Go the Distance - Kinjo Gakuin University Handbell Choir



This week is Unconventional Instrument Week at Covering the Mouse and we will be listening to Disney covers that are done on instruments that aren't normally heard in popular music. Today's cover is Go the Distance by the KINJO GAKUIN UNIVERSITY HANDBELL CHOIR from Nagoya, Japan.

In a handbell choir, every musician is responsible for one or two English Handbells. Each handbell is a different size which allows it to carry a different note of the chromatic scale. The musician's job is to carefully pay attention to the music and ring the bell every time it is time to play their note. Sound simple? Not quite. Timing is everything and the entire choir has to be perfectly in synch otherwise it may throw off their fellow ringers. Two or more handbells can be rung at the same time to make a chord, and tapping it on the table or clapping it with your hand can produce other sounds for percussive effect.

If you are in the right circles, handbell choirs are quite popular. There are scores of them throughout the world and many competitions and seminars revolving around them.

If you have never seen a handbell choir in action, this version of Go the Distance may not seem like a big deal. So I have included the following youtube video for you to see. The song being performed is the classic jazz standard Sing, Sing, Sing.


If you want to hear more Disney songs rung by a handbell choir, check out DISNEY HANDBELL FANTASY or if you would like to try being a part of a handbell choir, check out Wii Music. There are some great mini-games in which you play a role as a musician in a handbell choir, using the remote and nunchuck as handbells. It isn't as easy as you think!

Labels: disney handbell fantasy, go the distance, hercules, kinjo gakuin university handbell choir

  ¶ 10:44 AM 5 Comments Links to this post

  Go the Distance - Mannheim Steamroller
The world said good-bye this weekend to CHARLTON HESTON who died in his home on Saturday. Although it is unclear at this time what he died of, Heston was battling prostate cancer and Alzheimer's disease for many years.

Heston, who is known for his stunning film career (Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes, The Ten Commandments) and being the President of the National Rifle Association, has a Disney connection that not that many people are aware of. Heston was the voice of the narrator at the beginning of Hercules. It is because of this that I chose a cover of Go the Distance by MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER for today's post as a tribute to Charlton Heston's legacy.

Go the Distance Mannheim Steamroller 1999

Labels: electronic, go the distance, hercules, mannheim steamroller, mannheim steamroller meets the mouse

  ¶ 2:53 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Go the Distance - Doping Panda
Japan's indie rock scene has grown a great deal since the turn of the century. DOPING PANDA is one of the many bands that have found success in a culture flooded with JPOP. Since 2001 they have released four albums with another coming out in March.

They contributed this Hercules song for the Japanese Disney tribute album DIVE INTO DISNEY in 2002. Their rock version of Go the Distance is really great. I love what they did to the verses and the Japanese accents is very cute. I love this version far more than hearing Michael Bolton sing it. Michael Bolton = Good writer/Bad singer

There are very few Hercules covers out there but Chris requested one so I deliver! You'll hear another in a few weeks.

Have a great weekend and join me next week for Villains Week!

Go the Distance Doping Panda 2002

Labels: dive into disney, doping panda, go the distance, hercules, rock

  ¶ 6:59 AM 1 Comments Links to this post