Assignments

We are all part of the body of Christ. Christ's wholeness and presence in the world comes through us as Christians living as His individual and collective representatives.

There is a way of thinking that still seems to run rampant through the bell world. And I sure wish we could abolish it forever. It is so simple to fall into the trap that if my part is interesting or exciting, this is a good piece, and if my part is uninteresting or boring, this is a bad piece.

Allow me to say a few words on behalf of all my fellow composers/arrangers, as well as on behalf of the directors who work so diligently to choose music for our handbell programs. The job of composers and arrangers and directors is to create music - to work with sound and communication in a meaningful and expressive manner. It is NOT their job to keep ringers occupied or make sure everyone has equal amounts of activity and challenge or keep all individual ringers entertained and happy. There are people in the world whose job it IS to entertain and keep active and prevent boredom and generally keep folks busy - these people are called babysitters. A composer or a director is not a babysitter. If you are anxious to have someone keep you entertained and busy throughout rehearsals, hire a babysitter, not a composer or director.

It can be a trial to have the dull part in a piece - the part that doesn't get the interesting challenge and that doesn't have a single musical moment of glory. It is important to keep in mind that you as an individual ringer are part of a much larger whole. While your part may not have the glitz and glamor in this piece, your contribution is still vital to the musical whole.

I find that when I have a boring part, the challenge is to actively FIND ways that I can contribute to the music going on around me. Since I don't have a technical tangle, it's my job to see if I can help along the phrasing, make my movements visually fit the mood of the piece, if I'm part of the accompaniment to see if I can be of better support to the melody, to enhance the dynamics and contrasts, and so on. If a ringer is bored, I maintain that it is the ringer's own fault. There is something much larger than the individual part going on, and every part contributes to that.

Of course, challenges are important, too. And while my part may not be interesting this time around, it probably will be in another piece. If ALL my parts are boring in this season's folder, then it's time for me to switch parts with others once in a while. No, I don't think it's alright for a ringer to have a dull part on EVERY piece - then the technique and musicianship atrophy. But I DO maintain that when you get the boring part, that's no reason not to believe in the integrity and beauty of the piece you are playing. Some of the most beautiful and majestic moments I've had both in composing and in directing have involved what most would consider to be easy passages of music!

We are individual parts of something greater. As parts of the body of Christ, we gladly take on the tasks that fall to us in our lives. Some of these tasks are not exciting or glamorous, they don't bring us recognition or necessarily even fulfillment. But we take them on right alongside the more exciting, enthusiastic tasks that we are assigned because we know that ALL tasks are important if we are to be true laborers for the Kingdom. The mission of Christ cannot be fulfilled if ALL the elements - even the boring, mundane ones - are not tended to.

The same is true for our music. The music cannot speak its message if ALL parts are not integrated into the whole. Sometimes those parts aren't very interesting, and sometimes they are, but either way, be sure to evaluate you choir's overall work on a whole musical expression, rather than evaluating the whole group on the basis of your part.

Many Blessings to you in the coming ringing season!
Kevin McChesney