To our esteemed Area XII Members

This article appeared in the May issue of Clapper Chatter, the Area VII newsletter.
I received permission to copy it for distribution in Area XII.

Enjoy!

Dave
Chair Area XII 

Just a note.  I listen to it and it’s pretty neat.  It’s an interesting way to communicate handbell news and issues.

Kathy

The Handbell Podcast

(no ipod required)

by Paul Weller

 

An exciting new handbell venture has appeared.  It’s called The Handbell Podcast.  What’s a podcast you ask?  A podcast, made famous by the ipod, is like a radio show that you download from the Internet for free.   You can listen to the show on your computer at www.handbellpodcast.com, or download it to burn it to a CD, or transfer it to an MP3 player like the iPod.   You can also subscribe to the program using any podcast client such as ITunes.

 

Dean Jensen and Paul Weller are the hosts of this show and use this innovative format to talk about all things handbells and handchimes.  Dean and Paul are former members of Twin Cities Bronze, and are very active in the handbell community.  Recently, they celebrated their 10th podcast and did interviews with Danny Lyons who had just returned from a solo tour of Europe and Rima Greer of Campanile.  After 10 shows the podcast is going strong with over 200 listeners each week from all over the world.  Future plans for the podcast are to include music reviews, more interviews with composers and clinicians, and, as always, lots of entertaining banter.

 

Podcasting is unlike any media out there because it has the ability to create a community of people with similar interests from all over the world.  We have listeners from the US, Canada, and England!  Much like call-ion radio shows, podcasts thrive on emails and audio comments from listeners.  It is our vision to have this show be as much about other people;’s experiences with handbells as it is about ours.  That’s why we’ve created things like the online handbell podcast community (www.handbellpodcastcommunity.ning.com) and our Frappr map (www.frappr.com/handbellpodcast) which allows us to “see” everyone who is listening.

 

How you can listen

 

You can find more information, show notes, and download the podcast at www.handbellpodcast.com.  Or you can subscribe to the podcast using a FREE podcast client such as iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes/download).  Once  you download and install the program (it works both on Mac and PC), you will need to search for “handbell podcast” in the “Music Store” then click the “subscribe” button.  If you have any questions/problems downloading the podcast send an email to: handbellpodcast@gmail.com.  Hope to have you listening soon.