Treble Dodging Minor

Progress routes from simple Treble Bob to complex Delight and Surprise

Progressions are based on taking part of what has been learned in one method, or group of methods, and using it to make learning another group more easy and enjoyable.

There are 14 different but regular ways of ringing above the treble, but this number reduces to 8 if we count 2nds place and their 6ths place variations as one method. E.g. Duke of Norfolk and Sandal are identical except at the Lead End. There are 36 different but regular ways of ringing below the treble. In theory this gives 504 possible methods, but only 147 of the combinations produce a viable method. These methods are tabulated in the 4-way table:

Diagram: The 4-way table of 147 regular methods.

The simplest Treble Dodging methods are Kent TB and Oxford TB., and these are our entry point for work above and below the treble. Chadkirk Group and Cotswold Group are not so well known and the Cotswold Group above the treble is challenging to ring.

Oxford Treble Bob Progressions

Within the Oxford Treble Bob group there are 10 ways of working below the treble that lead to viable regular methods. Using some of those “below the treble” structures gives a quick way in to ringing some of the methods in the Norwich above group, namely Duke of Norfolk and Sandal have Oxford above the treble whilst Old Oxford Delight and Neasden Delight have Norwich above the treble, all have the same work below the treble.

Ringing pure Norwich over Oxford leads to an irregular method, Woodbine Delight. Whilst this may be a structural stepping stone, the handbell pairs are weird 3-4 and 5-6 being identical in the plain course, and there being a hidden pair. This is a dead end.

In a similar manner to Duke of Norfolk and Sandal, College Exercise and London Scholars Pleasure equate to College Bob IV Delight and St Albans Delight in the Norwich Group.

Disley Delight with 2nds place Oxford Treble Bob above the treble equates to Bourne Surprise and Hull Surprise having Cambridge Surprise above the treble. Disley can be used as a first entry point to ring Sandiacre and Wooler in the Carlisle above Group.

Performances amongst the above methods would be a significant achievement, and is worth pursuing for the learning experience, but it leaves the significantly harder Minor methods untouched. These include the Cotswold Treble Bob and 3rds Place Delight methods, and the London above group.

Routes in to ringing London above include Combermere Delight which is London over Sandal, and Vale Royal Delight which is London over College Exercise.

London Surprise Minor is a cardinal method having 6 methods in 4 different groups above the treble groups and also being closely related to Wells below and a similar 6 in 4 different groups again with London above.

Kent Treble Bob Progressions

Few of the Kent Treble Bob based methods relate to 4ths Place Delight, but many of the 3rds Place delight in the Kent Group do relate to Surprise methods having identical work below the treble.

Pontefract and Wath Delight relate to Westminster Surprise in the Norwich Group and Lincoln of the London Group, whilst Barham and Oswald relate to Cambridge and Primrose in the Cambridge Group and Carlisle in the Carlisle Group.

Berkeley and Kentish Delight relate to the popular Surfleet Surprise and Pembroke and Edinburgh Delight relate to Beverley Surprise.

Right Place Regular Treble Dodging Minor Methods.

"Regular" means having: Plain Bob Lead heads, no 5ths apart from the half lead, no more than 2 blows in any one place. Treble Bob, and Surprise, methods are shown below purely for interest.

Method names are linked either to the description of the method on this site, or to Complib

Regular Treble Dodging Minor.

All (Regular) Treble Dodging Methods in one table