"Blackberry Blossom" is a fiddle tune in the key of G Major, is classified as a "breakdown" and is popular in old time, bluegrass and Celtic traditional circles.

History

The tune has been added to many tune books - well over 250.
The tune became popular as a tune recorded by "Fiddlin'" Arthur Smith

Arthur Smith

Arthur Smith may refer to:*Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith , American guitar player and composer*Arthur Donaldson Smith, American explorer of Africa*Arthur Henderson Smith , American missionary in China, author of books on Chinese culture...

 and that version, according to Alan Jabbour

Alan Jabbour

-Biography:Jabbour was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His grandfather had immigrated to the United States from Syria, and his father later joined him. He was educated in the Jacksonville public schools and at the Bolles School, where he graduated from high school in 1959. He graduated magna cum...

, supplanted an earlier tune played by Sanford Kelly from Morgan County, which is now represented by the tune "Yew Piney Mountain

Yew Piney Mountain

Yew Piney Mountain is part of the canonical Appalachian music tradition which has been highly influential in American fiddle tradition generally, including its old time fiddle and bluegrass fiddle branches. According to Alan Jabbour at The Digital Library of Appalachia, the tune was called at one...

".
It is also called Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom, perhaps to distinguish it from the earlier version. 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 and Santford Kelly". Alan Snyder gives an alternate name of "Strawberry Beds".

Culture: use in different genres

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

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)

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. Wells, a bluegrass teacher, asserts that the tune is a standard

Standard (music)

In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...

 in the bluegrass banjo repertoire.
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 traditional fiddle tunes, Blackberry Blossom has an A part and a B part; the former is in the key

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

 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. 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 to this base note, before moving on to the next note in the G scale. "
Resources=

• Sheet music for Blackberry Blossom PDF

Videographic documentation (various instrumentation)

Fiddle and Guitar

Fiddle Guitar and Banjo

Mandolin (Mark O'Connor

Mark O'Connor

Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...

)

Fiddle & percussion- interpretive - (Carrie Rodriguez

Carrie Rodriguez

Carrie Luz Rodriguez is a Mexican-American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and well-known Texas painter Katy Nail, and is the granddaughter of prolific Texas essayist Frances Nail. She sings and plays the fiddle, mandobird and tenor guitar...

)