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From: mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate)
Newsgroups: net.music.classical,net.jokes
Subject: A Short Treatise on Change Ringing
Message-ID: <2102@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Dec-84 13:46:28 EST
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.2102
Posted: Mon Dec 24 13:46:28 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Dec-84 02:50:00 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 22

Change ringing is done with a set of four or more bells, mounted to be rung
by ropes.  Normally eight to twelve bells are used, each of a different size.
Each bell is rung by one person.

A peal begins with the bells being rung until a rythm is well established.
Then the "changes" begin.  Adjacent bells are exchanged in the the sequence
according the pattern selected for the peal.  The result is a constantly
varying sequence which continues until a) the end of the sequences is
reached, or b) someone messes up and they repeat a sequence.  A "full peal"
takes the ringers through all the possible sequences; I should point out that
at the National Cathedral in D.C., which has a twelve bell peal, a full peal
takes several hours.  The chances of completing one are fairly small (I
believe they've had less then twenty successes).

Here in the D.C. area, there are two large peals: the cathedral, as I
mentioned above, and at the Old Post Office.  It's worth a trip to hear part
of a quarter peal and listen for the changes.

Charley Wingate    umcp-cs!mangoe

P.S.  A peal makes the bell tower at the cathedral sway back and forth about
a foot.