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This diagram (shown left) shows a lead of a
method called Grandsire Doubles. Each line shows the bells,
each ringing once in a 'change'. The tenor, the bell with
the lowest note, numbered 6, follows after all of the other
bells have rung. The treble, the lightest bell,
numbered 1, hunts up from the front (or lead) to the back,
and then down again to the lead (ahead of the tenor,
following the path shown in red). In this method, the second
bell follows a similar path, following in the footsteps of
the treble.
The other three bells follow the
work of the method. The path of the third bell is shown by
the blue line. It starts by striking twice in thirds place,
then hunts down to the front, leads twice, and hunts up to
the back, then again makes places. After that, before
returning to the front, it dodges with the 4th bell.
The diagram shows that there are 10
changes before the treble returns to its starting position.
If the diagram is extended until all of the bells return to
their start positions, 30 changes are required. This is
known as a 'plain course' of the method. 'Bobs' and
'singles', which change the work of the bells, can then be
added to enable the maximum of 120 changes to be rung
without repetition. This is known as an extent. As 120 =
5*4*3*2*1 = 5! (5 factorial) this corresponds to the total
number of different changes that can be rung on five bells,
and takes about 5 minutes to ring. With 7 bells, a true peal
of 5040 changes can be rung, this takes over 3 hours. We do
not ring many peals.
Change Ringing dates from the early
17th century, and Fabian Stedman's book Campanalogia,
published in 1677, is the earliest book which describes the
subject in detail. More familiar, perhaps, is Troyte's On Change
Ringing (1869), which is
quoted extensively in Dorothy L Sayers' popular 1934
detective story, The Nine
Tailors. Before change
ringing was invented, Call Changes, in which successive
changes are called out individually, was widely practised;
this form still dominates in Devon and Cornwall.
It can be appreciated that, in
addition to its ecclesiastical function, change ringing has
social, historical, musical, acoustical, and mathematical
aspects, in addition to the satisfaction gained in
exercising and improving an unusual skill. All of these, to
varying extents for different people, contribute to its
popularity.
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