Method ringing

Method ringing (also known as scientific ringing) is a form of change ringing that deals with ringing a set of changes via the use of a "method" or algorithm. The method is carefully devised to ensure that no change is rung more than once. Every ringer knows the method from memory and will ring his bell accordingly. A conductor oversees the ringing of the method and ensures that any mistake is quickly corrected.

The practise originated in England and remains most popular there today, as well as in countries around the world with British influence.

Introduction

The ultimate goal of method ringing is to ring the bells in every possible order without repeating; this is called an "extent" (in the past this was sometimes referred to as a "full peal"). If a tower has $n$ bells, they will have $n!$ (read factorial) possible permutations, a number that becomes quite large as $n$ grows. For example, while six bells have 720 permutations, 8 bells have 40,320; furthermore, 10! = 3,628,800, and 12! = 479,001,600.

Estimating two seconds for each change (a reasonable pace), we find that while an extent on 6 bells can be accomplished in half an hour, a full peal on 8 bells should take nearly twenty-two and a half hours (when in 1963 ringers in Loughborough accomplished this rarest of feats, it actually took them just under 18 hours), while an extent on 12 bells would take over thirty years!

Ringing an extent is an advanced form of method ringing and less experienced ringers will generally ring shorter touches or plain-courses. These do not ring every possible permutation but they still do not repeat any.

Various algorithms or methods have been developed for ringers to learn conceptually. They will dictate the bells "movements" and, if followed correctly, will prevent them from repeating any rows. These methods follow basic patterns, but a caller or conductor will occasionally call out to tell the ringers to make a slight variation to the pattern.

Rules for method ringing

There are technically no "official" rules for method ringing. However, the Central Council of Church Bellringers ('see below') has created an "unofficial" set of rules for ringing, called "The Council's Decisions", based on what was traditionally practised. In order for a peal to be recognised, and printed in the Ringing World, these rules must be obeyed. However, almost all ringers follow these rules and it is very rare to see any deviation.

These are the Council's rules for submitting a peal but Rules 1-10 can be applied to most method ringing.

A peal shall start and end with rounds and shall be rung without interval.
No row shall be struck more than once before the next change is made.
Every bell must sound at every row throughout the peal.
Each bell must be rung continuously by the same person or persons.
For handbells the bells shall be retained in hand.
For tower bells the bells shall be audible outside the building in which they are contained.
No assistance of any kind shall be given to any ringers by any person not ringing in the peal.
The use of physical aids to memory in conducting and ringing is not permitted.
No error in calling shall be corrected later than during the change at which the call or change of method would properly take effect.
Any shift or error in ringing shall be corrected immediately.
The methods and calls used in all peals shall conform to the Definitions and Requirements given in Part A of the Decisions on Methods and Calls.
Any objection which may be taken to a peal other than one with respect to the truth of the composition, shall be raised in writing to the conductor and Society concerned at the earliest date, and in any case within one month after the publication in The Ringing World.

One additional rule is that a given bell may only move one place in the order from one row to the next. i.e. 1234 cannot become 3124 (the 3 cannot jump from 3rd's place to 1st).

Ringing a method

Course

Each method has two aspects, the first is its course. The course is the body of the method. It describes the bells' movements for a small number of changes (On six bells, it is typically 60-200 changes) before returning to its original start. At certain points in the course, the 'conductor' has the opportunity to make a call('see below') and vary the method. When a method is rung without any calls, it is referred to as a plain course. This is what a ringer would learn to ring first.

Calls

The second aspect of a method is its calls, which are used to lengthen the method. They are short stretches of method (2-8 changes) that replace a stretch of the normal plain course. Effectively, this swaps some the bells, so that ring in each other's positions. Once a call is made, the course will continue as normal until the next call is made. The conductor will call "Bob" or "Single according to the composition, which will have been pre-checked to make sure it contains no repeats. When a method is rung with calls, it is referred to as a touch.

Extents and round blocks

An extent is when all possible combinations are rung once (and only once).

A round block may only be used when ringing peals on less than seven bells. All possible combinations are rung twice (and only twice) during a block.

Peals

Peals are the "ultimate" goal of change ringing. Historically, a peal is the full extent of seven bells - a very difficult task and one that ringers would have been extremely proud to have accomplished. Modern construction techniques mean that a peal is much easier to ring that it was in the 17th Century. However, a peal will still last over 3 hours and a ringer must concentrate the whole time.

Todays definition of a peal changes depending on the number of bells that are ringing.

Less than 7 bells: A composition of at least 5040 ( $7!$ ) changes. Since there are not enough unique changes available (720 on six bells), this is achieved by combining several extents or round blocks together. Each extent/block must contain each permutation once/twice, but they do not have to return to rounds before it goes onto the next extent/block. The peal must still start and end with rounds.

7 bells: A normal extent of 5040.

8 bells or greater: Any composition of more than 5000 changes.

A quarter-peal is essentially the same except with a minimum of only 1260 changes (for all numbers of bells)

Names of methods

Each method has a "basis" to the way it is constructed. This creates various "classes" of methods that share common aspects of construction. Individual methods are often named after places (e.g. Kent, London), or after the person who invented them (e.g. Stedman, Annable's London).

Methods are referred to in full by their name, class, and stage - the number of bells they are being rung on, as below:

4: Minimus
5: Doubles
6: Minor
7: Triples
8: Major
9: Caters
10: Royal
11: Cinques
12: Maximus

When more than 12 bells are rung, names for odd stages follow the pattern of referring to the number of pairs of bells changing (sextuples, septuples, etc.), and names for even stages are simply the number of bells involved (e.g. Bristol [name] Surprise [class] Sixteen [stage]).

For less than 4 bells, plain hunt is the only usual method. However there are some other methods for three bell towers.

Note: The second part does not refer to the number of bells being rung, but to the number of bells ringing in the method. Often a band will ring a method on an odd number of bells and having a tenor covering. When used, this can aid the other ringers by providing a constant reference point.

Writing down a method

Ringers must thoroughly learn and understand the method they are to use before ringing begins. Various systems have been developed of expressing a given algorithm on paper, such as the rather mathematical place notation. More often a ringer writes out his or her bell's blue line to practise:

123456 214365 241635 426153 462513 645231 654321 563412 536142 351624 315264 132546 123456

Note that this must be committed to memory, as "physical aids" are generally not allowed.

The example above shows a partial blue line of the 5th bell for plain hunt on six. The plain hunt, which permutes the bells in a plaiting pattern, being one of the simplest algorithms. (As is often done, the path taken by the 1st bell (the "treble") has here been redlined.)

The conductor

Every time a method is rung, one of the ringers is appointed as the conductor or caller. The conductor must be ringing a bell, but he doesn't have to be ringing the actual method.

The conductor's job, in addition to ringing his own bell, is to:

Say Start and Stop
Call Bobs and Singles, to create a valid touch/peal.
Keep track of the "Coursing Order" i.e. Where each bell should be.
Correct mistakes as they occur.

Being a conductor is a major responsibility, as you must be aware of the positions of all the bells not just your own. Conducting is an advanced subject and is usually handled by the most experienced ringer.

Compositions

In order to simplify calling, a system for composing touches was introduced. Each method has its own variant on this system and these must be learned by the conductor.

Describing the composition system is very difficult as the variations are extreme. Generally, the system is divided into 'leads' and 'courses'. A 'lead' is a point where a bob/single may be called and a 'course' is the equivalent length of the method's plain-course (when no bobs or singles are called). The composition will typically list the first row of each course, and what bobs/singles need to be called at which lead.

Each composition needs to checked to make sure that no rows are repeated. This is a tedious process for which computers are generally used.