Born in Fochabers in 1748, William was the third son of a large family. He learned clockmaking and also entered the service of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, at 12 years of age. He showed a great natural talent for music from an early age but also made considerable progress in the study of astronomy, mathematics and mechanics. As a fiddler, he was well-known in the north, before he became famous as a composer. In the course of his lifetime, he composed some beautiful tunes, quite a number of which are well known to this day and are included in all the best collections of Scottish music.