Editing Handbell (section)

====Four bells====
[[File:Four in Hand Handbells.jpg|thumb|Performance with four-in-hand technique]]
There are two main ways of ringing two handbells with one hand: four-in-hand and Shelley.

In the four-in-hand technique, the ringer hold two bells in one hand with the clappers at right angles to each other. This allows the ringer to either move the hand normally ("ring" – primary bell) or ring knuckles-first ("knock" – secondary bell) to ring two bells independently with the same hand (for a total of four bells when ringing with both hands). The two bells can also be played simultaneously by holding the wrist at a 45° angle. In large ensembles, four-in-hand is typically used to ring multiple positions or pick up accidentals.

Shelley ringing is similar, except that the clappers are each orientated in the same direction, so that the two bells normally ring simultaneously with one movement. Shelley is typically used to ring notes in octaves, but can also be used to ring two notes separately by striking the primary bell sideways and the secondary bell forward in an action like tapping the fingers.<ref name="TSShelley">{{Citation
  | last = Leonard
  | first = Karen E.
  | title = Technique-ly Speaking: Shelley Ringing
  | journal = Overtones
  | volume = 46
  | issue = 5
  | pages = 13–14
  | date = September–October 2000
}}</ref>

As to the relative merits of the two techniques, some believe that Shelley ringing is rendered obsolete when four-in-hand is perfected, while others believe that the motion of the clappers in the same plane makes certain techniques more feasible, particularly shaking, [[martellato]] and [[vibrato]].