Fountains Delight Minor

About Fountains Delight Minor

Fountains Delight Minor is best thought of as a combination of Carlisle Surprise above the treble combined with Oxford Treble Bob below, but with a 3rds place half lead.

3rds place bell is the pivot bell and with the 2nds place lead end, the calling sequence for 6ths observation is as per Double Bob.

Method Structure.

Place Notation:
34X36. 14 X 12 X 16 X 12 X 36, 12, Bob 14, Single 1234.

Grid:

Diagram: Fountains Delight Minor, plain lead, change-rows and grid.

Goals and learning approach

What you are trying to achieve needs to drive your approach.

Ringing by structure

If you are ringing any method to gain the skill of associating method structure with the work of the treble (valid goal), DO NOT learn the lines, learn the structure, ring, make mistakes and learn from them. Track-the Treble skills, Place Notation skills, coursing order skills can all be developed in this manner

Performance Level

If you are wishing to achieve 720s, Quarters, or peals:
start with the structural ringing as above, add in the bits that are natural to you.
Study the lines.
Practice a lot.
Achieve some performances .

Method Mastery Level

It is unusual for a band to wish to achieve mastery in a method like Fountains.

Learning Fountains Delight Minor.

The Structure

Experience of ringing Double Bob, with the specific calling sequence is valuable when first ringing Fountains Delight.

The Rules

Fountains Delight Minor - the rules
Ring Carlisle Surprise over Oxford Treble Bob except at the half lead when 3rds place is made and the pair in 1-2 dodge together.

Double Blue Lines

Fountains Delight Minor, 1-2

Diagram: Fountains Delight Minor, 1-2.

Fountains Delight Minor, 3-4

Diagram: Fountains Delight Minor, 3-4.

Fountains Delight Minor, 5-6

Diagram: Fountains Delight Minor, 5-6.

Artefacts

The half lead place disrupts the slow work.

Place Notation and Grid

The pictorial grid emphasises the structure of the method better than the Place Notation.

Pictels

The rules are a good approach to the method, and splitting into individual elements is of no value.

Ringing Fountains Delight Minor.

Track the treble

Awareness of the position of the treble is a key skill for most bellringing methods, and is the major key to ringing Fountains Delight Minor. Some hints and tips for developing the skill are given in the techniques section.

Positional Awareness

The Carlisle specific work (1-2 section) requires detailed attention and careful learning.

Place Notation Elements

The method only contains 5 elements: 34X36, 14, 36, 16, 12.

Place Bells, Pivot Leads, and Staging posts

Place bell sequences:
1-2, 1-6, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-2
3-4, 4-5, 5-2, 2-6, 6-3, 3-4
6-5, 3-2, 4-6, 2-4, 5-3, 6-5.

For 3-4 pair, the pivot point is when the pair dodges together in 1-2, a sort of slow work hand-over.
For 5-6 pair, the pivot point is when they cross over in 4-5 at the Half Lead.

Awareness of other bells

Most ringers on encountering Fountains Delight find it quite tricky to ring, the serious challenges arising from the backward work above the treble.

Coursing Order in Fountains Delight Minor

Elston Delight exhibits natural coursing order above the treble.
Take note of the six points where a coursing pair dodge together.

Ringing the Method

3-4 pair dodge together 5 times in the Plain Course, as well as making 3-4 places together for 6 blows.
5-6 only dodge together once in the Plain Course.

Bobs and Singles.

Bobs replace the 2nds place at the Lead End with 4ths. This makes the calls feel like Kent Treble Bob with the long 4ths.

Singles Singles are rarely used in Fountains Delight Minor.

Touches of Fountains Delight Minor.

3rds place bell is the pivot bell, and hence the first lead end is 156342 giving calling positions from the tenor as:
4ths, In, Wrong, Out, Home as per Double Bob.