Blackberry Blossom (tune)

"Blackberry Blossom"
Song
Form Fiddle tune
Performed by Fiddlin' Arthur Smith

"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.

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:

Structure

Like most traditional fiddle tunes, Blackberry Blossom has an A part and a B part; the former is in the key of G Major but the latter switches explicitly to the key of E minor. 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 provides the tune with an unusual mood shift which adds complexity.[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

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

References

  1. ↑ Website of Sean Ray|http://seanray.com/2010/blackberry-blossom-2/
  2. ↑ Building a Traditional Tune Repertoire|Wendy Anthony |http://archive.mandolinsessions.com/jun08/Anthony.html
  3. 1 2 The Sessions
  4. ↑ ref name=DLA-Dickerson|played by Emma Lee Dickerson and| recorded by= Barbara Kunkle |date recorded=2-9-74|Greenup County, Kentucky|performer=Dickerson, Emma Lee|Place=Greenup County, Kentucky|Original Format=Reel-To-Reel Audio Tape|Holding Library|Berea College |http://www.aca-dla.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Berea43&CISOPTR=571&CISOBOX=1&REC=2
  5. ↑ ref name=The Session|Online resource|Jeremy, Administrator|http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1365
  6. ↑ Note: As an E minor tune. He ends the tune "that's the way that God made peace".|http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/Berea43&CISOPTR=3533&filename=3534.mp3
  7. ↑ ref name=Jabbour BBB Transcript|cited=Wikiversity Ethnography of Fiddle|Fiddle tune played by Alan Jabbour at Berea College on 5-28-08, while participating in Berea's Appalachian Music Fellowship Program.c; Jabbour, Alan; Blackberry Blossom;
  8. ↑ Blackberry Blossom|Lecture and performance by Alan Jabbour|Madison County, Kentucky|Audio Compact Disc|On web Digital Library of Appallachia| Archives, Hutchins Library, Department of Special Collections & Archives.
  9. ↑ ref name=Kuntz|The Fiddler’s Companion|Andrew Kuntz|1996[?]|Citing Jean Thomas's Ballad Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky|http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/BLACK.htm#BLACKBERRY_BLOSSOM_[2]
  10. ↑ Kuntz
  11. ↑ ref name=Alan Snyder|Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index| http://www.cbfiddle.com/rx/tunesearch.cgi?search=Blackberry+Blossom
  12. ↑ Note: The Digital Library of Appallachia has recordings primarily from Kentucky. http://www.aca-dla.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=all&CISOBOX1=%20Blackberry%20Blossom
  13. ↑ "Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings". Cbfiddle.com. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
  14. ↑ Saturday, April 2, 2011| Exploring Blackberry Blossom|Website of Devon Wells|Devon's Banjo Homepage|http://banjohomeplace.blogspot.com/2011/04/exploring-blackberry-blossom-part-i_02.html
  15. ↑ Wells
  16. 1 2 Anthony
  17. ↑ (Fiddle) Fiddle Tune a Day|instrumentation=(fiddle)|http://www.vithefiddler.com/blackberry-blossom-fiddle-tune-a-day-day-312/
  18. ↑ Doc and the Lady (Fiddle and Flatpick Guitar)Operation Smile concert|instrumentation=(fiddle and guitar)|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXdhej_q7sg&feature=related
  19. ↑ Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association in Spokane Washington. Every month the INBA has what they call a Bluegrass Thang
  20. ↑ album =Markology|label= Rounder| Released: 24 Jul 2007| url=|http://www.last.fm/music/Mark+O%27Connor/Markology
  21. ↑ Carrie Rodriguez performing live at the Rosendale Cafe in Rosendale, NY on January 3, 2008. Playing with Carrie are her band members Hans Holzen and Javier Vercher.|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAlMxMsckE&feature=related
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