Handbell workshops, festivals and conferences are a wonderful way for handbell musicians to meet each other, improve their skills, and learn something new. As experienced handbell clinicians, we can help!

Are you in need of a handbell workshop clinician?

Are you organising a handbell event? Do you own a set of handbells, but need to learn how to play them, or to improve your technique? Are you looking to build a church handbell choir, but unsure what might be involved? Is your church or community handbell choir looking to develop their ringing skills as a group? Working on some challenging pieces that you’d like help with? Larry is an experienced handbell director, and he can work with your group. If you are a new or inexperienced handbell director, Larry can share hints and tips with you, to help you communicate with your ringers and make better music together. We can come to you and lead a workshop or class to help you and your group members develop as handbell musicians.

Larry has been the guest clinician at the San Diego Spring Ring, the Southern California Spring Ring, Redding Bronze, Rogue Valley Handbell Festival, Fall Workshops in Las Vegas and Redding, Siskiyou Summit Handbell Festival, the River City Radical Ring and the SECC Intermediate and Advanced Handbell Festivals. He also directed at the HRGB South East Region New Year Rally in Wallingford, England, so he has plenty of experience in leading handbell choirs towards successful performances.

In recent years, we’ve both taught classes at Handbell Musicians of America events – in Area 8 (at the 2018 Festival in Omaha, Nebraska, in Area 12 (at the Bay Area Spring Ring in California, 2019), and in Area 5 (at the at Spring Ring conferences on Mackinac Island, Michigan, 2018 and in Columbus, Ohio, 2025). We’ve also taught online classes for HMA virtual events, on the subjects of bass ringing, 8-bell music, street performing with handbells, and Dorico (music notation software).

Clinicians for handbell classes

If you’re planning a handbell conference, and you’re looking for clinicians, we can help with that too! Here’s what we can offer:

Bass Handbell Techniques

As the author of The Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Larry has many years of experience with teaching bass handbell techniques. He’ll teach your ringers how to lift and play bass bells safely and effectively, and how to enhance a performance with stopped sounds and other techniques. If the ringers are feeling adventurous, he’ll even show them how they can they can hold two bass bells in one hand, for the ultimate Bass Shelley Photo Opportunity!

Dorico Music Notation Software

Larry started using Dorico in September 2024, having used Finale as his music-writing software for 35 years! Making the change to Dorico can be quite a challenge! Larry made the leap successfully, and in 2025, he was invited to Hope Publishing in Carol Stream, Illinois to provide instruction for their editors, as they went through the process of transitioning to this new software. In February 2026, Larry taught several sessions on Dorico at the HMA Virtual Winter Workshop.

Treble Handbell Techniques

Carla is the current treble section leader for Kalamazoo Ringers. She has also been a Position Coordinator at the Bay View Week of Handbells since 2018. Whether you’re new to treble ringing, or just in need of some pointers, Carla can help. From the basic ringing strokes, to stopped techniques, weaving, and 4-in-hand, she will help your ringers develop their skills and confidence at the treble end of the table. Her class is an opportunity for ringers to bring all their questions about treble ringing, and get some answers!

British-Style 4-in-Hand Ringing

If you’d like to learn how to play 4-in-hand (i.e. two bells in each hand) in the traditional British way, Carla will teach you! As an actual British person, she will bring her English accent to the class, and show you how handbell ringers in the UK use this multiple-bell technique. There’s no guarantee that there will be tea involved, but if you want to make that happen, Carla won’t object! Be warned: this class has been described as “mind-blowing”.

Adventures in 8-Bell Music

The two of us have been arranging, playing and performing 8-bell music together since 2012! We’re happy to teach all the benefits of making music as a small group. We’ll talk about how (and why) we first started writing 8-bell music, and what we’ve learned from our experience. We can discuss the types of music available and how to choose the right pieces for you and your group (or duet partner). We’ll talk about how to assign bells, and the techniques used. We’ll give you ideas for how you can use 8-bell music in your performances, or in worship. You’ll be able to look through some printed copies of 8-bell music, and we’ll play some together as a group. We’ll even touch on the subject of 6-, 12-, and 16-bell music during our class, and encourage ringers to know that there’s a lot of small-group music available!

Let us know how we can help you!

We’re happy to tailor our workshops and classes to fit your requirements. If you’re interested in talking more about this, please contact us. Let us know what you need, and we’ll see if we can provide it for you!

How to book us

Please contact us and give us details about the event you’re planning. Tell us what you need, and let’s talk more!