Editing Change ringing (section)

===Striking===
Although neither call change nor method ringing produces conventional tunes, it is still the aim of the ringers to produce a pleasant sound. One of the most important aspects of this is ''good striking'' — not only should the bells never ''clash'' by sounding at the same moment, the bells should sound to a perfect rhythm, tapping out a steady beat.

It is the custom to leave a pause of one beat after every alternate row, i.e., after the ringing of each ‘backstroke’ row. This is called 'open handstroke' ringing (or open handstroke leading). In Devon, Cornwall and parts of Yorkshire, this custom is not followed when call-change ringing; instead the bells strike steadily without the pause. This latter custom is known as the ''closed-hand'' or ''cartwheel'' arrangement. However for method ringing the universal practice is to ring with open handstrokes, even in the South West of England.

Striking competitions are held where various bands of ringers attempt to ring with their best striking. They are judged on their number of ''faults'' (striking errors); the band with the fewest faults wins. These competitions are organized on regional and national levels, being particularly popular among the call-change ringers of [[Devon]] where it is customary to include the quality of the rise and lower of the bells as part of the judging criteria. Competitions for method ringers usually start "off the stay"—i.e., the bells are rung up before the competition begins.  At the annual [[National 12 Bell Striking Contest]] the bands are ringing methods and producing a different change approximately every 2.5 seconds, with a gap between bells of 0.21 seconds. To an expert ringer's ear at this level of competition a variation of a tenth of this would be discernible as a striking fault.