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As well as English style ringing there are many other ways of ringing bells around the world. The table below may help you to decide what type of ringing you are hearing.
| What you hear | Style | Watch example | Number of bells / How controlled | Typical location | More information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Many bells ringing apparently randomly with no clear pattern | 'Continental' | Europe Liverpool |
Several swinging bells often swung electrically, may be swung by people using ropes. | Continental Europe or some Catholic churches in UK | |
| Bells playing tunes with wide range of notes | Carillon | Greensleeves Mozart |
23+ fixed bells struck by hammers attached to wires. Played by one person striking levers in a clavier. | Many places, especially Holland & Belgium | British Carillon Society. World Carillon Federation |
| Bells playing melodies but with limited range of notes | Chiming apparatus | Hunton | 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12 fixed bells with hammers connected to a chiming frame. Played by one person. | May be an adjunct to an English style ring of bells or an alternative | Ellacombe apparatus (Wikipedia) |
| Bells rung in various different rhythmic patterns | Slovenian | Slovenia 1 Slovenia 2 Slovenia 3 |
Several fixed bells played by pulling the clapper by hand to make it strike, with one person per bell. Sometimes with the larger bells swung by pulling on ropes attached to a bar under the bell, with a person on each end. | Slovenia and nearby countries | Centuries-Old Sound of Bells |
| Bells rung sequentially with about one blow per second. Occasional chords | Concerti (Veronese) | Verona | Mostly 5, 6 or 9 bells (maybe extra semitones) heavily counter-balanced, swinging full circle and controlled by ropes, with one or two people per rope. | Veronese region of Italy | Veronese Bells, Fittings and Ringing |
| Bells rung sequentially with periodic changes of order and number ringing | Bolognese | Bologna |
4, 5 or 6 bells swinging full circle, controlled manually by several men above and below the bells. | Bologna, Italy | Unione Campanarie Bolognesi (in Italian) |
| Bells rung sequentially | Lucchesi | Lucca | XXX | XXX | XXX |
| Bells rung in various different rhythmic patterns of high, medium and low notes | Russian Orthodox | Russia 1 Russia 2 |
Several fixed bells in three groups (small, medium & large). Rung by one person with cords/ropes attached to clappers. | Russia and other countries with Orthodox churches | Russian Orthodox bell ringing (Wikipedia) |
There is one place in England where the bells are rung in an unorthodox variant of the English style – not using ropes but by controlling the bells directly – at East Bergholt in Suffolk. Watch the ringing .
Back to: The Bells Are Ringing – finding out about English style ringing that you hear
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