Annotation:Telephone Reel
X:1 T:Telephone Reel M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Reel S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G Minor D | (D/G/)z/^F/ G>A | B>GB/ (d/c/)B/G/ | (C/F/)z/=E/ F>G | A>FA/ (e/d/)A/F/ | (D/G/)z/^F/ G>A | B/(A/B/)c/ d/(c/d/)(e/ | f/)(g/f/)d/ c/(B/A/)c/ | B/(G/A/)(^F/ G) :| |: d | (d/g/)z/^f/ g>a | b/(a/g/)(a/ b/)(a/g/)a/ | (c/f/)z/f/ f>g | a/(g/f/)(g/ a/)(g/f/)c/ | (d/g/)z/^f/ g>a | b/(a/g/)(f/ {e}d/)(^c/d/)(e/ | f/)(g/f/)d/ c/(B/A/)c/ | B/(G/A/)(^F/ G) :|
TELEPHONE REEL. AKA and see "Bunch of Kemp," “Bunch of Keys (1),” "Down the Hill," "Ducks on/in the Pond," "Flowers of Limerick (1)," "Mills are Grinding (1) (The)," "Molly Maguire (1)," "Old Town Reel," "Paddy on the Turnpike (2)," "Pigeon on the Pies," "Rainy Day (1) (A)," "Salt River (2)." American, Reel. G Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A note in William Bradbury Ryan's Ryan’s Mammoth Collection states "As performed by C.W. Knowlton." Knowlton was a member of Morris Brothers, Pell & Trowbridge's Minstrels in 1869 and 1870, when he is recorded as having been a member of their touring company[1].
Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone was invented in 1876, so the tune was composed sometime between then and 1883, when Ryan's Mammoth Collection was published. The new device was first publicly exhibited in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, but initially did not catch on until Bell began to give more public demonstrations.
