Ring out the year

 

Bells have been used for centuries to sound out important events – as well as be used to enhance dance and music. There’s no time like now to ring in the new year with these online activities about bells. 

CONNECT:

• Get the facts about bells at https://kids.kiddle.co/Bell
• Find out about the most famous bells at https://www.historyofbells.com/famous-bells/notable-bells/
• See 9 types of bells at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVtfZXDRNpU
• How large can a bell be? See the possibilities at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9YydhLiU8I

 

CREATE:

• Jingle bell away with these fun activities at https://handsonaswegrow.com/jingle-bell-activities-kids/
• The National Bell Festival suggests kid-friendly bell activities at https://www.bells.org/activities
• Create your own secret ball sound system with a coat hanger and a string at https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/secret-bells
• Make jingle balls dance and jump at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI2aKCtbBe0

 

CARE:

• The Salvation Army rings bells to help raise money to help families in need. Find out about this strategy – and how to become a volunteer bell ringer – at https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usa-central-territory/bell-ringing/
• Get sound advice about caring for bells at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly43Q-8lQ24
• Ben’s Bells are colorful ceramic ornaments hung in communities throughout the world as symbols of kindness for people to find and take home. Get the details at https://bensbells.org/

CAREERS:

Do bells sound like music to your ears? You could make a living with them as a musician, a manufacturer or vendor, a dancer, or even a sound engineer. Maybe these sample job facts will resonate for you.

• Bell-ringing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9P5O4Myfxk
• Making church bells: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBQkLAWDIio
• Handbell ensemble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FanxHK61Cg

Ring Out the Year!

The holidays often proclaim the news via bells. Classical piano composers often use the piano to mimic church bells, chimes, or even the rhythmic tolls of alarm bells for dramatic effect, as noted in these famous works.

• Liszt's "La Campanella" (from Grandes études de Paganini) is a virtuosic showpiece famed for its bell-like, high-pitched passages.
• Debussy’s "Cloches à travers les feuilles" (from Images, Book II)) paints an impressionistic soundscape that suggests distant bells.
• Ravel’s  "La vallée des cloches" (from Miroirs) is a shimmering, evocative piece capturing the sound of bells echoing in a valley.) musically paints an impressionistic soundscape that suggests distant bells.
• Alkan’s "Carillon" (from Trois pièces dans le genre pathétique) imitates the sound of a bell tower.
• Mussorgsky’s "The Great Gate of Kiev" (from Pictures at an Exhibition) features powerful bell sounds, often transcribed for piano.
• Rachmaninoff's "The Bells" (Choral Symphony) was inspired by Poe's poem and captures bell themes; his piano music also has bell-like textures.