Hand Chime
Hand chime
Handchimes are musical instruments that are rung by hand. Every student plays two pitches every time, so everyone plays the hand chimes with each other. Students are able to express their emotions, consolidate abstract music concepts, to apply music knowledge and music elements, and even team spirit.
What is hand chime?
Hand chimes are made of a special steel coated with a black or white epoxy finish to correspond with the notes on a keyboard. The white hand chimes are naturals and the black ones are sharps and flats. Hand chimes are extruded in a rectangular column, their pitch being determined by the length of the metal and the column of air contained.
How to hold and ring the hand chime?
The teacher demonstrates for the students (ringers) that place their hands flat on the chimes, palms down and finger together. The tumbs move away from the fingers, making a “V” shape between thumb and forefinger. The students close the thumbs curved and not locked. The students lift the chimes to approximately shoulder height and tilt them back ust enough that the clapper falls back toward the ringer. From the positon, the students move the forearm forward ad back, allowing the clapper to move forward and strike the bell. The teacher leads the student to play ‘handchime games’ for warm up.
Score reading
The students study the music staff noting the lines and spaces. The teachers ask them to identify the clef, line and space on which their notes appear on the staff. The ringers could lightly circle or highlight the notes they played because it is easy for the ringers to locate their notes and play the songs.
