Ding Dong Ding

Bells bells bells! And plenty of them in this song! The premise is pretty simple. You have two parts (1 and 3) that do a sort of call and response either playing bells or singing. The other part (bells 2) is optional and adds harmony the second and fourth times to part 1 if you want to have it. Parts 1 and 3 have indications that explain how it goes together, though just listening to the recording will make it clear pretty quickly. The first and second times at measure 5, the bells play then the singers answer them. On the D.S., they switch roles. But that's where flexibility and options come in.

Since all bell lines are doubled on the recording, you can mix and match who is playing or singing which line as much as you like. In fact, you don't have to use singing at all. You could use all bells all the time. You could use (add or substitute) pitched instruments such as mallets to play the bells parts. You could just use bells and have them play part 1 only, letting the recording do the answering (a very simple, but effective way to perform it).

Or maybe you'd rather just have the singing and no bell playing. Also okay. In a case like this, maybe you have paper, cardboard, or plastic bells that are pretending to play while your students sing. Have a few students join in on jingle bells, and you have an instant holiday hit!

If you do use bells, you will see that part 1 uses the pitches low C, D, E, F, and G. Part 2 only uses G, A, B, and high C. Part 3 is the most complete, using low C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C – the entire C scale. Which is why the flexibility may be just the ticket for your situation.