Beginning Treble Bob

7/25/2019 Beginning Treble Bob

1/16

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eginners T reble ob M inor

M ichael Fou lds
http://www.whitingsociety.org.uk/http://www.whitingsociety.org.uk/


2/16

Why Bother

About three centuries ago, (The first peal of Oxford Treble Bob was rung in 171! change ringerswere loo"ing for a challenge to their s"ill beyond that provided by #lain Bob and $randsire% Thereare, of course, more complex methods possible within the confines of a plain hunting treble & youhave probably met such as 't% lement)s Bob and *ouble ourt Bob & which are well worth ringing+but there is a limit to the complexity possible when the treble plain hunts% This is particularly so on

six bells, because only there are only ten rows from the treble)s leaving the front to his return, whichrestricts the amount of mischief the others can get up to in the meantime%

#erhaps an obvious development from a hunt bell ringing plain hunt, was to a hunt bell dodging inevery place & a treble bob hunt-% .hoever had the idea, it has certainly caught on in a big way% /thas spawned hundreds of Treble Bob-, *elight- and 'urprise- methods on all even numbers ofbells, in all of which the treble provides the structural framewor" by ringing a treble bob hunt% Thisvast group of methods dominates the repertoire of advanced ringers (i%e% beyond #lain Bob and$randsire! almost (not 0uite! to the exclusion of all else% As an illustration, from a 0uic" analysis ofthe 7 peals published in a recent 2inging .orld lying on my des" as / type this, 34 are #lain Bobor $randsire, 54 are sundry Treble Bob, *elight and 'urprise methods, singly or spliced, and only64 are anything else% Thus has the treble bob hunt con0uered the world of the more advanced

ringer%

!n the Beginning....

The simplest methods founded on the treble bob hunt are ent and Oxford% Oxford seems to bethe older% /ts origins are lost in the mists of time, but we can speculate that a development from allthe bells plain hunting might be all the bells treble bob hunting% /f we loo" at this we soon see that itis hopelessly false% /n fact, it produces the same 18 rows as plain hunt, but each is repeated% Thisleads us to a discovery% .e 9ust can)t have all the bells dodging at the same time% hange ringingconsists of pairs of bells changing places to produce each row from the previous one% *odgingconsists of a pair of bells changing places, then changing bac", then changing over again% /f all the

pairs of bells do this at the same time,we)re 9ust going to repeat the last row butone, as you can see from the diagram onthe left%

'o when pairs of bells dodge, at least onepair has to stay put & to ma"e places, as wesay, otherwise our method will be false% :etus loo" at the structure of Oxford TrebleBob to see how this problem was overcomein an effective, simple and logical way%

Structure of "#ford Treble Bob

The diagram on the next page illustratesthe structure of Oxford Treble Bob% /f ourtreble is going to ring a treble bob hunt,

then we can)t ma"e 1st or 8nd places whilst he dodges 1&8, nor ;rd or th places whilst he dodges;&, nor 5th or 6th places whilst he dodges 5&6, because that would get in the way of his treble bobhunt% /n Oxford, the places are made in the lowest possible place each time the treble dodges%That is, when the treble dodges in 1&8, ;rd and th places are made, and when the treble dodges in;& and 5&6, 1st and 8nd places are made%


3/16

.hen two pairs of bells dodge bac" to the positionsthey were in 8 rows earlier, the pair which are notdodging, but ma"ing places, will be the other wayround, so the row produced will be different% :oo"at the ;rd row% ?ow 1 and 8 are dodging in 1&8, and5 and 6 are dodging in 5&6, but because ; and arema"ing places, the 1st row (rounds! is not repeated%

ompare this with the diagram on page 8 when allthe bells rang treble bob hunt% 'ee how ma"ing 1stand 8nd places has the same effect% :oo" at row 5and row 7% Although 1, 6, and 5 have all dodgedbac" into the same positions in row 7 that they werein in row 5, ; and 8 have made places, so row 7 isdifferent from row 5%

As an exercise, you might li"e to ta"e some s0uaredpaper and write out the whole plain course of Oxfordfrom your "nowledge of its structure as describedabove% / suggest you put in the path of the treble

first as a framewor"% ompare your efforts laterwith the course printed on page 5%

Some -argon #plained


4/16

TipE /f you)re interested, you can get a good explanation of all this theory inA Universal System for Extents of Treble Dodging Minor Methods

So ow /o ! Ring !t


5/16

#age 5

= The .hiting 'ociety of 2ingers, 8>>1% All unauthorised reproduction is prohibited%

)th 0lace Bell*odge 5&6 down, *odge ;& down with

treble, :ead, *odge ;& up, #ass treble &5,

*odge 5&6 up, :ie behind, *odge 5&6 down

andF&

%nd 0lace Bell*odge 1&8 down with treble, :ead, Da"e

8nds, :ead, Da"e 8nds, :ead, Da"e 8nds,

:ead, Da"e 8nds, :ead, *odge 1&8 up with

treble andF&

(th 0lace Bell*odge 5&6 up, :ie behind, *odge 5&6 down,

*odge ;& down, :ead, *odge ;& up with

treble, *odge 5&6 up andF&

unt up tobecome

unt up to

becomeunt down to

become

unt down to

become

+ie Behind to

become

&rd 0lace BellDa"e ths, and go in to :ead, *odge ;&

up, *odge 5&6 up with treble, :ie behind,

*odge 5&6 down, Da"e;rds andF&

'th 0lace BellDa"e ;rds and go out, *odge 5&6 up, :ie

behind, *odge 5&6 down, *odge ;& down,

:ead, #ass treble 8&;, Da"e ths and go in,

andF&

F+"W 1*RT F"R 0+*!2 1"3RS,

"F "4F"R/ TR,B+, B"B 5!2"R


6/16

/n the flowchart, the big grey bloc"s represent the wor" of each individual lead, which you can relateto the method diagram above% The blac" arrows indicate the direction of flow% The little greenbloc"s indicate what happens at the lead end itself, that is, as treble is leading and the lead endplace is being made% Thin" of the big grey bloc"s as bric"s% Hor a given method they do notchange% Always when ringing Oxford you will be ringing one of those five leads which you havelearned% There are no others% /t is possible to be in one of only five places at the lead heads, andthese are they% Thin" of the little green bloc"s as mortar% They stic" the bric"s together, in a

particular se0uence%

?otice when you learn the wor" of the five leads something that will apply to any method, and willhelp you to learn and remember it% One of the leads is always symmetrical about its mid point% /nOxford, this is 8nd #lace Bell% The point of symmetry is the half lead place% The other leadsconsist of two (in minor! pairs, one of each pair being a reflection of the other% /n Oxford, you cansee that ;rd #lace Bell is a reflection of th #lace Bell, and 5th #lace Bell is a reflection of 6th #laceBell% /f you draw out the blue line of the whole method, you will see there is a second point ofsymmetry at the lead end place where 5th #lace Bell becomes 6th #lace Bell% .ith practice,"nowing these things can economise on the amount of learning you have to do%


7/16

ma"e ;rd and th places when the treble dodges in 1&8% /f you get to th place on the way downand you aren)t sure whether to dodge ;& down or ma"e ;rd place and go out, loo" at the treble &where is heG /f he)s dodging in 5&6, you dodge in ;&% /f he)s dodging in ;&, you)d better dodgewith him% /f he)s dodging in 1&8, you ma"e ;rd place and go out% can be produced using bobs alone, and it is highlyunusual to see singles being used in Oxford%

.hen / was learning to ring in about 1366, the 2ingers) *iary of the day printed a diagram of thebob for each method, which covered the period from the half lead before the call, to the half leadafter it% /t gave the impression, 0uite wrongly, that bobs are complicated and last for ages% They aresimple, and last for one change only% /t is with some misgivings, therefore, that / include a similardiagram below% / fear it might confuse as much as it informs, but /)ll try and clarify it% On the left isthe wor" of the plain lead, and on the right, for comparison, the wor" of the bob% The red line, of

course, is the treble% The blac" lines are 8nd #lace Bell and th #lace Bell, which become ;rd#lace Bell and 8nd #lace Bell respectively, and are unaffected by the bob% The blue line is ;rd#lace Bell, which, at the plain lead (you will recall! hunts out after ma"ing ;rd place to become 5th

#age 7


#lain BobThe Oxford Bob

Only this change

is different

;rd #lace Bell

ma"es thplace and

becomes th#lace Bell

instead of 5th

#lace Bell

/nstead ofma"ing 6th

place to

become 6th#lace Bell, 5th

#lace Bell does

a further dodge

in 5&6 up and

becomes 5th#lace Bell

again%

/nstead of

hunting down tobecome th

#lace Bell, 6th

#lace Bell does

a further dodge

in 5&6 down andbecomes 6th

#lace Bell

again%


8/16

#lace Bell% At the Bob, this bell ma"es ths to ma"e the bob- and becomes th #lace Bell, whichstarts with ;rd place and out%

The green line is 6th #lace Bell, which at a plain lead would, after dodging 5&6 down, hunt down tobecome th #lace Bell% At a bob, this bell does a further dodge in 5&6 down to become instead 6th#lace Bell again, which of course starts with yet another dodge in 5&6 down, ma"ing three dodgeson the trot% The purple line is 5th #lace Bell, which at a plain lead would, after dodging 5&6 up, lie

behind to become 6th #lace Bell% At a bob, this bell does a further dodge in 5&6 up to becomeinstead 5th #lace Bell again, which starts with another 5&6 up dodge, ma"ing three dodges on thetrot%

'omething / want to stress is that only the one change at the lead end is different% At the bottom ofpage ; we said that Oxford has a 6th place lead end% .hen we call a bob we simply give it a thplace lead end% On page 6, in explaining the flow chart, / suggested you considered the big greybloc"s, the wor" of each lead, as bric"s, and the wor" at the lead end as mortar stic"ing themtogether in a particular way% A bob is simply a different "ind of mortar, which stic"s the leadstogether in a different way from the plain lead end,but the work of each lead is inviolate and doesnot change. 'o let)s have another more elaborate flow chart incorporating bobs% Again the wor" ofeach lead is represented by a big grey bloc", and at the end of that lead, if the exit is a blac" arrow

you are unaffected by whether there is a bob or not% Otherwise, exit by the purple arrow for a bob,or the green arrow for a plain lead%

/ hope this demonstates the importance of learning the wor" of each of the five leads separately% /tma"es handling bobs much easier% Bobs or not, you can only fall into one of five places at the leadhead, and if you "now all five sets of wor" intimately, you will not be thrown%

#age


)th 0lace Bell*odge 5&6 down, *odge ;& down with

treble, :ead, *odge ;& up, #ass treble &5,

*odge 5&6 up, :ie behind, *odge 5&6 down

andF&

%nd 0lace Bell*odge 1&8 down with treble, :ead, Da"e8nds, :ead, Da"e 8nds, :ead, Da"e 8nds,

:ead, Da"e 8nds, :ead, *odge 1&8 up with

treble andF&

(th 0lace Bell*odge 5&6 up, :ie behind, *odge 5&6 down,*odge ;& down, :ead, *odge ;& up with

treble, *odge 5&6 up andF&

0+*!2

5ake fourths

and becomeunt up to

become

unt up to

becomeunt down to

become

unt down to

become

/odge again

in (6) up and

become

/odge again

in (6) down

and become

0+*!2

B"BB"B

B"B

0+*!2

&rd 0lace BellDa"e ths, and go in to :ead, *odge ;&

up, *odge 5&6 up with treble, :ie behind,

*odge 5&6 down, Da"e;rds andF&

'th 0lace BellDa"e ;rds and go out, *odge 5&6 up, :ie

behind, *odge 5&6 down, *odge ;& down,

:ead, #ass treble 8&;, Da"e ths and go in,andF&

F+"W 1*RT F"R "4F"R/ TR,B+, B"B 5!2"R

+ie Behind to

become


9/16

What *bout 7ent

ent solves the problem of everyone doing treble bob hunt and running false in a very slightlydifferent way% Jere is the structure of ent% ompare it with that of Oxford on page ;%


10/16

7ent Bobs

Although it loo"s different, the ent Bob is identical in concept to the Oxford Bob% On the next page/)ve done another of those horrendous diagrams for you to compare the wor" of the ent plain leadand the bob% As with Oxford, 8nd and th #lace Bells (in blac" again! are unaffected and become;rd and 8nd #lace Bells respectively whether there is a bob or not% 5th and 6th #lace Bells, (greenand purple! identical to Oxford, are affected in 9ust the same way by a bob% They do an additionaldodge to repeat 5th or 6th #lace Bell respectively, both of which start with a dodge, so they do threedodges on the trot% Kust li"e Oxford% The interesting one is ;rd #lace Bell, (blue! which finishes byma"ing wrong th place% The bob causes it to ma"e th place again at bac"stro"e, ma"ing it th#lace Bell, which starts with wrong th place% 'o you get long ths- & four successive blows in thplace, when you ma"e a bob in ent%

Also on the next page is a flowchart for ent, including Bobs, similar to the Oxford one, and using

the same colour codes & blac" arrow for unaffected flow, green arrow for plain lead only, and purplearrow for bob only% Again, / can)t stress enough that the wor" of the five leads of ent is 9ust thesame whether you have a bob or not% There are only those five leads% There is no other wor" to"now% A bob, as with Oxford, is 9ust a th place lead end% /t lasts one change only% /t is 9ust adifferent way of 9oining two leads together% /t is 9ust a different "ind of mortar% /t does not affect thebric"s%

TipE Hor a good explanation of how to go about learning methods, get yourself a copy ofHow to Learn Methods

#age 1>

http://www.whitingsociety.org.uk/publications/how-to-learn-methods.htmlhttp://www.whitingsociety.org.uk/publications/how-to-learn-methods.html


11/16

Should ! +earn 7ent or "#ford

Both of courseC 'eriously though, there is no answer to this% /t)s up to you and your tower captain,and having learned one, as we)ve discovered, it shouldn)t be too much of a problem to learn theother% ent is easier to conduct and "eep right, because coursing order is maintained, and becauseif bells dodge when they should ma"e places, at least they end up in the right place% Oxford)scoursing order is obscured by the way the places ma"e ;rd and th #lace bells change direction,and also if bells dodge instead of ma"ing places in Oxford, they cross over%

The wrong places of ent cause difficulty for some & but changes of direction, li"e the ;rds and outin Oxford, cause others greater difficulty% :oo" at the problems people have ma"ing ;rds and goingout at a single in #lain BobC

Hor those who develop an interest in ringing lots of treble bob minor methods, and splicing themtogether in the same touch or extent, Oxford is a gateway to this fascinating world% ent, bycontrast, is something of a cul&de&sac & worth ringing for its own sa"e, but not leading to an obviousprogression%

#age 11


#lain BobThe 7ent Bob

Only this changeis different

;rd #lace Bell

ma"es th place and

becomes th #laceBell instead of 5th

#lace Bell% Because

;rd #B finishes with

wrong ths, and th

#B starts with wrong

ths, this produces

four blows in th

place in total

/nstead of

ma"ing 6th

place to

become 6th

#lace Bell, 5th

#lace Bell does

a further dodge

in 5&6 up and

becomes 5th

#lace Bell

again%

/nstead of

hunting down tobecome th

#lace Bell, 6th

#lace Bell does

a further dodge

in 5&6 down and

becomes 6th

#lace Bell

again%


12/16

*nd 2ow, Whither

'o we)ve learned both ent and Oxford Treble Bob Dinor, we "now the leads, we "now the bobs,we understand the structure & where nextG .ell, if we)ve eight bells and a band to ring them, loo"at Da9or% /)ve put method diagrams on page 1;% Both methods extend to , 1>, 18 bells andbeyond absolutely logically% The structure is 9ust as you would expect & places in ;& when thetreble dodges in 1&8, places in 1&8 when the treble dodges in ;&, 5&6, 7&, etc% ?otice in a Da9ormethod there are 7 leads to learn, again one is symmetrical (8nd #B! about the half lead, the other6 form three pairs, each a reflection of the other% They are ;rd L th #B, 5th L 6th #B and 7th L th#B%

Alternatively, if you want to stay with six bells, you might loo" at 'andal% 'andal is interesting

because it is almost Oxford, but with a 5th place half&lead instead of a 1st place half lead% Thatma"es it a logical progression, because although this small change ma"es it a very differentmethod, it does include a lot of the wor" of Oxford, and, given competence at Oxford, 'andal shouldnot present too many problems% ?otice that one lead, as always (th #B!, is symmetrical about thehalf lead place, the other four form two pairs of reflections (8nd L 6th #B and ;rd L 5th #B!%


13/16

#age 1;



14/16

#age 1



15/16

*nd Finally 6 Things 8ou 1an /o

Hirst ma"e sure you)ve got some s0uared paper% - for 1>! row by row, from your "nowledge of its structure%

8! ?ow write out the plain course of ent Treble Bob 2oyal, but this time do it a different way%Hirst write in the treble, treble bob hunt, out and in for nine leads% Then fill in bell no 8 for the wholecourse, then bell no% ;, and so on% @xercise 1 develops your understanding of the structure,exercise 8 ma"es you familiar with the blue line%

;! Inderneath the method name on all the method diagrams is a row of figures & on :ondon'cholars above it is (%;%%16%%18%%16%%;%%56%:J%16!% .hat does this meanG /t might give

you a clue to compare the corresponding figures on the method diagram of Oxford on page 5 withthe highlighted bits on the diagram of the structure of Oxford on page ;% .hen you)ve solved theriddle, see if you can extract the method from (;6%%;6%1%%18%%;6%1%%;%16%:J%18! & write outthe rows of the first lead on your s0uared paper% an you identify this rather difficult methodG

! :ondon 'cholars) #leasure (previous page! has a 6th place lead end% Try writing it out onyour s0uared paper, but with a 8nd place lead end%


16/16

/)m not giving the solutions to these little puMMles% /)ve spent a lot of time preparing this, and a wholeday running the course% /)ve done enough% ?ow you have to use your initiative to find information%

To become a really good ringer, you will have to get used to using your initiative to find information%

'o good luc" with your Oxford and ent, and beyond% 2emember, the management of yourdevelopment as a ringer is your responsibility, not someone else)s% /f you)re interested in this stuff,and, say, want to ring some 0uarter peals of Oxford and ent, get on with it% Boo" some bells%/nvite some good ringers% /t)s your call%

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Beginning Treble Bob

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