RE: [Harp-L] First Position and "Country"

[Steve <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

Not meaning to steer the conversation away from Irish, but I recently stumbled upon 'Blackberry Blossom' while fooling around in 12th. I've attempted this tune in various positions over the years, without much success. It's the minor B section that has always stumped me. Neither 3rd, 4th nor 5th work for me. 12th, yes. There is no 4th scale not in the melody, so that removes the need to overblow hole 6 or hit the semi-tone band on 3 at speed, and the minor part is effectively in 3rd psition, which works well.
RD

There are two tunes I know called Blackberry Blossom, one of which I know well and the other which I know *of*! I have a feeling you refer to the latter, the one beloved of some country/bluegrass bands as well as Irish players. I can hear the tune in my head all right but it's too late to try it out on a harmonica as my wife is tucked up in bed  ;-) Maybe I'll have a go tomorrow and report back, though life's confusions can often prevent these best intentions from coming to fruition...!
I would say, however, that many an Irish tune is easily tweaked a little to make it sit better on the instrument. This seems to be an acceptable approach as long as one doesn't wreck the, er, spirit of the tune.  One of those things that comes easier once the music is more in your blood.