“You’re a grand old flag You’re a high-flying flag And forever in peace may you wave. You’re the emblem of The land I love The home of the free and the brave. Ev’ry heart beats true Under red, white and blue Where there’s never a boast or brag, But should old acquaintance be forgot Keep your eye on the grand old flag!”
Thank you to everyone who’s been playing our music in this time of lockdowns and social distancing! Our latest eight-bell arrangement is You’re a Grand Old Flag – a patriotic song written by George M Cohan in 1906. If you’re planning a socially-distant Flag Day or Fourth of July celebration, this arrangement would fun to play! The beginning and end sections are straightforward, with a more-challenging middle section to keep you on your toes.
Download the sheet music from Choraegus!
Sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide, designed to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!
Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Arrangements from Choraegus
We refer to our Surprisingly-Easy arrangements as “All of the music, but without the twiddly bits” If you’re looking for some new handbell pieces to enhance your worship service, but you don’t want them to take too long to learn, this collection could be the answer. If you’re part of a duo, trio or quartet, or your handbell choir is unable to play together because of social distancing, these hymns could be what you’re looking for.
If you’d like to play any of these arrangements, sheet music for the collection and each individual title is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.
More information about buying music online from Choraegus
As always, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an eight-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. For more information, we have a step-by-step guide to purchasing music from Choraegus. This music also comes with permission to broadcast and/or livestream and share online as part of a worship service.
If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions first. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, please get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help.
Also available from Choraegus – binder covers for our eight-bell music!
Our continued thanks to everyone who’s been playing our music. We appreciate you all so much! Our latest eight-bell arrangement is the hymn How Firm a Foundation. This hymn was published in 1787 and has remained popular through the centuries. The words remind us that no matter what we’re going through, God is with us, and we can rely on the solid foundation of His strength and support.
“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
If you’d like to play How Firm a Foundation, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.
Information about Choraegus handbell music
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group, and to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide, designed to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Questions about our music?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!
Our 8-bell music has recently been described as “perfect arrangements for these weird times”. That made us smile! We’re thankful to everyone who’s continued to purchase music from us at a time when many handbell groups are unable to rehearse.
We recently shared a rehearsal video of My Song is Love Unknown on our Facebook page. Several people asked if the arrangement would soon be published – so here it is!
More information about Choraegus handbell music
Sheet music for My Song is Love Unknown is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus.
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group, with permission for performance and live-streaming as part of a worship service.
More Lent and Easter handbell music
If you’re interested in other 8-bell music suitable for Lent, Easter and Holy Week, we have a list of other hymn suggestions, and many of these pieces are also available on Choraegus.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!
Thank you to everyone who’s been playing our music in these recent weeks of social distancing. We know that many churches have been busy preparing for online services during Holy Week and Easter! Here’s our new 8-bell arrangement of the hymn Go to Dark Gethsemane.
Would you like to play this arrangement?
If you’d like to play Go To Dark Gethsemane, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus.
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. If this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus, you might like to look at our step by step guide.
Choraegus handbell music will come to you as a PDF file in a download link. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please mention the title and arranger in your video description and on any printed materials.
If you’re interested in other 8-bell music for Lent, Easter and Holy Week, you might also like to look at our list of hymn suggestions. Many of these pieces are available to purchase and download from Choraegus.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!
These are challenging times for musicians, as we practise social distancing to help slow down the spread of COVID-19. As members of Kalamazoo Ringers, we were disappointed when the decision was made to stop rehearsing for the season. We were all sorry to have to cancel our spring concerts and mini-tour to Ohio. Yes, it was the right decision, but wow, we’d worked hard on all that concert repertoire. We’d really been looking forward to sharing it!
Painful times indeed. However, we still have to do the responsible thing and take care of the health of our family, friends and wider community. So, social distancing it is. Add to that – plenty of hand-washing, catching up with our to-do list, and a bit of rest and relaxation!
Keeping busy as a handbell duo
As a handbell duo, we’re in the fortunate position of being able to continue our own handbell rehearsals as usual. We have bells in our home, and many hours’ worth of 8-bell music. We definitely don’t expect to be bored! We’re working on more 8- and 12-bell music, and will continue making new arrangements available from Choraegus.
We’re happy to find that many people are finding our 8- and 12-bell music useful, at a time when many groups can’t get together to rehearse and perform. Churches are increasingly holding services online. Live-streaming is becoming the new way for people to gather in worship together. For handbell choirs that can’t get together to rehearse, 8-bell music could be the answer! We have an extensive selection of hymns, in both standard and surprisingly-easy versions. There’s still time to purchase and download music to share online for Holy Week, Easter, or during the summer months. This could also be a great opportunity to work on 4-in-hand skills!
An example of an 8-bell hymn arrangement – Just As I Am (standard version)
The answers to some of your questions
People have been asking us additional questions about playing our music during this time of social distancing, so we’ll answer some of them here:
YES — If you purchased music from Choraegus, you have permission to play the music as part of an online worship service or online performance. Please see the licensing agreement for a few exceptions where additional permission may be necessary.
YES — We give permission for you to live-stream music purchased from Choraegus during a worship service, or to record it as part of the service, for sharing on church websites and/or social media.
YES – If you can’t get together with other musicians to play our music, and you’d like to play all the parts yourself and edit them together, you have permission to do this.
YES – You are allowed to upload any video you make to YouTube or another video-sharing site for the purposes of sharing with others online (see requirement below about crediting the source of the music).
YES — If you can’t get together with a fellow musician to rehearse music, and need to use pre-existing recordings, you are welcome to use our own YouTube videos as part of your worship service, or share our videos on social media or by email.
Things you need to do
Please give the title of the piece, and credit the arranger in your church bulletin or online recording, under the terms of our published licensing agreement. If you post/share a video on YouTube or other video-sharing/social media site, please include a link to www.choraegus.com in the video description.
Questions for us?
If you have any other questions, check our our list of frequently-asked questions. If you don’t find the answer you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.
We hope you enjoy playing our music, and we thank you all for your support at this time. Take care, and stay healthy!
At Los Altos Lutheran Church, CA (Photo: Carl S. Gutekunst) – May 2018
Here’s our latest arrangement for 8 handbells – the popular hymn Song of Hope. The lyrics to this hymn were written by Alvin L. Schutmaat, a Michigan-born missionary to Latin America, and the melody (hymn tune ARGENTINA) is a traditional folk tune.
Song of Hope – recorded when we still had snow on the ground!
“¡Dios de la esperanza, danos gozo y paz! May the God of hope go with us every day, Al mundo en crisis, habla tu verdad. Filling all our lives with love and joy and peace. Dios de la justicia, mándanos tu luz, May the God of justice speed us on our way, Luz y esperanza en la oscuridad. Bringing light and hope to every land and race.”
Larry wrote this 8-bell arrangement for the TRC Ringers at Third Reformed Church here in Holland.
Would you like to play this piece?
If you’d like to play this arrangement, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus.
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. If you’re new to Choraegus handbell music, we recommend our step-by-step guide!
Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.
Any questions for us?
If you have any questions about purchasing or playing our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!
Some 8-bell pieces are very easy to play, requiring little rehearsal time. Gwerzy is not one of those pieces. Colm O’Snodaigh and Dee Armstrong, of the Irish band Kíla, kindly gave us permission to arrange Gwerzy for handbells. It’s fun to play, for anyone who enjoys a bit of a challenge.
We first performed this arrangement in California at the 2019 Bay Area Spring Ring. We announced it to the audience as a work-in-progress. To be honest, it will probably always be a work-in-progress for us! We had originally planned to record a 100%-accurate and polished performance of this piece before offering it for purchase. We’ve now decided to let others join in the fun, without waiting for something that might never happen!
Gwerzy – at the 2019 Bay Area Spring Ring in CaliforniaGwerzy – excerpt
If you’re feeling insane courageous enough to try this arrangement, you’ll find the sheet music to download from Choraegus.
Things to know about Choraegus handbell music
As always, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.
If you’re new to Choraegus, you might appreciate our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help our customers buy and download music in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
We’re happy to answer questions!
If you have any questions about purchasing or playing our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!
We refer to our Surprisingly-Easy arrangements as “All of the music, but without the twiddly bits” If you’re looking for some new handbell pieces to enhance your worship service, but you don’t want them to take too long to learn, this collection could be the answer. When you’re part of a duo, trio or quartet, or your handbell choir is enthusiastic but small in number, these hymns could be what you’re looking for. If your handbell ensemble takes a break during the summer, but there are people who say that they wish they could keep going – these arrangements will help to keep even the most overenthusiastic musicians occupied!
If you’d like to play any of these arrangements, sheet music for the collection and each individual title is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.
More information about Choraegus downloadable handbell music
As always, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an eight-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide!
If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions first. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, please get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help.
Also available from Choraegus – binder covers for our eight-bell music!
“Come, all you people, praise our God and tell his glorious works abroad, who holds our souls in life; he never lets our feet be moved and, though our faith he often proved, upholds us in the strife.“
Here’s the latest addition to our 8-bell repertoire: Come, All You People, Praise Our God. This hymn tune (ODAWA) – by gospel songwriter Charles H. Gabriel – was first published in 1912.
Sheet music is available from Choraegus
If you’d like to play this arrangement, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. If this is your first time purchasing music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide!
Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.
We’re happy to answer your questions!
If you have any questions about purchasing or playing our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!
