The unique advantage of bell sets is the fact that each note is created by an individual bell, and so the notes that are not used in a particular song can be removed and the student has a greater chance for success. A handbell orchestra acts as one instrument, with each musician responsible for their particular notes, sounding their assigned bells whenever those notes appear in the music.
Give each participant one or two bells and ask them to join in a simple melody. Independently, whether the player has musical knowledge or not, the band will sound harmoniously with just a little bit of training. Most solfeggio teachers advise that it's better to begin not with a piano, but with a simpler and more accessible instrument.
However, like other "serious" musical instruments, bells can help in
teaching note duration,
understanding different pitches,
recognizing different musical scales, and
the acquisition of a sense of rhythm and melody.
If you are a beginner, playing by note can be difficult. It is easier to follow color-coded circles with note letters. Just by following the color circles, you will sound like an experienced musician.
All songs were written with circles in the musical staff, and there are no stems or flags - only notes on the line - to keep it simple. This book was written with beginners in mind.
The color of the bells or resonator blocks must be the same as the color of the bells below.
C (Do) - red,
D (Re) - orange,
E (Mi) - yellow,
F (Fa) - green,
G (Sol) - light blue,
A (La) - blue,
B (Ti) - violet,
C8 (Do) - white
CONTENTS
A Hunting We Will Go
A Sailor Went to Sea
Acka Backa
Amazing Grace
Alphabet Song
Are You Sleeping?
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baby Bumble Bee
Bell Horses
Bim Bum Biddy
Bobby Shafto
Brahms Lullaby
Chumbara
Cobbler, Mend My Shoe
Cock-a-Doodle Doo
Cotton Eyed Joe
Ding Dong DiggiDiggiDong
Do You Know the Muffin Man?
Doctor Foster
Doggie Doggie
Fiddle-Dee-Dee
Five Little Ducks
Five Little Monkeys
Frog in the Meadow
Happy Birthday
Here We Go Looby Loo
Hot Cross Buns
Humpty Dumpty
I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas
I Love Little Kitty
It's Raining
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Jack and Jill
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Kookaburra
La Cucaracha
Lavender's Blue
Li'l Liza Jane
Little Jack Horner
London Bridge
Long-legged Sailor
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
Miss Mary Mack
My Hat
Ninety-Nine Bottles
Ode to Joy
Oh Susannah
Oh We Can Play on the Big Bass Drum
Old Bald Eagle
Old Blue
Old McDonald
Old Mother Hubbard
One, Two, Three, Four
Peace Like a River
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Ring Around the Rosie
Row Row Your Boat
Rub-a-Dub-Dub
See-Saw Margery Daw
Ten in the Bed
Ten Little Fingers
The Baker
The Bear Went Over the Mountain
The Bee and the Pup
The Big Sheep
The First Noel
The Mulberry Bush
The Wheels on the Bus
This Old Man
Tinga Layo
To Market, To Market
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
When the Saints Go Marchin In
Wishy Washy Wee
Yankee Doodle