There’s nothing quite like the thrill of playing through a new handbell piece. The challenge (you want me to play how many bells?), the excitement (a new technique!), the intrigue (how will it end?).

The only problem is, handbell music can be quite costly, sometimes as high as $5 per copy.

And if you’re a part-time director of a small handbell choir at a small church with a small budget, to match, you may be able to afford only 1-2 new pieces a year.

A practical solution? Handbell collections.

Instead of buying music one piece at a time (and spending $4-$5 per copy), a collection gives you 3-10 pieces for a fraction of the cost. Recently, I’ve come across several collections that work really well for smaller (2-3 octave) handbell choirs like ours.

Here are 12 budget-friendly collections you might consider:

A Dozen Budget-Friendly Collections for the Small Handbell Choir

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Advent/Christmas/Epiphany

With Carols Ringing*
Derek K. Hakes
10 pieces
$10.95 per copy/player

The Best of Ring and Rejoice* [Christmas and Epiphany]
ed. Michael Helman
7 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

Season of Joy
Kevin McChesney
7 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

You might also like:

Four Pieces for Advent for 2-octave handbells by Ashley Danyew.png

Four Pieces for Advent
12 bells
$29 (reproducible)/
$4.14 per book/player

Four Pieces for Christmas for 2-3 octave handbells by Ashley & Steve Danyew.png

Four Pieces for Christmas
12-17 bells
$34 (reproducible)/
$3.78 per book/player

Four Pieces for Epiphany for 2-3 octave handbells by Ashley Danyew.png

Four Pieces for Epiphany
12-16 bells
$29 (reproducible)/
$3.22 per book/player

Lent/Easter

Ring Lent Through Easter*
Sharon Elery Rogers
3 pieces
$4.95 per copy/player

From Grief to Glory*
Douglas Wagner
8 pieces
$9.95 per copy/player

What Wondrous Love!*
compiled by Larry Pugh
10 pieces
$9.95 per copy/player

The Best of Ring and Rejoice* [Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter]
ed. Michael Helman
7 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

You might also like:

Four Pieces for Lent for 2-3 Octave Handbells by Ashley and Steve & Danyew.png

Four Pieces for Lent
12-19 bells
$29 (reproducible)/
$2.90 per book/player

Four Pieces for Easter
12-21 bells
$34 (reproducible)/
$3.09 per book/player

Four Pieces for Pentecost for 2-3 octave handbells by Ashley Danyew

Four Pieces for Pentecost
11-31 bells
$29 (reproducible)/$2.90 per book/player

General/All Year

Songs for Praise and Worship
Douglas Wagner
8 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

Ring the Rafters!
compiled by Larry Pugh
9 pieces
$9.95 per copy/player

The Best of Ring and Rejoice* [General Hymn Tunes for Summer]
compiled by Michael Helman
7 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

The Best of Ring and Rejoice* [Ascension, Trinity, Pentecost, and General]
compiled by Michael Helman
7 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

The Best of Ring and Rejoice [All Saints Day, Christ the King, General, Holy Communion, Reformation, Thanksgiving]
compiled by Michael Helman
8 pieces
$8.95 per copy/player

*These collections are digital downloads, meaning you can purchase, download, and print right away instead of waiting for something to arrive in the mail.