As ringers
progress through the higher Learning the Ropes Levels, simulator
sessions should still be used to consolidate foundation skills – bell handling, ropesight and listening. Remember:
Whilst learners can still practise supervised at separate
simulator sesssions, they should be safe enough to practise on their own
on a spare bell or dumbbell at the normal practice.
Exercises or unusual combinations can be rung without worrying what it might sound like outside.
New ringers should be encourage to analyse their ringing, looking for patterns, in order to improve their performance.
Simulator sessions add an element of fun and variety to any practice.
Analysing ringing to improve performance
Two ringers came for daytime sessions – they were both poor strikers. They
hunted and covered and we analysed their ringing, playing it back so that they
could hear what being late or early looked like on the speed chart, and sounded
like, at the same time. We looked at patterns. One of them was always too soon
at backstroke; the other always rushed the handstroke leads. Talking about what
caused it, how to change, clearing up misconceptions (e.g. about speeding up to
lead when you are already at hunting down speed) and practically, by ringing a
single bell, balancing it at each backstroke, getting the tail end in the right
place etc, all helped. They have both since been in winning or highly-placed
bands, in guild striking competitions.
Ringing methods inside
Moving on to ringing a method inside a number of new challenges present themselves:
Where to start
How to learn circles of work
Longer more complex blue lines
Passing the treble
Calls
Practising at home on a laptop or in the tower with a silenced bell ensures open practice is used most effectively.
The screen diagrams help explain various elements of theory – blue line, order of
work, starts, passing the treble, the grid and seeing what happens at
calls. What you see on the screen and the experience you gain using the simulator software is a great way to understand what methods are all about.
Practise ringing a plain course by pressing a key on the keyboard or on a bell or dumbbell, ringing all inside bells.
Once the plain course has been mastered a new ringer can then practise ringing touches.
The student can get used to saying go and stop and experiment with calls before trying it for real. They can also print out the touches that they have called to see the effect of the calls.
Novice Change Ringer
Ringing and
calling touches of a doubles or minor method. Demonstrated by ringing a
quarter peal inside. Raising and lowering a bell in peal.