Exercises Following Session 4

It is important at this stage that you are beginning to become thoroughly familiar with the coursing order and are developing some skill in watching the bells as you pass them and can at least see who leads after you lead, even if not who is leading all the way through.

Don't worry if you are not yet able to sort out either Plain Hunt Doubles or the Plain Course of Plain Bob Doubles because this skill will come with time. The main thing is to keep practicing the skill of seeing what is going on with a good band around you and also seeing if you can spot when a learner has gone wrong.

1. Repeat the exercises for the previous sessions if necessary.

2. Be sure that you understand the terms "Home", "Fourths (4 or 4ths)" or "Make", "Before" or "Out", "In" and what it means to call a bob at each position. In other words, be sure that the calling places are named either after where the Tenor ends up after the bob or by what it does at the bob.

3. Be certain that you can remember the transpositions for each of the four calling positions:

Home = BCA (Put the first bell third)

4ths = CAB (put the third bell first)

In = BAC (swap the first two bells (put the next to the last bell first))

Before = ACB (swap the last two bells (put the last bell second))

4. Call some touches with the bobs at In. Make sure that when you call bobs that you make the actual call just as the bell that is leading is just starting to pull the backstroke of its lead as the Treble is in 2nd's place. Although bobs at In can be called in consecutive leads leave a whole course between each call so that you've got time to do the transposition and a whole course to see the effect. An even number of calls at In put you back into the plain course.

5. Repeat Exercise 4 but make some calls at Before. Again an even number of calls will put you back into the plain course.

6. Repeat Exercise 4 with some calls at 4ths. This time you will need to make three calls to get back to the plain course so call 3 bobs or 6 bobs or 9 bobs etc..

7. Call some different 120s, In Before 4ths, Before 4ths In, 4ths In Before, and practice the different transpositions.

8. Call some touches with two or three different 120s. Make sure that you let each one finish before starting the next!