I’m a HUGE advocate of using handbells in primary during singing time! They provide tons of movement, repetition and FUN when singing and reviewing primary songs! There are several types, qualities and companies that sell handbells and here’s what I use and HIGHLY recommend getting for your primary!
**This post contains affiliate links. That means I receive a small commission from sales at no cost to you. But know that I wouldn’t recommend these products if I didn’t LOVE them!
Merry Bells
There’s a new handbell company on the market – Merry Bells. They are my favorite handbell set for primary. You can’t beat the price and the fact that you are supporting a small business owner who is also a member of the church!
Merry Bells is unique in that you can purchase DVD’s that contain digital note charts so kids can play along with all types of songs – Christmas, children’s, patriotic, primary and NOW Hymns!! Digital downloads are becoming available as well! The handbell set includes the Christmas DVD already! All the songs on the DVD’s can be played with the 8-note basic set!
I’m thinking this would make for great ward Christmas party entertainment! Display the music up on a projector and let anyone come have a turn to play! The rest of the audience can sing along.
If you are new to handbells, I HIGHLY recommend purchasing Merry Bells 8-Note Handbell set HERE (which contains the basic 8-note set only) before you purchase any additional handbells! The DVD’s are easy to follow and implement in singing time.
Use coupon code CPI at checkout!!
There’s a fun video of shoppers stopping to play Merry Bells at one of their Christmas booths. Find it on Merry Bells website HERE. So easy that anyone can stop and play!
There is one notable difference between Merry Bells vs. the Kidsplay Basic note set. Merry Bells contain a white handbell you can see pictured above. The Kidsplay brand has 2 red bells which are the C octaves. Merry Bells has simply differentiated between the 2 C octaves with a red and white note where Kidsplay notes do not.
So once you have chosen to purchase your basic 8-note set either from Merry Bells (and maybe a few DVD’s) or the Kidsplay brand (more details below) and you want to expand your set, I recommend going with the Kidsplay for the rest. (The product name may be changing to Rhythm Band but the product appears to be unchanged).
Basic 8-Note Set
This basic 8-note set includes the red Kidsplay box pictured above SIMILAR to the Merry Bells handbells (Amazon affiliate link):
13-Note Set
This 13-note set HERE includes the red & yellow Kidsplay box pictured above.
5-Note Chromatic Handbell Add On Set
If you purchase the Merry Bells basic set, I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the 5-Note Chromatic Handbell Add On Set (the yellow box only). Almost all of my note charts will require you to have these notes in addition to the 8-note basic set:
UPDATE: The Kidsplay 5-note add on set doesn’t appear to be sold on Amazon anymore. But I did find them online:
I’m begging Merry Bells to start selling this set! Email them HERE as well to plead our cause ;).
7-Note Expanded Range Handbells
This 7-note expanded range handbell set will extend your set further (the orange box). It’s a great way to get more kids playing the bells, but not necessary (you can use the extended note set as an option with all my charts). I recommend getting these eventually (Amazon affiliate link):
When to Use Handbells
I pull out the handbells several times a year. I also use them in sacrament meeting when we sing for the holidays and occasionally for our Primary Program. Make sure to permission from your bishop if using in sacrament meeting.
The kids absolutely LOVE them and we can sing a song a million times over and never get tired of it when we use the bells.
There is a wide variety of ways to use handbells other than simply playing the melody. My post HERE is a collective list of all my handbell note charts. They are all categorized by bell type, playing method and holiday/season.
Teaching with Handbells
Handbell Rules
- You don’t touch the color bell portion or the middle bell ringer part (I know, I’m real technical with my terms, right?). You only touch the handle.
- You only ring your bell when I point to your color on the note chart. If you ring it any other time, you may forfeit your chance to play the bells.
- When you are not ringing your bell, you hold it against your chest.
- Only good singers will get to be bell ringers so SING.
Distributing Handbells
Bell ringers are not expected to sing but the non-bell ringers are. Non-bell ringers not singing, will remain as such! 😉
So once you have your notes posted on the chalkboard, the words posted, your assistant, and your bells distributed, you are ready to go. Pull out a pointer and play however you like. Sometimes just the bells will play, sometimes just the kids will sing. Sometimes we’ll play and sing together with or without the piano. Mix it up. The variety is endless.
I have a few demonstration videos that I’ve done for A Child’s Prayer HERE and another one for I Am a Child of God HERE.
Handbells in Sacrament Meeting
If there’s not enough budget money, see if the other 2 primaries that share your building would go in and purchase a set for all 3 primaries in the building to share. Then just keep the set in the library where they must be checked out and returned after each use.
Chimes
Handbells may be out of your budget. If so, I’d recommend a set of chimes! You can get instructions to make your own or buy them. Find some more information on chimes HERE.
Leave any comments for additional ideas on using the bells or what you’ve found to work for you! Scroll through all my handbell posts HERE.
31 thoughts on “Using Handbells in Primary”
WOW! What great ideas you have! I have a set of bells (actually different lengths of pipe attached to twine with large nails to hit them with) that I wanted to use this week in singing time and I found your post right away . . . . . I especially love your ideas about the obligato parts and chording. NICE!
Thanks! I'll think I'll give them a try this week.
We are looking into getting a bell set for our primary – have you ever wished you had the 20-note set – http://www.music123.com/classroom-kids/kids-play-20-note-handbell-set ? Or has the 13-note set been sufficient? Thanks!!
Yes, I wish we had the 20-note set. The 13-note works fine but I would just love to have more bells to play with. In fact, I just talked to our Primary President to see if next year there was room in the budget to get the rest of the set. She said I can go ahead and get them! I just didn't purchase the whole 20-note set all at once because of funding.
I've loved the bells in Primary – such a great investment!
Hi! I clicked on the link for the add on yellow box set on Amazon but it says it’s currently unavailable. Do you know where else you can get them? Thanks!
Hi Lisa!
You are totally right! I’ve been googling all over the internet for something else and updated the post with what I’ve found. I’ve also reached out to Merry Bells to see if he’d consider selling the yellow box. I’ll keep you posted and will keep looking for more options. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
~Camille
I have just found that Amazon has better prices than the Kid's play site, and both sites sell the SAME product – you save about $10, and I haven't even checked out shipping. So, my question is – when deciding between the 20 or 13, would you prefer the 20 simply because of the number of bells to divide amongst your primary or for the variety of sound? I think it will take several years to get 13 children in our separate junior and senior primaries, not to mention 20. Today we had 7 in junior and 5 in senior.
Good question – the main reason why I'd want to go for the 20 set is to have the octaves. Some songs want both a higher note and the lower note. To just have the same note played when the music really has the octaves makes it sound a little different. It works fine not having the right octave but just not my preference. My second reason to have the 20 note set would be to have more bells to pass around. We have about 20 kids in Jr. and 20 in Sr. To start out, I think the 13 set would definitely suffice for a smaller primary.
I'll have to check out Amazon's prices. I'm most likely going to purchase the additional bells to bring our total up to 20 for next year.
Good luck with whatever you decide!!
~Camille
How do you use the handbells in sacrament meeting, still keeping it reverent? I'm thinking about the part where you pass out bells and then how you post the music in the chapel.
Hi Sara!
Before sacrament meeting, I place the bells to be used along the privacy wall that runs right in front of the piano, but behind the steps (does that make sense). They are all lined up and the kids are assigned beforehand which bell is theirs – they will have practiced their parts several times in primary.
As for the music, I tape the note chart to the back of the music stand (similar to how I post words). All the note charts are taped top to bottom so I'll raise the stand up way high so all the pages will fit hanging down. I have the stand lowered in the corner when I'm not using it. Then when we perform, I pull out the stand, move it up and stand right in front of the kids ringing the bells. If I have the rest of the primary singing, I'll have another person some help conduct the singers so I just lead the bell kids.
I hope that answers your questions – if not, let me know!
~Camille
I have used chimes in the past to play "Christmas Bells" and I was looking at purchasing a set of bells for our Primary. I notice you recommend the 20 piece set so more kids could play them but don't you find most songs use less (unless playing chords) so more bells wouldn't help that?
It seems like two sets of bells would be better (so two kids can play the same notes being used and cover if one misses their part). Bells are pretty expensive though. Do you find them easier to play than chimes though?
Hi Moon Family!
I've really enjoyed the 20-handbell set. It helps with the octaves. Ideally, having a second 20-handbell set would be best. But I just opted for the full. I'm sure either would be fine.
As for chimes, definitely go for bells if your budget allows. They are much easier to handle, especially for the little kids. But if chimes is all you can do, do the chimes as they are better than nothing.
I hope that helps with your decision.
~Camille
I have a set of 20, which is really nice simply for the range. I have sometimes wished I had two sets, but am not sure I would trade the range for it. The reason I am responding here is because after I got my set, I found a cheaper place than Amazon to buy the 20-set. It's a place called Rainbowresource.com. The set is selling for $114 there. They also sell the case, as well as the smaller sets.
Hi Sara!
Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you found them cheaper! I'm assuming it's still the kidsplay brand…that's my favorite!
~Camille
Yes, Camille, as far as I can tell from the pictures, they are the Rhythm Band/Kidsplay brand. Rainbow resource has great customer service, too. I'm sure they would be able to verify that.
I recently acquired the super-expansion set, sold on Amazon. I'm so excited to use them! Now we can hit that high F in Beautiful Savior, and have more octaves in other songs.
Thanks for all your work and ideas.
Hi Camille,
I have followed your site for a few years and I love all the ideas that you post! Thank you! I finally decided it was time to purchase the bells and did so this week in preparation for our Christmas program where the children will sing Christmas Bells.
I am excited to start using them, but I have a few questions about technique. How do you get a child to play the bell without it ringing back and forth? Is there a way to get one solid sound from the bell? We thought maybe the child could hold it against their chest.
What do you prefer and what is your technique?
Hi Becky!
Whenever we pull out the bells, we go over the rules and how we play them. They are to hold the bells against their chest until it's their turn to play. Then I show them how to move their arm out in a forward motion. It works great with the big kids and the little ones are still learning but it's fine. I don't expect any sort of perfection with the little ones – it's just for fun :). I hope you love the bells! They are a great addition to singing time!!
~Camille
What do you think of desk bells as opposed to handbells?
What do you think of desk bells as opposed to handbells?
Hi Kris!
I've never used desk bells so I can't really say much about them but I think the handbells would be easier to use while sitting in a chair as the kids can just hold the stem to ring them rather than needing a table/desk. I'm probably not much help, sorry. Maybe try asking on the FB page.
~Camille
When I saw this idea about 3 weeks ago I was addicted! I bought the 20 bell set along with the carrying case from my own money so I never have to give them back. I can see family Christmas times, reunions, Seminary, girls camp…. the list does not stop at primary! My brain wont stop!!!!
I got a folder for each bell. Each folder has the words to the songs in it (right now I have about 25 songs in each folder). On the song sheets I highlighted ONLY THE WORD that particular bell plays and told the children that if they sing along they will have better rhythm of when to play their note. Works perfect!!
For singing time I hand out a bell and a folder to each child that correlates to the song (I don't hand out all 20 bells; if there are only 7 notes in a song I will hand out the 7 bells/folders). I tell the children what page we are playing then have them sit in a big circle. The rest of the children without bells/folders fill in the empty spots and I give them a funny picture of something or someone singing (like a dog howling, a baby singing, just funny cartoon pictures; I laminated these). I just use the pictures as markers, just to keep the circle going. So the deal is, the bell players play and sing and the picture holders sing. Song over, everybody rotate to the left and do it all over again. Easy-peasy
I love the circle idea so they can all see each other, it gets them a little movement but its easiest to lay their folders on the floor in front of them.
I'm also having trouble with the bells ringing multiple times when I ring it. So I was wondering, when you hold the bell against your chest, is it handle down and colored bell up. Or is it handle up and bell down? I know I'm getting way too specific but I haven't quite mastered the bell ringing. and I can't decide what is the best way to hold it when ringing it.
Hi Kelsey,
We usually hold them like the kids are in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQNWvqZaei8
Only they just ring it once instead of continuously when it's their turn.
I hope that helps some.
~Camille
Thanks so much for all your posts! On the bell charts you have posted which bell set or sets are need to play from your charts? Thanks
Hi families are forever!
Great question – I will update my post with my response as well. All my charts require you to have the 13-note set (the red and yellow boxes). You can use the extended note set optionally (the orange box).
Let me know if you have any more questions!
~Camille
THANKS!
I love the idea of using the second oldest class When the kids preform with bells in sacrament meeting, In our primary, that class only has 4 kids. I want to do Christmas Bells, so it uses 6 bells. Would you assign a couple of the kids 2 bells? Especially since a couple of the bells only have one of two usages in that song. Thank you for all your helpful information!
Hi Amy!
I’d definitely assign 2 less-frequently used bells to a couple of kids.
~Camille
I can purchased an 8 bell sets but the first song I want to do is I Know my Father Lives and it has 2 bells that are sharps. Where do you find those bells?
Hi Kalli!
You can purchase add on sets here:
https://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.php?product_group=1923&uks=MP-RB301&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw9qOBhC-ARIsAG-rdn6iY34QGfVWsxLBC49wK9A-OVKBhCRaZkSCTJjjZ8fD5eUAv144fikaAh5-EALw_wcB
or here:
https://www.wwbw.com/Kids-Play-Chromatic-Add-On-Handbells-449620-449620000000000.wwbw?source=TWWR5J1BB&cntry=us¤cy=usd&source=TWWRAH4BD&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw9qOBhC-ARIsAG-rdn43AkT50aN_RqSv6rcnsEDHS58cuOHx9Rjr7fk-quj0Hcjbs50fWPEaAgTdEALw_wcB
Everyone should write to Merry Bells and ask them to start selling the 5 Note Chromatic Handbell Add On Set. It would make all our lives SO much easier!!
~Camille
Thank you thank you!!! It’s been great to read over these notes and I’m excited to use ours more this year.
You won’t regret it! We LOVE using handbells in singing time!!
~Camille