Handbell Choir as a Ring Team

R.I.N.G. A True Team Activity

Group Effort

How many of us participate in anything so intensely interdependent as ringing in a handbell choir? There is no such thing as a “heroic effort” by one ringer in a bell choir (as there might be on, say, a basketball team). Everyone’s contribution has equal value. There is no such a thing as an “individual record” as in baseball or on a bowling team. 

Individual for the Whole

Handbell ringing is so interdependent that the only thing that matters is the musical achievement of the group as a whole. Like synchronized swimming, individual best-effort is not the goal. Handbell ringing is selfless. The musical spirit melds from the individual into a group presence. That’s why we feel so devastated when we goof-up. We feel that we have let the group down. The emphasis on our self-contribution becomes focused on the negative.

Remember what a positive contribution you can be;

Include the entire group in success, not in failure;

Negative focus is selfish; maintain positive focus;

God’s gift of music is in you; let it out; share!

john