Set-Up/Materials:
Equipment:
- Recording Device (cell phones work great)
- Play-back Device (computer, 2nd cell phone, tablet, ipod, ext.)
- Headphones
- Music, How Can I Keep From Singing, Arranged by Arnold B. Sherman
- Handbells
Attire:
- Wear something that’s comfortable to play in. Choir members can opt to wear their choir uniforms as well.
Location:
- Select a quiet place to record, with good lighting and minimal visual elements.
Do a Test Recording:
- Place the camera in a HORIZONTAL position that shows the bells and the upper half of your body. Record a couple bars of you playing.
1. Sound Check
- Listen to the recording and check that the audio can be heard clearly. There should be minimal background noise (cars outside, people speaking, pets). Be sure to listen back using headphones and not the speaker on your device as you will hear more with headphones on.
2. Camera Positioning
- Check that your music does not obstruct the view. Here are some examples of good camera positioning:
Performance Notes (Applies to All Ringers)
Picking-up and putting down bells
All ringers should have their bells up from the beginning regardless of when they first come in. After your last note, you may stop the recording early if there is quite a bit of time left but you must ensure your bell has been damped at the proper time or completely died away and then stand still for 4-5sec before moving to turn off the camera.
M1-21 Singing Bell Technique
- There will be no “singing bell” in the play-along track. Instead there will be a chord on beat 1 of bar 1, and another chord on beat 1 of bar 3, to help mark the passing of time.
M12-18 Chimes
- These are optional, if you have them great, if you don’t that’s okay just play it on bells.
M42
- Treat this like a 4/4 bar.
M47 Fermata
- Leading OUT of the fermata there will be two clicks prior to beat one of the next bar.
- If you are holding the chord dampen your note on the second click.
- If you are playing the pickup after the fermata, remember to wait for the second click before you play.
M49 and 59 Repeat
- Treat these as normal repeats, repeat the bar once and then move on.
Position Notes (please double check your specific position):
- Position 1 (C4/D4) Disregard all brackets/parentheses and play each note that is written.
- Position 2 (E4/F4) Disregard all brackets/parentheses and play each note that is written.
- Position 3 (G4/A4) both bells are ‘singing’ in measures 1-22 and 49-end and should be recorded TWICE. Disregard all brackets/parentheses and play each note that is written.
- Position 4 (B4/C5) will need a B natural in measure 43, in addition to the bells listed in the ‘bells used chart’ (this is a publishing mistake).
- Position 6 (F5/G5) both bells are ‘singing’ in measures 1-22 and 49-end and should be recorded TWICE.
- Position 8 (C6/D6) octave doubling in M26-30, 38-42, and 47 is TOP NOTE only
- Position 9 (E6/F6) octave doubling in M26-30, 38-42, and 47 is TOP NOTE only
- Position 10 (G6/A6) octave doubling in M26-30, 38-42, and 47 is TOP NOTE only
- Position 11 (B6/C7) octave doubling in M26-30, 38-42, and 47 is TOP NOTE only
Assignment Considerations:
Position 6 (F5/G5) should be recorded TWICE once with singing bell and once with bell/chime OR have the chime assigned to another position, if assigning to another position please email virtualhandbellproject@gmail.com with this update
Position 4 (B4/C5) should be recorded TWICE once with singing bell and once with bell/chime OR have the chime assigned to another position, if assigning to another position please email virtualhandbellproject@gmail.com with this update
Position 11 (B7/C7) is only one bell (C7) and can be combined using 4-in-hand with position 10
Recording
- Download the reference track “HowCanIKeepFromSinging_PlayAlong.mp3“ from the main project webpage to your playback device.
- Begin recording the video (don’t worry about not being in the picture when you go to start and stop the recording, we’ll edit that out)
- Walk over to your recording area, put on your headphones and begin the audio playback.
- There will be 4 bars of countoff (12 beats because we’re in 3/4/!).
For synchronization purposes, please clap on beat one of the second bar, and then proceed to pick up your bells.
- Play along with the recording.
- At the end, let the bell ring until it dies (there will be 2 additional bars of click after the final bar to remind you to let it ring), dampen your bell (even though it’ll already be silent) and then stand still for 2-3 seconds before you move to turn off the camera.
- Review your recording and be sure to watch the entire performance. Ensure that you are happy with your performance and there are no disruptions in audio or video quality. Listen back with headphones, you will hear your recording in more detail.
- When you’re ready to submit visit the “Submission Information” page for details on how to upload the recording.
General Info Recording Instructions Tips and How Tos Submitting Recordings
If you have questions about any of the processes, please email: