Buying bells: whether to buy, which range to buy, bell cases

I’ve been contacted by several people in recent weeks for advice about buying or selling bells. Though I’m not a professional appraiser or broker, I have some information to share that you may find helpful, whether as a buyer or a seller. I’ll address the needs of soloists first, and the needs of groups (like a church) in a later post. In a future post, I’ll also talk about selling secondhand bells.

For handbell musicians, buying an instrument is a much bigger deal than it is for other instrumentalists. It’s customary for handbell musicians to learn to ring in a group, which owns the instrument. Buying your own bells seems like a huge hurdle, but, when you think about it, many other instruments (like Steinway pianos) are significantly more expensive. Once you own a set of bells, you become accustomed to it, just as you probably did when you got your first car.

As a buyer of bells, your main considerations are:

• Whether to buy bells at all
• Range of bells needed
• Type of cases
• Bell brand
• New or used?

Within a brand, you have minor options, like type of clapperhead or cases.

Whether to buy: When you start solo work, it’s likely you’ll play on bells owned by your church or community group for a while. It may seem like a hassle, because you’ll have to go to another location, and set up and strike every time you want to practice. When I started, I practiced about twice a week, plus I was taking lessons twice a week. Since there was so much logistical time involved, I needed to practice 2 1/2 hours at a time to make it worthwhile. That isn’t the best way to learn an instrument. It’s much easier to practice every day, about an hour or 90 minutes, and to spend all that time working with the instrument instead of schlepping tables and foam.

I bought my set of bells about 4 months into solo lessons, and I recall waiting 2-3 months for them to arrive. In hindsight, I might have been better off waiting about a year into solo lessons to order bells, to have a better idea of my needs and commitment to solo ringing. Although used bells hold their value over the long term relative to buying new bells (because of frequent vendor price increases to cover ever-rising costs), you wouldn’t want to have to sell bells shortly after buying them.

It’s possible to rent bells, but I don’t recommend it for soloists. One year of renting costs about a third of what you would pay for a set of bells. Note that you’re allowed to rent only for 4 months (Schulmerich) or 6 months (Malmark) anyway. The ranges available aren’t configured for solo work, so you’re much better off borrowing bells if you can. Ask around; there are plenty of bell sets lurking in church closets. You can offer to maintain the bells, make a donation to the church, and/or offer to play a solo at a worship service, in exchange for use of the equipment. Be sure to ask permission to voice, adjust, and polish the bells as needed.

Also consider where you’re going to rehearse with an accompanist, if you don’t have a piano at home. While it’s possible to practice, rehearse, and perform on different bell sets, it’s best to do all three on the same bells, so you get used to their response.

Range of bells to buy: One mistake I made was thinking I would use the lower third octave (C4-F#4) enough to justify the cost; those 7 bells represent about a third of the cost of a 3 octave set. At the time, I was ringing in a community choir that rotates positions, and I thought I would use the big bells to practice my parts. It turned out there just weren’t enough hours in the day to do solo work, prepare choir parts properly, and carry the substantial administrative workload associated with running the community choir. I decided to focus on my solo work, so the C4-F#4 bells (and, for that matter, the G4-B4 bells) are underutilized. They are simply too heavy to play regularly, and it takes more strength and skill than I have to play them four-in-hand. The good news is that I have them for occasional special effects and malleting, and they’ll make it easier to resell the bells as a 3 octave set when the time comes. I probably would have frittered away the extra $5,000 on something like food, anyway. As penance for my foolishness, I get to polish all these bells once a year, and of course the bigger bells take the most time to polish.

When you can no longer borrow bells for solo work (perhaps because your performing opportunities start to be limited by the availability of your borrowed bells), or you can’t stand the setup hassles any more, I suggest you start with the range C5-C7, plus D7. That costs about $5,800 at current prices for bells only. Cases, shipping, accessories, and sales tax are all extra. Notice that this is not a standard bell set for sale; you would need to buy bells a la carte, or as part of a package.

Malmark sells a solo package including bells C5-C7 and a bunch of other equipment that you may or may not want to buy at the same time. Schulmerich’s solo sets are G4-C7 or G4-G7, which include heavier (and more expensive) bells you may not need right away, and are also bundled with other equipment. In general, you’re more likely to use what Malmark includes (tables, foam, and table covers) than what Schulmerich includes (bells below C5). That assumes you want to use 9 foot tables. I do, but many soloists prefer 8 feet, because you’re more likely to find suitable tables at the venue.

Over time, add bells in the range G4-B4 and D#7-G7 (plus C#7) as you need them. Don’t automatically buy a whole range of bells. For example, I have A7, but not G#/Ab7. The only time I miss it is when I’m doing drills in the key of A major; I’ve never needed it for a piece. You’ll probably find you never need G#/Ab4 for solo work. Many soloists have the upper fifth octave (G#7-C8), but I’ve never needed it. Of course, having a set with gaps may make it harder to resell your bells to a church instead of another soloist.

Duplicate bells: I suggest you not buy duplicate bells. Many soloists buy them as they need them for a piece, but I prefer to figure out a way to choreograph without duplicate bells. (I had only two pieces in my repertoire that require duplicates.) It’s much easier to keep track of bells on an uncluttered table, and I already have too much stuff to schlep to concerts (which has prevented me from buying chimes). Before I realized this, I bought a complete second set of bells G4-G7, thinking I would use them for bell tree work and as duplicates when I needed them. It is handy to have them for bell trees and not have to string them up and break them apart for every practice session. However, I think it would have been smarter to dig some church’s bells out of a closet, paying a small rental fee if necessary. Remember, you have to polish and maintain all the bells you buy or borrow, not to mention tying up all that money in equipment. If you play bell trees, you have to practice a separate instrument, and should take training from a percussionist – more time and $$$. If you buy random duplicate bells, they have limited resale appeal.

If you must buy duplicate bells for bell tree work, don’t duplicate G4-B4. You won’t use them enough in either table or tree work to justify having one set, never mind two. Buy only C5-G7. If you use my bell tree configuration, you can add G4-B4 to the stand as you need them, sharing with the table for other pieces.

Other stuff: For soloists, I suggest starting with 3 pairs of mallets: Mike Balter 25R (silver yarn) mallets, Musser M-25 (black rubber) mallets, and Malmark grey plastic mallets. For a bell choir, consult my article on Mallets. The handbell manufacturers and Jeffers provide tables suggesting how many of each handbell mallet to buy for your octave range. I’ll write about tables, foam, and table covers another time. You can read the articles on Bell trees: equipment and Small stuff to get an idea of the other things you’ll need to obtain over time.

I suggest you budget for double the cost of the initial bell purchase to cover equipment you’ll need to set up for your first year of solo ringing, including the initial cases, sales tax, and shipping for your bells. Remember that you’ll also need to pay for training, rehearsal time with an accompanist, performance wardrobe, and possibly travel. Do not assume you’ll make any money from solo ringing for at least several years, while you build repertoire and venue relationships. You’ll be lucky to get gigs that pay enough to cover your accompanist’s fee, and many of the initial invitations you receive won’t pay anything. You’ll even encounter competition for retirement home gigs (if you expect to be paid), and many of them won’t hire the same musician more than once a year.

Bell cases: Don’t automatically buy the cases the manufacturer offers with your set. Many soloists end up buying hard-shell cases (like Port-A-Bell ®), and there’s no resale value in empty standard bell cases. Hard-shell cases are expensive (around $900 for a soloist’s case), and heavy (the solo case is over 50 pounds, loaded) but absolutely necessary if you intend to fly with your bells. Get one with compartments to carry not only bells, but mallets and table covers, to limit the number of pieces of luggage you have to take. Check that the loaded weight doesn’t exceed the airlines’ current limit, or you’ll pay excess baggage charges. Large, heavy bell cases often come with two handles so they can be carried by two ringers. That can be hard to coordinate on stairs, and impossible for some people to manage without help.

Since I perform at venues within driving distance, I bought the half octave Malmark cases, which they market as “two octave set alternate cases.” Schulmerich bells fit these, though the opposite isn’t true, because Malmark castings are slightly larger than Schulmerichs. The half octave cases are much easier to carry, fill or empty, load in the car, and store. People often put large bell cases on the floor when packing and unpacking bells, so they have to bend over or stoop down. I stack my cases on my rolling cart, parked next to the bell table, and empty or fill the case at the top of the stack. I move the filled case to another part of the cart, and work my way down the stack.

Schulmerich and Malmark sell rolling cases for a full octave, but those don’t work for me. I need to deal with stairs at home, and I need to handle all my bells by myself at venues. I can’t pull multiple bell cases, but I can carry all my little cases (and a bunch of other stuff) downstairs and load them onto a cart. I routinely take the range C5-G7 to concerts, which doesn’t fit their rolling case configuration. (Port-A-Bell ® will configure a case to the range you require.) The Malmark and Schulmerich rolling cases very much assume you’re part of a group, operating at a single venue, with elevators.

If you end up with standard wooden bell cases, regardless of size, consider keeping the boxes they came it. They’ll come in handy if you ever have to ship your bells, whether for a concert, refurbishment, or eventual sale.

If you decide to buy half octave cases, bear in mind that you’ll seldom need more than one or two bells below C5 for a single performance. I bought 2 half octave cases for the range C5-C6, use the standard cases for C#6-G7 (which are already half octave cases), and bought a case to hold C4-D#4 (that is, the four largest bells I own). I can add padding to one slot to carry a smaller bell like B4 into a larger slot (like D#4). I wouldn’t put a large bell into a slot that’s too small for it, which is why I didn’t order the G4-B4 case instead. If you do find yourself carrying more than 4 large bells to concerts, or routinely using G4-B4, you can always order another case. Many soloists who travel borrow any bells they need below C5, at the venue.

I’ll address the pros and cons of different brands, as well as the question of new vs. used, in future posts.

Copyright © 2012 Nancy Kirkner, handbells.com