Handbell Music for Very Small Groups (6-8 Bells)

No one could have predicted what 2020 would look like. Who could have imagined the things church musicians around the world would find themselves doing this year?

Figuring out how to teach music via Zoom
Recording parts for home practice
Creating a virtual choir video of some sort
Navigating the world of online worship
Marking 6 feet of distance with masking tape
Reading research articles about aerosols and air ventilation

Let’s just say it’s been an interesting few months.

Now, as we enter Fall 2020 with cautious optimism and a little more knowledge, there are questions circulating about group sizes, live music-making, the safety of singing, and proper precautions (6 feet? 12 feet?).

There are still lots of unknowns, but I think the general consensus right now is 1) small groups are better than large groups and 2) handbells are better than singing or other instrumental groups (no aerosols!). Players can wear masks and gloves and social distance.

The challenge then becomes what to play.

You probably don’t have much (if any) music in your library for 6-8 bells that would accommodate a small group of say, three to four players. Where do you find repertoire for a group this size?

That’s where today’s post comes in. I’m sharing a round-up of collections and individual arrangements written for 6 bells (three players) with piano accompaniment and 8 bells (four players).

Handbell Music for Very Small Groups (6-8 Bells)

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Christmas Arrangements for 6 Bells + Piano Accompaniment

Creator of the Stars of Night (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Hyfrydol (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Silent Night (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)

Simple Christmas Arrangements for 8 Bells

Of the Father’s Love Begotten (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Still, Still, Still (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Away in a Manger (Cradle Song) (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (“Surprisingly Easy” version) (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (Forest Green) (“Surprisingly Easy” version) (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)

Christmas Arrangements for 8 Bells

The First Noel (arr. Andrew Duncan)*
Away in a Manger Medley (arr. Andrew Duncan)*
People, Look East (arr. Andrew Duncan)*
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (arr. Andrew Duncan)*
O Come, All Ye Faithful (arr. Andrew Duncan)*
Eight-Bell Christmas Arrangements (arr. Larry & Carla Sue) - A list of Christmas carols, hymns, and popular songs arranged for 8 bells

Christmas Collections for 8 Bells

Four-Ringer Handbell Collections, Book 4, “Christmas” (arr. James D. Kimball)

Includes: Silent Night; He Is Born; The Friendly Beasts; I Saw Three Ships; Infant Holy, Infant Lowly; In the Bleak Midwinter; Go, Tell It On the Mountain; Love Came Down at Christmas; Away in a Manger; Ding! Dong! Merrily on High; Once in Royal David’s City; We Wish You a Merry Christmas; Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella; Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine; O Come, Little Children; and The Snow Lay On the Ground

Four-Ringer Handbell Collections, Book 9, “A Traditional Christmas” (arr. James D. Kimball)

Includes: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus; O Come, All Ye Faithful; Good King Wenceslas; There’s a Song in the Air; Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming; Good Christian Friends, Rejoice; Angels We Have Heard On High; Joy to the World; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; O Christmas Tree; Jingle Bells; Deck the Halls; The First Nowell; Brightest and Best; Jolly Old Saint Nicholas; and Up on the Housetop

Four-Ringer Handbell Collections, Book 11, “Carols for Christmas” (arr. James D. Kimball)

Includes: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus; Who Is He in Tender Stall; See Amid the Winter’s Snow; O Sing a Song of Bethlehem; Angels From the Realms of Glory; When Christmas Morn is Dawning; O Little Town of Bethlehem; People, Look East; We Three Kings; The Cherry Tree Carol; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; It Came Upon the Midnight Clear; While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night; and A Babe is Born in Bethlehem

8 Bells for Advent (arr. Kathleen Wissinger)

Includes: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; Savior of the Nations, Come; and Prepare the Way, O Zion, each written in four different ranges so you can choose the one that suits your group best

8 Bells for Christmas (arr. Kathleen Wissinger)

Includes: Infant Holy, I Saw Three Ships, and Deck the Halls, each written in four different ranges so you can choose the one that suits your group best

Christmas for Four Ringers (arr. Anna Laura Page)

Includes: Gentle Mary Laid Her Child (Good King Wenceslas), Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending), Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful, Oh, Come, Little Children, and Sing We Now of Christmas (Now the Green Blade Rises)

General Arrangements for 6 Bells + Piano Accompaniment:

Beach Spring (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Holy Manna (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
Morning Has Broken (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (arr. Larry & Carla Sue)

General Arrangements for 8 Bells:

Ode to Joy (arr. Andrew Duncan)*
Hope for Tomorrow (Sandra Eithun)
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (arr. Mitchell Eithun & Sandra Eithun)
Dona Nobis Pacem (arr. Karen Lake Buckwalter)
Eight-Bell General Hymn Arrangements (arr. Larry & Carla Sue) - A list of general hymns arranged for 8 bells

General Collections for 8 Bells:

Hymns for Three to Six Ringers (arr. Sandra Eithun)*

Includes: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty; I Surrender All; How Firm a Foundation; Be Thou My Vision; Be Still, My Soul; and Balm in Gilead

8 Bells for Lent (arr. Kathleen Wissinger)

Includes: Lord Throughout These Forty Days, Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, and In the Darkness, each written in four different ranges so you can choose the one that suits your group best

8 Bells for Easter (arr. Kathleen Wissinger)

Includes: Joyful, Joyful; Jesus Christ is Risen Today; and Now the Green Blade Rises, each written in four different ranges so you can choose the one that suits your group best

Four-Ringer Handbell Collection, Book 5 (arr. James D. Kimball)

Includes: More Love to Thee; God Be With You Till We Meet Again; To God Be the Glory; Come, We That Love the Lord; This Is My Father’s World; Danny Boy; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Just As I Am; My Jesus, I Love Thee; My Faith Looks Up to Thee; Home on the Range; Praise to the Lord, the Almighty; I Need Thee Every Hour; Holy God, We Praise Thy Name; Close to Thee; and Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

Four-Ringer Handbell Collection, Book 6 (arr. James D. Kimball)

Includes: For the Beauty of the Earth; We, Thy People, Praise Thee; Spirit of Faith, Come Down; Hail to the Lord’s Anointed; O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing; Now, On Land and Sea Descending; Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know; Come, Christians, Join to Sing; All Creatures of Our God and King; Psalm Forty-Two; Ye Servants of God; Leaning On the Everlasting Arms; Lead Me, Lord; Precious Lord; Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me; and What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Four-Ringer Handbell Collection, Book 8 (arr. James D. Kimball)

Includes: How Firm a Foundation; I Am Thine, O Lord; I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord; O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee; Onward, Christian Soldiers; I Love to Tell the Story; ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus; In Christ There Is No East or West; Be Still, My Soul; Precious Lord; My Hope is Built; Here, Oh my Lord, I See Thee; Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy; A Mighty Fortress Is Our God; and I Stand Amazed in the Presence

Favorite Hymns for Eight Bells (arr. Sondra K. Tucker)

Includes: Terra Beata, Nettleton, Lyons, Jesus Loves Me, Linstead, Ellacombe, and Madrid

8 Bells for Spirituals (arr. Kathleen Wissinger)

Includes: Guide My Feet, Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, and There Is a Balm in Gilead, each written in four different ranges so you can choose the one that suits your group best

*These titles are available as digital downloads, so you can start rehearsing the music right away!

What are your favorite collections + arrangements for very small bell choirs? Please share below!