Covering

    Covering is an art in itself. All too often a learner is made to cover too soon, before their sense of rhythm is sufficiently well developed and before they can even hear or see 6ths (or higher) place. Bad covering will completely ruin otherwise good ringing and the learner will probably be aware of this, ending up embarrassed and discouraged.

   Covering is all about rhythm and setting a good speed for the rest of the band. The ability to hear this rhythm is vital and can be achieved as follows: The tenor should be kept moving and its rope should be given its main pull when the bell in some particular position is supposed to ring, according to the following, experimentally derived, table:

              Number of Bells             Listen for Bell in

                        6                                     2nds

                        8                                     3rds

                       10                                    4ths

                       12                                    5ths

If this is done, with allowances for odd-struckness in the tenor, the covering will be of high quality. Modesty prevents me from repeating the comments made by the judge after once using this covering technique in the National 12-Bell Striking Competition!

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