".

Writing Down Touches

There are several ways of writing down touches and some methods have their own traditional notations. The following are examples of the ways in which touches of Plain Bob Doubles with the bobs called when the Tenor is at Home.

A B C D E F G

120 120 120 120 120 120 120

2345 2345 2345 2345 H 2345 H 2345 2345 H

3524 3524 3524 4235 4 - 423 3 234 423 -

5432 5432 5432 3425 4 - 342 Twice repeated

4253 4253 4253 2345 4 - 234

4235 - - 4235 - 4235

2543 2543 Repeat twice

5324 5324

3452 3452

3425 - - 3425

4532 4532

5243 5243

2354 2354

2345 - - 2345

The rows that are written down are lead heads .The first thing to notice about all these touches is that the Treble is omitted from each of the rows as it is assumed to be leading.

In A and B all the leads heads of the touch are written down and those that are produced by bobs are marked with a hyphen. This hyphen is standard notation for bobs. Where the call is a single then an "s" is used.

In C only the first "part" is shown and the instruction is given to do the whole thing 3 times in total. Note that ringers always use the word "repeat" in its correct sense, so "repeat twice" means do it 3 times, not twice. Many compositions consist of several "parts" in which the calling is repeated but starting from a different row each time.

In D only those lead heads that are produced by bobs are shown and the number of leads from one call to the next is given. Should the call be a single instead of a bob then something like "4s" would be written.

Forms A to D are only really used for short touches of Doubles and Minor. The Diary contains lots of them, usually in the same forms as B and C, with the calls in the left hand column and the lead heads in the right..

E, F and G are variations of a much more general and compact notation used for touches on 8 or more bells and for longer touches where a huge column of lead heads would be less than helpful. In this table form each line of the touch represents one "course" of the method. A course is defined as all the changes that are rung up to and including the row given at the end of each line. Notice that only the bells that have been affected during the course are shown. In this example the 5th is always at home at the course end and so is not shown. The headings give the names of the calling places in the order in which they occur in the method. Whilst ringing the method the calls must be made at the relevant places as specified on each line of the touch.

Touches E to G are variations on the same theme. In E the rows produced by the calls are shown after the calls that produce them. This seems more intuitive than G where the calls are shown after the row that they produce. The Diary uses the format of touch G. Touch F shows that where the same calling place is used for consecutive calls then it is permissible to give just the number of calls at that position and give the row produced as a result of all of them.

Calling The Bobs

Bobs are called two changes before they take effect. This means that for methods like Plain Bob Doubles, with one hunt bell, the calls are called as the Treble is striking in 2nds place just before leading. For extra polish they should be called just as the bell that's leading in that change is just starting to pull the backstroke.

It is easy to fall into the trap of calling the calls when you are yourself just pulling the backstroke. This is not too bad if you are near the front but if you are around the back, as you are when about to do long 5ths, it is too late because the bells at the front will be planning their next handstroke pull with their next backstroke in mind. Many of the common mistakes at calls can be eliminated by calling them at just the right moment.

It is equally bad to call the calls to early because even though people ought to know what their next piece of work, and therefore what to do at the call, is they often try to do it immediately. It is particularly devastating when in a method like Grandsire or Kent where a call is sometimes taken to mean "dodge immediately" they do so.

Transposition

This is the interesting bit! We must look at the last lead continued into the first lead of a plain course and compare it with the last lead followed by the lead produced after a bob. Look at these figures:

Plain Lead Bobbed Lead

14253 14253

41523 41523

45132 45132

54312 54312

53421 53421

35241 35241

32514 32514

23154 23154

21345 21345

12435 12435

12345 *1 - 14235 *2

21435 41325

24153 43152

42513 34512

45231 35421

54321 53241

53412 52314

35142 25134

31524 21543

13254 12453

…. ….

What should be apparent from this is that following a bob the bells now come to lead and are passed in a different order, a new coursing order. The art of conducting is to know what this new coursing order should be and the process of working out a new coursing order is called "transposition". We will now deal with how to work out the new coursing order following a bob at home.

The bob takes effect at the row marked *2 and it can be seen that this is the first row that is different from what it would have been without the bob (*1). From *2 onwards the ringing proceeds with pure Plain Bob because the bob is over and done with by now. If we compare rows *1 and *2 we can see that:

In row *2 the 5th is where it is in row *1, i.e. unaffected

In row *2 the 4th is where the 2nd is in row *1

In row *2 the 2nd is where the 3rd is in row *1

In row *2 the 3rd is where the 4th is in row *1

If these changes have been made to the row actually rung then the same changes must be made to the coursing order. If the plain course coursing order is (5) 3 2 4 then we can say for each of the statements above:

In the new coursing order the 4th is where the 2nd is in the plain course coursing order: (5) * 4 *

In the new coursing order the 2nd is where the 3rd is in the plain course coursing order: (5) 2 4 *

In the new coursing order the 3rd is where the 4th is in the plain course coursing order: (5) 2 4 3

Comparing the plain course coursing order with the new coursing order we see that 3 2 4 has become 2 4 3. In more general terms we can see that the coursing order A B C has become B C A. We say that the transposition is BCA.

When conducting a touch and calling a bob at home it is necessary to perform this transposition in the head. With practice the results of the transposition become familiar and you just remember them but at the start you will have to practice. To do so you might take any 3 objects and transpose them in this way (5 6 7 -> 6 7 5, p q r -> q r p, cabbage, lettuce, carrot -> lettuce carrot cabbage etc.). Whatever strange things you do in your own head you must develop the ability to manipulate them this way but don't expect to learn it in a couple of weeks. This stuff is not easy.

Whenever a bob at home is called the coursing order is changed by this rule. In fact the same rule is used for calls at any other calling place but allowance must be made for two facts: the bells ABC will be different bells and the new coursing order must preserve the fact that the Tenor is at the start. More will be said about this in the next session.

When starting Plain Bob Doubles from Rounds the coursing order is 3 2 4. After the first bob at home the coursing order becomes 2 4 3. After the second bob at home the coursing order becomes 4 3 2. After the third bob at home the coursing order becomes 3 2 4, which is back in the plain course and so the bells come round.

If you want to use a bell other than the 5th as the reference point, say the 2nd, then everything that applies to the 5th's coursing order also applies to your own personal coursing order. From the 2nd the coursing order is 4 5 3. Bobs called when the 2nd makes long 5ths produce the new coursing orders 5 3 4, 3 4 5 and finally 4 5 3.

Note: if you don't like the complexity of the derivation of the transposition then ignore it and it will go away, except that if you understand it you'll be able to work out others for yourself. It is, however, necessary to be able to do this transposition in your head because this is the basis of keeping track of the ringing after calls have been made. Transposition in the head is hard and so be prepared for it to take a bit of time to become natural.

Conducting Plain Bob Doubles After A Bob At Home

The conducting of Plain Bob Doubles following a call at home is exactly the same as that of the plain course except that you must now use the new coursing order. Since the bob takes effect at the Treble's backstroke lead the new coursing order is effective from and including that change.

After making long 5ths the 5th has come back to the start of the course and so the ringing proceeds as if it has just started in Rounds except that some of the bells are out of their usual places. Since, when the coursing order is 3 2 4 it is the 2nd that is the first bell to lead after the Treble at the start of the plain course, it is the 4th to lead first at the start of the course when the coursing order is 2 4 3. Similarly when the coursing order is 4 3 2 it is the 3rd which leads first at the start of that course. In other words, once the coursing order has changed the new bell to occupy some position in the coursing order does everything that the bell in that position in the plain course coursing order does.

You might have noticed that when, in the plain course, you dodge in 3-4 up or down it is with the 2nd. Now, because the coursing order has changed, you will do your dodges with the new bell that occupies the position of the 2nd in the plain course coursing order. Thus when the coursing order is 2 4 3 your dodges will be with the 4th and when the coursing order is 4 3 2 your dodges will be with the 3rd.

Summary

We have seen that at a bob some of the bells take the places of others and that these changes must be reflected in a new coursing order.

We have seen that the 3 bells in the coursing order that are affected at a bob can be labelled as bells A, B and C and that the coursing order ABC is transformed into BCA by a process called transposition. The transposition BCA must be practiced because it is the basis for much of what follows.

We have also seen that the new coursing order is valid as soon as the bells have done the bob and that it is used for watching the bells in exactly the same way as the plain course coursing order is for the plain course.

A variety of notations for touches has been introduced.