Handbell Sheet Music
By AGEHR Difficulty Levels
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6
The following guide is taken from the American Guild of English Handbell Ringer's (AGEHR) definitions for handbell music difficulty levels. This system should only be used as a guide.
View Level 1 Handbell Sheet Music Titles
- Meters: 4/4, C (common time), 3/4, and 2/4
- Notes and/or Rest Values: while, dotted-half, quarter
- Rhythmic Elements: No subdivision of beats, simple use of ties
- Techniques: Ring, shoulder damp, Sk, TD, echo, martellato, Sw, RT - all with adequate preparation time
- Handbell/Handchime Changes: None (no accidentals)
- Articulation: See Techniques
- Dynamic Levels: All from pp to ff in homophonic style (all ringing at the same level) with limited use of crescendo or diminuendo
- Tempo: Slow to moderate
View Level 2 Handbell Sheet Music Titles
- Meters: 2/2, cut time, 3/2, and simple mixed meters of 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4
- Notes and/or Rest Values: Eighths, the dotted-quarter followed by an eighth, simple combinations of eighths and quarters
- Rhythmic Elements: Syncopation – simple patterns such as eighth-quarter-eighth, anacrusis – pick-up notes or upbeats and their effect on the final measure
- Techniques: Table damp, Pl, martellato-lift, malleting, and any combination of two different techniques with adequate preparation time
- Handbell/Handchime Changes: Limited number of changes per ringer with adequate preparation time
- Articulation: See Techniques
- Dynamic Levels: Crescendo and diminuendo polyphonic style with simple dynamic contrasts (such as two voices having different dynamic levels)
- Tempo: Slow to moderate
View Level 3 Handbell Sheet Music Titles
- Meters: 6/8, 3/4 (in one pulse per measure), 3/8, 9/8, 12/8, 6/4
- Notes and/or Rest Values: Sixteenth, dotted-eighth and sixteenth note patterns, triplet
- Rhythmic Elements: Syncopation
- Techniques: Brush damp
- Handbell/Handchime Changes: Extensive number of changes per ringer
- Articulation: Combinations of techniques in eighth-note patterns at moderate tempi
- Dynamic Levels: Subito piano or subito forte without rest, more complex polyphony with more than two independent voices, more rapid shifts of dynamic levels
- Tempo: More changes of tempo within the work
View Level 4 Handbell Sheet Music Titles
- Meters: Mixed of 6/8 and 3/4, 5/4
- Notes and/or Rest Values: All of previous at faster tempo, triplet over two beats
- Rhythmic Elements: Syncopation – more complex, using sixteenth-notes and ties
- Techniques: Brush damp
- Handbell/Handchime Changes: Extensive number of changes per ringer
- Articulation: Combinations of techniques in eighth-note patterns at moderate tempi
- Dynamic Levels: Subito piano or subito forte without rest, more complex polyphony with more than two independent voices, more rapid shifts of dynamic levels
- Tempo: More changes of tempo within the work
View Level 5 Handbell Sheet Music Titles
- Meters: Irregular meters
- Notes and/or Rest Values: Dotted rhythms in compound meters at fast tempi, duples against triples
- Rhythmic Elements: Syncopation – more complex, mixed patterns
- Techniques: Ring-hook-damp sequences, handbell passes at moderate tempi
- Handbell/Handchime Changes: Unlimited
- Articulation: Any combination at faster tempi
- Dynamic Levels: Rapid shifts between levels with no preparation, more frequent use of crescendo and decrescendo
- Tempo: More changes of tempo within a work including abrupt shifts
View Level 6 Handbell Sheet Music Titles
- Meters: Unlmited
- Notes and/or Rest Values: More than four eighth or sixteenth-notes to a pulse (such as five, six, seven, etc.), thirty-second notes
- Rhythmic Elements: Complex rhythms at any tempo
- Techniques: All, any tempi
- Handbell/Handchime Changes: Unlimited
- Articulation: Unlimited combinations at any tempo
- Dynamic Levels: No limits on shifts (sudden or gradual) or accents
- Tempo: Only those imposed by the nature of the instrument, complex changes within a work
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