Calling Positions

Positions of calls in compositions are most often given for the tenor (or the heaviest working bell if you are ringing a method with a cover bell). Home, Wrong etc describe different leadends in a course of a method. They generally refer to the tenor. Sometimes you might "call yourself to do 3 Homes" - this would mean that whatever bell you were ringing you would call three bobs just before you dodged 5-6 down.

Home
This means that the tenor is about to come back to its starting position. For Bob Minor this is when the 6 is about to dodge 5-6 down. For Grandsire Triples it would be when the 7 is about to dodge 6-7 up. It is also when the tenor becomes 6ths place bell in minor. For major it will be when the tenor is about to become 8ths place bell, and so on. If you don't really know methods by place bells then have a look in the Diary or some other ringing book, they will be marked there. (8ths place bell is just the first lead that the tenor rings, 2nds place bell is the first lead that the 2 rings, and so on.) For those mathematically inclined, Home is when the tenor is about to become n-ths place bell where n is the number of bells. If you call the 5th unaffected in Bob Doubles this is calling three Homes.

Wrong
This means that the tenor is about to become 5ths place bell in minor, 7ths place bell in major etc. For example, 5-6 up in Plain Bob Minor and 7ths place bell (lie, dodge, plain hunt down, dodge-lie-dodge on the front, 3-4 places) in Cambridge S Major. That is, when the tenor is about to become n-1'ths place bell.

Middle
This means the tenor is about to become n-2'ths place bell. You do not really use this position in minor. In major the tenor is about to become 6ths place bell.

Before
This means that if there is a bob then the tenor will run out. So in Bob Minor it is when the 6 is about to become 2nds place bell (that is, make 2nds over the treble). In Cambridge S Major it is also when the tenor is about to become 2nds place bell (that is, about to make 2nds over the treble and then do Cambridge front work). However, in Bristol S Major it is when the tenor is about to become 3rds place bell because in the plain course no-one makes 2nds over the treble, you just run out whether or not there is a bob.

These are the main positions. The calls are put in just before you get to the leadend in question, e.g. for a Wrong in Bob Minor make the call when the tenor strikes in 5ths place before dodging 5-6 up.


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