Practice handbells born from crowdfunding Prologue" is now commercially available & orders are now being accepted!

Kanade Music Planning Co. (Location: Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture; President: Michiko Fujita) has launched a commercial version of its practice handbell "Prologue," which was created through crowdfunding and is now available for order.

Compared to current English handbells of the same pitch range, the price is about one-third of the current price. This contributes to solving the problem of the high cost of the instrument, which prevents the spread of the instrument and the training of players.

Prologue" handbells for practice use

■Background of Development

The English handbell is an expensive instrument that has been difficult for enthusiasts to afford. The difficulty of owning individual handbells and the lack of a practice environment have prevented the spread of the instrument and the training of handbell players.

In order to solve this problem, we developed the "prologue" handbell for practice over a period of more than two and a half years.

The commercial price is 770,000 yen (manufacturer's suggested retail price including tax) for a 2-octave set (25 notes) in the most commonly used register, a storage case, and three playing mats (25 notes from C5 to C7). Compared to current English handbells of the same range, the price is about one-third of the current price.

This year, to celebrate the launch, orders will be limited to seven sets at a special price of ¥700,000, including tax.

Orders for the "prologue" will be accepted until April 30, and will be closed when the planned number is reached.

Features of "prologue

1. brass casting for sturdiness. Resistant to shocks such as dropping. It will not be dented unless you hit it with a hammer or the like with the utmost malice. The weight of the bells is not much different from current handbells. 2.

2. simple design. Easy to disassemble and reassemble by the user. Low maintenance cost.

If you are concerned about the metallic sound of the aluminum grips when playing 4-in handbells, you can prevent the sound by wrapping the grips with grip tape used for tennis rackets, etc. The 4-in-hand can be practiced either with the grips overlapping or through the grips.

4. A video on daily care, bell polishing, and maintenance is currently being prepared.

5. For those who are trying handbells for the first time or want to improve, video lessons are available on the online lesson site "Kanon".

Concert to Commemorate Completion on February 21, 2025

At a concert held on February 21, 2025 to commemorate the completion of the "prologue" handbells for practice, Michiko Fujita, English handbell soloist and representative of the development project, performed the sound of the "prologue" at the beginning of the concert. This was followed by a talk show by the development team, which brought the voices of individual members involved in the project to life.

The concert ended with the world's first collaborative performance of English handbell solo and two pianos.

The live video of the last song, "Banri Ikku," has been available on music distribution services since March 17.

URL: https://linkco.re/5dbG364u

Reception desk at the concert venue to commemorate the completion of the concert

Outline of the product

Product name ： Prologue

Price ： Manufacturer's suggested price: 770,000 yen (including tax)

Contents ： 2-octave set (25 notes from C5 to C7), storage case, 3 performance mats

Sales location ： https://kanade-ongaku.com/kokuchi/4886/

*One complete order per year

*Orders for 2025 will be accepted until April 30, and will be closed when the planned number is reached.

About Kanade Music Planning Co.

Although it is a simple instrument that anyone can enjoy, the richness and depth of its sound and the harmonies that lightly change expression in accordance with the player's emotions have attracted many performers and audiences around the world.

However, in Japan, there are few opportunities for the general public to enjoy the performances of skilled handbell players. As a player who has been fascinated by the depth of handbells and is constantly searching for more beautiful tones, I have come to feel that I would like to convey the appeal of handbells to the public.

Therefore, I established Kanade Music Project in 2021. The company's activities are aimed at "spreading handbell music" and "teaching handbell players. We dispatch high-level professional performers to concerts and events. We have received many happy comments such as "I was moved by the rich musicality," "It touched my heart and healed my soul," and "The powerful performance brought tears to my eyes.

Handbell music can be enjoyed all year round, regardless of the season. We feel that handbells have a high affinity with chapels, museums, art galleries, hotel lobby concerts, and dinner shows as venues for performances, but recently we have been receiving a wider variety of requests, and we feel the potential of handbells as a musical instrument. Kanade Ongaku Kikaku will continue to make every effort to improve the level of our players and promote our activities.

We hope that the sound of handbells will reach as many people as possible.

Name: Kanade Music Planning Co.

Location: Kashiwanoha Campus 148th Ward 1, 178-4 Wakashiba, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-0871, Japan

　　　　　 Park City Kashiwanoha Campus The Gate Tower West 3F

TEL : 080-9322-7235

Hours : Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Establishment ： September 28, 2021

Business activities: ・Providing performances of English handbell music

　　　　　 Providing ensemble performances mainly of English handbell music

　　　　　 Providing various types of handbell lessons

　　　　　 Planning and operation of handbell concerts and other events

　　　　　 Planning and operation of handbell concerts and other events

　　　　　 Improvement of the status of handbell players and training of future handbell players

　　　　　 Development, sales and maintenance of handbells

Capital: 7 million yen (Business Registration No. T5040001120367)

URL : https://kanade-ongaku.com/