Musical instructions specific to handbells will be highlighted in green.
General musical instructions will appear in red.

The most common term will appear first, followed by other terms and abbreviations.
Notations and symbols will be enclosed in the dashes and appear in gray.
It is always possible to see terms spelled out in notation, however it is rare.

Glossary

Bells Used Chart, BUC [archaic] -- see Handbells Used Chart.

Brush Damp -- BD -- The brush damp is accomplished by ringing the bell and then brushing the casting against the chest to reduce the volume.  This simulates a forte-piano dynamic marking and may be used when a bell is rung first loudly and then immediately softly.

Casting, Bell -- The metal part of a handbell is cast from bronze, aluminum, or a bronze/aluminum alloy.  A set of bells is tuned when it manufactured, and cannot be retuned.  Oil from hands can tarnish the bell, and over time the metal will corrode.  If a handbell is dropped, the metal could develop microfractures (cracks) and put the bell out of tune and give it a "buzz."

Clapper -- The clapper in handbells is fixed so that it will only swing in a straight line, forwards and backwards.  All handbells have stops at the base of the clapper to keep it from touching the bell while it is at rest.  These stops also prevent the bell from "backringing" or "double-ringing," where the clapper hits the backside of the bell.  Some brands of handbells allow for adjustment of the stops, others do not.  Also, some brands allow for different clapper hardnesses, which is adjusted by twisting the clapperhead.  Clapperheads are usually made from rubber, but also with leather and felt, which is wrapped around a carefully weighted bronze clapper.

Damp (and Selective Damp) --  -- Stop the sound of all bells by touching them to the padded table, shoulder, or gloved hand.  The Damp symbol is often used to terminate an LV.  
Selective Damp: when the  symbol appears attached to the stem of a note or notes, ring those notes normally and damp them when their indicated duration is over.  For example:  would indicate to ring for one quarter note duration and then damp normally.  This use of the symbol often appears in LV passages to damp single notes that would otherwise be discordant.

Handle -- Usually made of polypropylene (a substance that is like a cross between plastic and rubber), sometimes leather, rarely metal.  The entire loop is grasped firmly by the hand in similar fashion to holding a tennis racquet, with the handrest sitting on top of the thumb and pointer finger.

Handrest -- Usually made of plastic, sometimes metal or leather.  It provides a surface to rest the handbell on your hand.  The handle also shows which pitch the bell is (such as C5, which is middle C on handbells).
 
___ Lift -- -- The lift symbol appears to the right of the symbol of Mart, Mallet, or Pluck symbols.  Perform the action normally, then lift the handbell off the table quickly, allowing the sound to continue.  Note: The Lift term is combined with whichever instruction it affects, for example: "Mart Lift."

Handbells Used Chart, HUC -- This is a (usually smaller) grand staff printed at the beginning of all modern handbell music literature.  It indicates which handbells are required for the particular piece, as well as the total octaves used and often a suggestion as to the difficulty level of the piece.  (See also Optional Notes.)

Hand Damp -- HD or -- Hand Damp is performed similar to the Thumb Damp, except that the entire hand is used to damp the casting when ringing.  This technique is usually assigned to large bells when the Thumb Damp is insufficent.  (See also Thumb Damp.)

LV, Let Vibrate, Laissez Vibrer  -- LV -- Allow all bells rung to continue to vibrate, disregarding note length values.  LV is terminated by the following notations: Ring (R), Damp (), any other articulation such as Pluck or Mallet, or another LV appears.  When encountering another LV, damp all bells and continue to ring in a LV fashion.

Mallet -- Mallets for handbells vary according to the bells they are intended to strike, and the sound that is to be produced.  For the highest bells, hard rubber or plastic mallets might be used.  For the midrange bells, yarn mallets are frequently used.  For the bass bells, large soft mallets are used.  For mallet technique, see Mallet and Suspended Mallet.

Mallet and Suspended Mallet -- andrespectively -- To Mallet, lay the bell on the padded table and strike it with a mallet of appropriate hardness (harder for small bells, softer for large bells).  To Suspended Mallet, simply hold the bell by the handle and strike the bell with the mallet.  Damp the bell when its notated value is over, unless the LV direction has appeared.  The mallet should strike the outside of the casting at the same location the clapper strikes the inside.

Mart, Martelate, Martellato -- -- Sound the bell by lightly striking lateral area of the casting of the bell on the padded table, producing a short, "dead" sound.  Note:  Thesymbol applies only to the notehead it is attached to.  Also Note: The Mart is often replaced with the Mallet or Pluck techniques.  This is due to similar sounds throughout the techniques and the fact that the Mart can damage the bells if performed incorrectly.  Always be sure to only strike the pad as hard as necessary to produce the correct volume level.    (See also Lift.)

Optional Notes -- (  ) or <  > or [  ] -- Optional notes, such as those omitted by smaller choirs, are to be printed full-size and then enclosed in parentheses, square brackets, or angle brackets.  A legend like the following indicates which choirs should omit which notes.  Generally, brackets and parentheses are not included on omitted notes which exceed the range of the specified choir.

Pluck -- PL or-- With the bell on the padded table, grasp the clapper with your first two fingers and thumb with the thumb on top.  Flip the clapper down against the bell, making a short, staccato sound.  The dot () is located above or below to the notehead of each note it affects.  Look for further instructions from the composer, as the dot may also indicate other techniques. (See also Tap Pluck.) (See also Lift.)

Ring -- R -- The R symbol terminates all other technique directions, including LV, Mallet, Martelate, and Shake.

Ring Touch -- RT or specified symbol -- Ring the bell quickly near the shoulder and immediately damp the bell to stop the sound, producing a short, staccato effect.  Note: There is no standard for RT symbol notation.  Look for directions within the music.  RT is often applied the same way the Pluck (PL) instruction is.

Roll, Mallet Roll -- or specified symbol -- With the bell on the padded table, strike it rapidly and repeatedly with both mallets in an alternating fashion, producing a rolling affect.  Do so until the note value has elapsed.  Note:  Thesymbol appears attached to the stem similar to the Selective Damp, or another symbol may be used, look for directions in the music.  Also Note:  Composers have also written Suspended Rolls, where the bell is suspended and rolled upon, however, there is not standard notation for this technique.

Shake --  or SK -- Shake the bell so that the clapper repeatedly and rapidly strikes both sides of the bell.  When a Shake is applied to a series of tied notes, it is executed as a continuous shake throughout.  However, if there is no tie between adjacent notes, pause briefly before continuing to shake.  Note:  When SK appears above a chord, the entire chord is shaken.  The  follows the note head and shows how long to shake that particular bell.

Tap Pluck -- TPL or-- Indicates that the bell should be placed on the pad and plucked by means of tapping the clapper downward with the thumb, fingers, or hand.

Thumb Damp -- TD oror specified symbol -- Ring the bell in a normal fashion while having one or more fingers touching the casting of the bell, producing a muted and "dead" sound.  Note: The TD symbol usually applies only to the chord it is adjacent to, however usage of the TD symbol varies, look for directions within the music.  (See also Hand Damp.)

Tower Swing [archaic] -- -- see Swing.

Toll [archaic] -- -- see Swing.

Trill -- tr -- A trill is performed by the rapid alternation of ringing the noted pitch and the next higher diatonic pitch.  It is often performed by simply shaking both bells.  On occasion, both pitches are notated.

Swing -- SW and  -- Ring the bell normally and then swing it down in a wide arc beside your body on the counts indicated by the arrows.  Note:  The SW symbol generally applies to the entire choir and appears adjacent to or above the count on which the swing is to begin.  Look for further clarification by the composer.

Vibrato -- vib. -- The vibrato is achieved by ringing the bell and then gently rocking it side to side using the wrist.  This movement produces as wavering sound.