Who doesn’t love the trumpet riff at the beginning of Johnny Cash’s smash hit, Ring of Fire?
Guess what? It’s also a great riff for beginner harmonica players.
And it’s a ton of fun for any harmonica player.
Check me out playing it here:
Here are the tabs:
56 56 56 56 56 -56 -45 56
45 45 45 45 45 -45 -34 45
The song is in the key of G, so you’d need a G harmonica to play along with the recording. If all you’ve got is a C harmonica, you can play along with me here:
Now, if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, let’s talk about Orange Blossom Special.
People have been asking me to teach Orange Blossom Special for YEARS, and I’ve NEVER done it. So when asked again recently I thought “I gotta DO this already!”
The good news is that the 1st position part of this tune requires no bending, so even if you’re a beginner, if you know how to isolate notes, you can play this song, NICE AND SLOW, and then over time you can gradually bring it up toward the blazing tempo’s of the masters.
You can check me out playing it up to speed on an F harmonica here.
And try playing along with me nice and slow on our trusty C harmonicas, right here.
And don’t forget you can slow down the video further in YouTube settings.
Here are the tabs for the first position part as Charlie McCoy played on the 1965 Johnny Cash Recording:
4 -4 5 4 -6 6 5 -4
4 -4 5 4 -6 6 5 -4
4 -4 5 4 -6 6 5 4 -5 -4
6 -6 -7 7 -8 7 -7 -6
6 -6 -7 7 -8 7 -7 -6
6 -6 -7 7 -8 7 -7 -6
6 -6 6 -5 5 4 -4 -3
4 -4 5 4 -6 6 5 -4
4 -4 5 4 -6 6 5 -4
4 -4 5 4 -6 6 5 4 6 -6 -5
6 -6 7 8 -8 7 -7 -6
6 5 6 5 -6 6 5 -5
45 -3 -3 34 -23 -23 1234
Here’s 7 fun facts about Orange Blossom Special:
This song was written in 1938 by a bluegrass fiddle player, recorded in 1939 by the “father of bluegrass” Bill Munroe, and by the 1950’s had become many fiddlers’ favorite tune to use to flex and show off their virtuosity. 
The song reached a new level of popularity in 1965, when Johnny Cash recorded it. 
The lyrics to Orange Blossom Special are about a luxury train of the same name that went from Jacksonville, Florida to Anaheim, California. Maybe because it’s about a train, Johnny Cash chose to record it, not with a violin, but with the best instrument for imitating a train: the harmonica. 
The Cash recording’s harmonica player is none other than the preeminent Charlie McCoy.
Orange Blossom Special has remained a favorite among fiddle players and country harmonica players alike, a ubiquitous standard at bluegrass festivals, and a song virtuosos can count on to bring an audience to a frenzy. Even though the audio is out of sync, it’s still worth watching Buddy Greene’s live version from 1994 here. 
Buddy plays it on an A harmonica in 2nd position, and an E harmonica in 1st position. But on the Johnny Cash recording, Charlie McCoy plays it on a Bb harmonica in 2nd position and an F harmonica in 1st position.
F is the highest standard tuned harmonica (most manufacturers also make a High F# and High G tuning, but they’re less commonly played). Higher key harmonicas’ smaller reeds require less air to vibrate, and therefore make it easier to play faster (as long as the player plays with a light, relaxed approach!)