New Rigged Ship

Reel, A Dorian, traditional Shetland
Also known as: The New Rigged Ship; Da New Rigged Ship
TrailJams Tune of the Week: November 23, 2025.

New Rigged Ship is a spirited Shetland reel that drives forward with the energy of wind and sail. The tune is instilled with the Norse, Celtic, and seafaring essence of the Shetland Islands.

In a sailing ship, “rigging” refers to the system of ropes (lines), cables, and chains used to support and control the masts, yards, and sails. A ship described as “rigged” means it is fully equipped with its masts, spars, and rigging — ready to set sail.

“A traditional reel from the playing of the late Peter Fraser of Finnigarth, Waas. The tune celebrates the rigging out with new sails and mast of a fishing boat, which the owner proudly calls a ship.”

— Tom Anderson, Ringing Strings: Traditional Shetland Music and Dance

Musical modes — a journey: This three-part tune starts in A Dorian mode, then switches to A Mixolydian for the middle (B) part of the tune, then returns to A Dorian for the end (C part) of the tune. The modal color change is part of the tune’s storytelling. The change from C-sharp to C-natural defines the transition from the B-part of the tune to the C-part. If you are a bit hazy on the Dorian and Mixolydian modes, see the article “Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell” for a brief and friendly explanation.

Recordings

• Video – Aly Bain & Tom Anderson: The Full Rigged Ship / The New Rigged Ship – from the album The Silver Bow: The Fiddle Music of Shetland. (The New Rigged Ship starts at time 1:43 in this recording.)
• Video – Altan: Dónal Agus Mórag – from the album Harvest Storm. (Only the song “Dónal Agus Mórag” is listed as Track 2 of the Harvest Storm album. But the tune “The New Rigged Ship” starts at time 3:18 in this recording. )
• Video – Solas: Unnamed Shetland Reel / Da New Rigged Ship – from the album All These Years. (The “Unnamed Shetland Reel” is probably the Shetland version of “The Lass That Made the Bed for Me,” often titled in Shetland spelling “Da Lass Dat Made Da Bed Fir Me.” Da New Rigged Ship starts at time 1:38 in this recording.)

Playlist – TrailJams Listening Series

Listen to a curated playlist (virtual album) of recordings of Full Rigged Ship and New Rigged Ship. Absorb the tunes by hearing them in multiple settings and arrangements.
Listen, loop, and learn.

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Rigged Ship Set: Full Rigged Ship (Shetland jig, A minor) / New Rigged Ship (Shetland Reel, A Dorian)
• Battle of Aughrim / New Rigged Ship

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Video – The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc: Da Full Rigged Ship/The Rigged Ship – from the album The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc.
• Books
  • Book – Tom Anderson, Ringing Strings: Traditional Shetland Music and Dance – A collection of 104 Shetland tunes, both traditional and composed by the author. Tom Anderson (1910–1991) was a crucial collector, teacher, composer, and performer of tunes in the Shetland tradition. Published by The Shetland Times, Ltd., 1983. ISBN 0900662409.
  • Book – Altan: The Tunes (Altan Tune Book) – 222 tunes from 12 studio albums of the band Altan.
  • Book – Michael D. Long: The King Street Sessions Tunebook (Interactive edition by Michael Eskin) – free downloadable book in PDF format. The Interactive edition by Michael Eskin adds playable ABC transcriptions.
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Pickin’ Lessons: Da New Rigged Ship: Mandolin Lesson mandolin – video lesson for only part A of the tune. (The full lesson requires a subscription to Pickin’ Lessons.)
  • Lesson – Fiona Cuthill: Da New Rigged Ship – Fiona Cuthill, Glasgow Fiddle Workshop – video lesson for fiddle, showing the Shetland-style bowing technique for the tune
  • Lesson – Fiona Cuthill: The New Rigged Ship/The Full Rigged Ship played by Fiona Cuthill. GFW Intermediate class – Glasgow Fiddle Workshop video demonstration of both tunes played on fiddle, showing bowing and fingering
• Additional Resources
  • Article – Jonathan Lay (TrailJams): Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell
  • Web page – The Session: Da New Rigged Ship (Reel) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more
  • Web page – irishtune.info: New-Rigged Ship – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
  • Web page – North Atlantic Tune List: Da New Rigged Ship – resources for learning the tune, including audio tracks, plus sheet music (melody, harmony, low harmony, bass clef, and cello). “Dance & fiddle music from Scandinavia, Ireland, the UK, Canada, Appalachia and more. A resource for traditional musicians.”