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Field recording · United Kingdom

Oxford Society of Change Ringers ringing the bells down at the end of their ringing practice

17 High Street, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire OX1 4AG, UK

A field recording by Felicity Ford made in Oxford, United Kingdom on 27 November 2013, in the evening. Soundscape: wind, church bells and parks & gardens.

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Oxford Society of Change Ringers ringing the bells down at the end of their ringing practice
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Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

Recordist's notes

This was recorded inside the bell tower at Lincoln College, Oxford, where there are 8 bells, dating from the 1600s. They are not very big bells, and they sound very different outside the tower from inside it! I was at the bell-ringing practice of the Oxford Society of Change Ringers and I learnt that at the start of the practice all of the bells must be rung up (that is, they must be rung so that their 'mouths' are facing upwards;) and that at the end of the practice all of the bells must be rung down again (that is, they must be rung so that their 'mouths' are facing down.) I am only monitoring on laptop speakers, so it's hard to hear whether or not the recording preserves the same sense that I had while in the room, of the bells above us gradually turning over until they were ringing downwards, but that is what was happening in this recording. This is one of my first experiments with the onboard microphones of the Roland R-26 and for this recording, it was leaning against a window frame through which I could feel the vibrations of the bells in the space above us.

Written by Felicity Ford on radio aporee ::: maps.

About the place

Oxford is a city of about 162,100 people in England, United Kingdom. OttoAnna lists 73 field recordings from here.

Equipment mentioned: Roland R-26. A six-channel recorder with both directional and omni microphones.

Recorded nearby

More by Felicity Ford

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Sources & credits