Blackberry Blossom (tune)

"Blackberry Blossom" is a fiddle tune in the key of G Major.^[1] It is classified as a "breakdown" and is popular in old time, bluegrass and Celtic traditional circles.^[2][3]

History

The tune has been added to over 250 tune books.^[4][5] The tune became popular as recorded by Fiddlin' Arthur Smith. That version, according to Alan Jabbour, supplanted an earlier tune played by Sanford Kelly from Morgan County,^[6] which is now represented by the tune "Yew Piney Mountain".^{[7] [8]} It is also called "Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom", perhaps to distinguish it from the earlier version.^[9] Contradicting Jabbour, who clearly distinguishes the earlier version, is the account of Andrew Kuntz to the effect that "Betty Vornbrock and others have noted a similarity between 'Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom' and the West Virginia tune 'Yew Piney Mountain', a variant ... also played by Kentucky fiddlers J.P. Fraley and Santford Kelly".^[10] Alan Snyder gives an alternate name of "Strawberry Beds".^[11]

Culture

Although the tune is closely associated with the old time/ bluegrass traditions of the United States,^[12] it enjoys the distinction of often being frequently played by traditional Irish musicians.^[3]

In Celtic music

This is a partial list of covers by Irish musicians and bands.

• An Fhidil, Sraith 2 by Sean Keane, Kevin Burke, Paddy Glackin And Seamus Creagh
• Ireland's Best Session Tunes CD 1 by Waltons Recording
• Irish Dances by Various Artists
• Top Of Coom by Conal Ó'Gráda
• Traditional Irish Dance Music by All Star Ceilidhe Band
• Traditional Irish Dance Music: All Star Ceili Band by Joe Derrane
• Traditional Irish Music by William Sullivan
• Traditional Irish Tunes Played On The Tin Whistle (1/2) by Geraldine Cotter
• Traditional Music Of Ireland by Various Artists
• Natalie MacMaster in Four on the Floor(cassette)^[13]

In Bluegrass

According to Devon Wells, Blackberry Blossom, as a banjo tune, was brought to the public's attention as one of the earliest arrangements of Bill Keith.^[14] Wells, a bluegrass teacher, asserts that the tune is a standard in the bluegrass banjo repertoire.^[15] Some of the older recordings archived at the Digital Library of Appalachia include:

• Davenport, Clyde
  • Fiddle tune played by Clyde Davenport at the Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music on 11-03-84
• Rawlings, Carlton
  • Fiddle tune played by Carlton Rawlings and recorded by John Harrod in Bath County, Kentucky [1970s].

Structure

Like most fiddle tunes, Blackberry Blossom has an A part and a B part. In Arthur Smith's 1935 version, the A part is in the key of G Major, with C and D chords in the second half of the part; the B part introduces an E major chord, making for a rather unusual mood shift.

Later recorded versions changed the harmonic structure of this tune radically, introducing additional chord changes (substitutions based on the melody line) in the A part, and alternating E minor and B7 in the B part. The key of E minor is the relative minor of the key of G Major - it uses the same sharps and flats but its modal center is E rather than G. This makes for a more "standard" harmonic structure.

Melodically, ^[16] according to Anthony, "The note played on the 1st & 3rd beat of the first 2 measures are the first 4 notes of the descending scale of G. Each of these notes is the beginning of a 3-note run, returning to this base note, before moving on to the next note in the G scale. "^[16]

Resources

• Sheet music for Blackberry Blossom PDF

Videographic documentation

Fiddle Solo (Vi Wickam)^[17]

Fiddle and Guitar^[18]

Fiddle Guitar and Banjo ^[19]

Mandolin (Mark O'Connor)^[20]

Fiddle & percussion- interpretive - (Carrie Rodriguez)^[21]

See also

• Old time music
• Old time fiddle
• Banjo
• Appalachian music

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackberry Blossom (tune).

Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Blackberry Blossom (tune)

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