Are special tables required for handbells?

Special handbell tables are not necessarily needed, although they do exist and are very helpful, especially when traveling. Round tables, for example, are not suitable, because they can not be lined up next to each other.

It is very important to use a 4 inch (10 cm) thick foam pad on the table. This protects the handbells from the hard table surface, because there are playing techniques where the handbells are played on the table or are muted directly on the table. Also, depending on the modulation, the player must change handbells within a piece and place them on the table. Here the bells are not supposed to reverberate but to be dampened.