Tag: #standandeight

Getting spliced

Our Monday night #bellringing practices have been a little short of bodies recently, so we’ve been concentrating on ringing eight bell methods, with some triples for those in that learning zone. 

This last Monday we had enough to ring some Surprise Major methods.  We started with some Yorkshire to warm up with.  Then rang some Bristol which proved a little too much for some, so it crashed out.  C asked me what I’d like to ring so I suggested some simple spliced: Cambridge, Yorkshire, and Superlative. I did also want to throw in some Lincolnshire but others in the band were less confident, so we stuck to the three methods.

I’ve always been told that because I don’t learn methods by learning the place bells, I’ll never be any good at ringing spliced.  That may be true to some extent.  But if that was the case, how come I was one of the stronger ringers in that touch?  I may not consciously know what place bell I am, or be able to quote lead end orders, but I can figure out what piece of work to do next. 

My minor (forgive the pun) #bellringing ambition is to ring the standard eight to Eight Spliced.  I’m not going to get into a debate here about Standard Eight versus Core Seven. They both have their place. 

Of the Standard Eight methods I semi-regularly ring seven of them: Cambridge, Yorkshire, Superlative, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Bristol, and Pudsey.  I think I’ve only ever rung London a couple of times.  The most I have ever rung spliced together is probably four of them and probably not very well.  We just don’t do it regularly enough, partly because the ability of the band.

The Education Column Series 2, Sheet 7 introduces the theme of splicing, describing it as a touch where you change methods at any lead end. The method changes could be accompanied by a Bob or Single too. As the treble leads, we finish the work of the old method, noting where we are at the backstroke, then start ringing that place bell’s work in the new method as the treble moves away from the lead. In the same Series, Sheet 10 it suggests deciding in advance what methods you’re going to splice and stick to the ones you are most familiar with to start. 

My inability to learn methods by being able to quote place bells and being consciously aware of them has improved over lockdown where we’ve been practicing different methods on Ringing Room and as I’ve been coaching others through new methods, I’ve looked at them differently myself.  Perhaps I have an unconscious ability to know what place bell I am.  I can sometime see where the treble is and know what place I am at the backstroke; its just a case of know what work that place bell does!

I think through using Ringing Room I have become more aware of what other bells around me are doing and more aware of where the treble is and what piece of work I do next.  So, without being able to say out loud what place bell I am, perhaps I do know after all.  Maybe there’s hope that I’ll crack eight spliced soon.

A plea for Pudsey

No, I don’t mean that loveable, cute, one-eyed bear synonymous with raising millions for childrens’ charities.  I mean the Surprise Major version.

For some reason this method of the Surprise Major Standard Eight gets a bad wrap.  It’s probably the least popular of the standard eight methods.  Possibly because its less musical than most of the others.  However, I quite like it.  It’s easy enough to learn.

All the places are Yorkshire places.  2nds and 5ths place bells are the same as Cambridge except the double and single/single and double dodges at the back are the other way around.  3rds place bell is similar to Cambridge but starts and ends with a dodge in 3/4 and only has one dodge at the back either side of working with the Treble.  All the work at the back otherwise is double and single or single and double with the double always coming nearest the 5/6 places.

I have rung two quarters of Pudsey Surprise Major inside and one of Pudsey Surprise Royal on the Treble, and one peal of Major inside. I’m hoping that come Sunday, it’ll be two peals.

The idea that the Standard Eight gets usurped by the Core Seven leaves Pudsey out in the cold, along with Rutland and Lincolnshire.  A bit like Pluto being demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet, not being able to exert its own orbit dominance, Pudsey may become consigned to the list of long forgotten methods that only get rung when someone is collecting the alphabet and wants an easy win.

For me, learning Pudsey was a whole lot easier than learning Superlative, which has survived the move to the Core Seven, and Cornwall and Lessness have found their way in. There are staunch supporters of the Core Seven just as there are stoic evangelists of the Standard Eight. Can’t we combine them into the Terrific Ten?

I guess it depends on where you start from.  If you came from the school of learning Kent before Cambridge or Oxford before Norwich, then Cornwall.  Unless you were like me and went straight from Plain Bob to Cambridge so didn’t have all those steppingstones along the way.

There doesn’t seem to be a linear learning route once you start into the world of Surprise methods. Cambridge is an obvious starting point as so many other methods seem to use elements of it, but then it seems to be potluck based on your local circumstances.  The Ringing World started developing various pathways and introduced the Little Purple Ringing Book that attempts to progress you through ringing simple surprise minor methods.  It made me chuckle when I read “First and foremost, don’t try to jump straight from Plain Bob and Grandsire to Cambridge”. That’s exactly what I did. 

So, I’d put a plea out for Pudsey.  Don’t give it such a hard time just because it’s been relegated to a dwarf method!