It’s time for another Global Writing Challenge prompt. Our current membership consists of MK’s Adventures in Style, Deb’s World, Suzy Turner, Rosie Amber, Within a World of My Own, and me. Rosie chose this month’s theme. I love the Global Writing Challenge because it’s always fun to see what others come up with…the responses rarely repeat. On top of the wonderfully different opinions and thoughts, the writing itself is wonderful! I hope you’ll visit all of these blogs because you are going to be amazed at, not only the diversity of ideas, but the stories of each person. There’s also a link party at the end of this post!
If you’d like to join us, here are the prompts for January and February:
- January – Snow
- February – Fashion Icons
A little history…
I started playing handbells in church somewhere around 1995. I only know that because of the tag inside the handles. Someone in our church had passed away, and the family memorialized them with money to purchase handbells. Now, before you sit there shaking your head in amazement that playing handbells is yet another in my long list of accomplishments, you need to know I can’t read music…at all! For that reason, I have played the same handbells ever since 1995 even though we moved to a different town and church over ten years ago. But, I can count to four, and I can even add the halves in between!
Something I can’t do…
I firmly believe everyone has a learning disability of some kind as well as a talent. My learning disability happens to be I cannot remember what a song sounds like unless it’s a song I’ve sung over and over again. That holds true for bell music. Until we start playing, I have absolutely no idea what the song is going to sound like…honestly! That also goes for songs that are sung and not played on handbells (or any other instrument). I also can’t sing acapella!
Not all songs are the same…
Well, there is one exception to that…sort of. I could clap out the rhythm for “Carol of the Bells” any day of the week. In fact, when I hear the song, I don’t hear the music, I hear 1 2 & 3, 1 2 & 3, 1 & 2 & 3 4! I wouldn’t have any idea what notes they were, but I know that rhythm like the palm of my hand. That is…until your choir director gets a totally different arrangement of the song!
Especially this one…
At Grace Lutheran up north, we played what I consider the traditional “Carol of the Bells” which is quite lovely. At Messiah, that particular song has a bit of a bad reputation. Our director before the current one flat out refused to ever play it again. I wasn’t sure why. When she retired to Florida, we got a new director, and someone (guess who) was able to convince him to resurrect the song. This arrangement, however, was quite different from the one I knew and loved. My part wasn’t especially difficult, but the timing was. So, now I know why the former director put a stop to playing the song ever again. I purely do wish we’d get that arrangement we had at Grace!
This is probably most like the version we played. Do you notice the concentration on their faces? They are counting, watching the director (love his face), and moving their hands, ringing, damping, shaking! There’s a lot going on when you play at this speed, which, in my mind, is the perfect way to play. We once had a director up north who said, “If you can play it fast, you can play it at tempo.” And, he was right!
Why…
I love playing handbells. I always wanted to play a musical instrument, but my mom said we didn’t have the money for it. My youngest tried to teach me how to play the guitar, but my fingers just don’t move that way. Playing handbells is my way of making music without having to know too much about reading music. When I said I couldn’t read music, I mean I don’t know which notes are which. I still use those old mnemonics…FACE and Every Good Boy Does Fine when it comes to figuring out the notes. In case you’re curious, I play D5, D5♯, E5, and E5𝄭. They are the bottom line note and space so I can find them easily! Up north, we marked our music with highlighters which would indicate which bell to use. At Messiah, there is none of that. I am really good at counting so I can do complicated measures with 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 notes. When it comes to 1/16 and triplets, I struggle…a lot!
Wrap it up, Marsha!
Up north, we played the bells about twice a month. Here in Brownsburg, we play maybe once in the fall, on Christmas Eve, once in Lent, and maybe on Easter. We also play on Music Appreciation Sunday. Part of that is Messiah is a much smaller church than Grace was, and many of our members are busy with other church business. That means we have a difficult time finding times that work for everyone to be there for practice. Believe me when I say you need everyone to make the music sound right. We will be playing a rather unexpected version of a song (I can’t remember the title for the life of me) with a Calypso beat. It was a little daunting at first, but now I feel pretty confident about playing it. Another big difference between Messiah and Grace…at Grace, we had a choir loft where we played. At Messiah, we play in front of the congregation. You have to wear your poker face the whole time so no one knows when you’ve played that stinker of a note!
What others are saying…
Suzy “ writes about the unexpected memories and meaningful moments that surfaced when she reflected on this month’s “Christmas Carol” theme.”
Sally “considers some of her favorite versions of and variants on the Dickens tale “A Christmas Carol.”
Debbie “wonders why Australians still sing Christmas songs and carols about snow and cold weather when they’re boiling in mid summer.”
Rosie has “written a comedy version of the 12 Days of Christmas.”
Mary Katherine is still on hiatus, catching up with old friends, and vacationing.
And, now, it’s your turn!
If you’d like to link up your posts about kindness, you may link up here or at any of the other blogs!