Handbell choir keeps up ringing tradition at Othello church

OTHELLO — It’s difficult enough for a director to keep musicians in line when they’re all playing at the same time. But when members take turns with just one or two notes each, well, then it gets complicated. 

“You have to keep count,” said George Roper, who leads the handbell choir at Othello Christian Church. “You also listen to what everybody else is doing, because they’re also keeping the count. Because if you lose your count — and we’ve done that more than once — we’re lost.” 

The choir, called the Heart of the Basin Ringers, currently consists of four people: Roper, his wife, Carol Roper, Pastor Adams Janes and his son, Trooper Janes. They practice once a week and give performances every few months. Their winter concert was Sunday, and the ringers shared the bill with piano solos and duets.  

Roper has directed a bell choir at the church since 1986, he said, and used to have a much larger group. 

“One year we had a four-octave choir,” Roper said. 

The handbells themselves are of a simple design: a brass bell with a clapper inside on a hinge, and a looped handle, each tuned to a single note. But, as with many musical things, looks can be deceiving. Each player can hold a bell in each hand, and playing that way, the quartet has a range of one octave. If they pick up and set down bells, they can cover a broader range, but that gets complicated. They must know exactly where each bell is without looking and set it down in exactly the right spot, until it begins to look like a shell game with a disappearing pea. 

In addition, players can’t just shake the bells to get the sound they want. You can ring it as it’s coming off the table or hold it to your shoulder and pull it away, or rotate it vertically or horizontally por wave it in circles in the air, each of which produces a different sound. Then you can leave it vibrating or damp it with your thumb, or on your chest, or on the table. Skilled ringers can hold multiple bells in each hand, positioned in such a way that a horizontal wave rings one, and a vertical movement rings another. 

Pastor Janes, who has served at Othello Christian Church since 2016, said he’s been ringing handbells since the sixth grade. 

“I have a degree in music,” he said. “My original plan was to do music, but God had other plans for me. And a sense of humor, because I still get to do my music.” 

Trooper Janes has been playing with them since elementary school, Roper said. 

“He used to ring just the high G,” Roper said. “That was it, one bell. He had to work to get his coordination going.” 

“He’s a senior in high school now,” his father said. “He’s in the band and takes after his dad; plays just about every instrument. If he can get his hands on it, he’s going to learn it.” 

Janes would love to see more people share in the bell ringing, he said.  

“Anyone who wants to join us, we will teach,” he said. “We’ll teach them how to count, how to ring, how to do all the fancy moves. Music is part of the DNA of this church, and one of the things that we really want to be able to do.” 

    George Roper plays “The First Noel” on the bell tree at Othello Christian Church. The bell tree is the only way a musician can be said to be “playing” the bells, Roper explained; when they perform with handbells, they’re ringing, not playing.