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In order to ring the bell, the ringer holds the tail end in one hand, with the end tucked into the palm. They then grasp the sally with both hands and pull down firmly, thus pulling the bell 'over the balance' so that it starts to swing. When the bell reaches the bottom of the revolution, and starts to swing back up the other side, the ringer lets go of the sally and holds onto the tail-end with both hands. When the bell has swung almost 360 degrees, it will once again reach a 'balancing point', at which point the ringer pulls down firmly on the tail-end, causing the bell to swing back round the other way again. As the bell rises up towards it's original starting point, the ringer will catch the sally in both hands once again in order to control it.
In order to ring the bell, the ringer holds the tail end in one hand, with the end tucked into the palm. They then grasp the sally with both hands and pull down firmly, thus pulling the bell 'over the balance' so that it starts to swing. When the bell reaches the bottom of the revolution, and starts to swing back up the other side, the ringer lets go of the sally and holds onto the tail-end with both hands. When the bell has swung almost 360 degrees, it will once again reach a 'balancing point', at which point the ringer pulls down firmly on the tail-end, causing the bell to swing back round the other way again. As the bell rises up towards it's original starting point, the ringer will catch the sally in both hands once again in order to control it.
==Peals==
For a given number of bells a full peal consists of every possible [[permutation]] of the bells being rung once and once only. Thus for the unlikely small number of three bells, a possible peal might be.
123<br />
132<br />
312<br />
321<br />
231<br />
213<br />
Note also that any one can only move a maximum of one place on each round. Thus a change from 123 to 231 would be illegal as 1 has move two places. This is fundamentally a practical constraint as it is difficult to adjust the [[period]] of a swinging bell by more than a small amount. However, it is also a constraint which adds interesting complexity to the rules of what changes are allowed.
A peal for a particular number of bells has a specific name:
3 - Singles<br />
4 - Minimus<br />
5 - Doubles<br />
6 - Minor<br />
7 - Triples<br />
8 - Major<br />
9 - Caters<br />
10 - Royal<br />
11 - Cinques<br />
12 - Maximus <br />
As will be readly observed, the total number of changes in a full peal is the [[factorial]] of the number of bells. Thus for Major, the figure is 40,320. At a rate of one change ever three seconds this would take 34 hours, and would usually be done in shifts, with ringers taking over from one another without stopping the peal. A full peal of Maximus would take around 45 years, and has never been attempted.
For this reason subsets of the total number of changes on a set of bells of often rung, such as a quarter peal of half peal.
For a given number of bells there a various ways in which the permutations can be worked through, for example, with three bells we began
123<br />
132<br />
with bell 1 (known as the Treble) saying still (lying) to begin with. However we could equally have begun
123<br />
213<br />
We could still have covered all permutations, but in a different order. Each of these ways of ordering the permutations is known as a method and has a name, such as Plain Bob, or Grandsire. This is combined with the term for the number to give Plain Bob Minor or Grandsire Triples.
In most towers the complement (or ring) of bells is an even number. Very often if a method for an odd number of bells is being rung then the remaining bell (thee deepest in pitch, known as the Tenor) will always be rung at the end of every round, without moving position. In this role it is known as a Tailor.
[[Category:Musical style]]
[[Category:Musical style]]