Annotation:Pottinger's Reel
X:1 T:Pottinger's Reel M:4/4 L:1/8 R:Reel K:F |:F3 c AFF3/2e/|fgfc AFF3/2 G/|GFGA BABd|{e }gfed ec ~c2| F3 c AFF3/2e/|fgfc AFF3/2|A/2|BcdB ABcA|cBAG AF F2:| |:{e}f2 cf Afcf|faga fc c2|cg {gag}f2 g a|bagf ec c2| {e}f2 cf Afcf|faga fc c2|{A}BcdB ABcA|cBAG AF F2:|
POTTINGER'S REEL. AKA – "Pottinger's Hornpipe," “Willie Pottinger’s Reel.” Shetland, Reel. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Composed by Tom Anderson (1910–1991?), originally from Eshaness (Nor' West Mainland, Sheltand), for Willie Pottinger, a boat carpenter, musician, composer and traditional fiddling enthusiast, whose favorite key was ‘F’. Some of Pottinger's style is captured in the syncopated second strain of the reel. Anderson's book Ringing Strings: Traditional Shetland Music And Dance, includes a photograph of Willie Pottinger playing a Stroh violin previously owned by a man named George Stark (1877–1960), known as "the blind fiddler" who was Pottinger's mentor. Pottinger was a founding member of the Shetland Fiddlers' Society in 1960. Anderson was awarded the M.B.E. in 1977 for his efforts on behalf of preserving traditional music of the Shetlands. Aly Bain calls the melody “one of (Anderson’s) finest reels," and it has gained currency among Cape Breton and Scottish fiddlers for session and dance play.
