African American Spirituals

Spirituals were sung by slaves all over the United States. Spirituals are religious pieces they would sing to keep their minds busy during difficult times they had come across. The Spirituals they had sung in Africa followed and stayed with them in the United States. The Spirituals the slaves performed during enslavement have survived up until this day. They are well known as Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Ragtime, and more. Since African Americans followed their traditions so much, It was harder for African American slaves to perform Spirituals due to them not being able to own any instruments. Not only did African American Spirituals play a major role in helping slaves with their extreme hardships, it also helped shape American music today. Spirituals
They helped instruct others of the tasks they were assigned and gave them a creative way to express themselves (Findley). These songs were a mental and physical stimulator which allowed them to voice their oppositions, despite their limited freedom of speech (“Music in”). Work songs called “field hollers,” involved a call and response between one or more people (“Music in”). These songs encouraged slaves to get through hard times, and let their feelings be heard (Findley). The singing of these songs led to a sense of teamwork and camaraderie amongst the slaves (“Music in”). Work songs made work easier for them and helped the time move more quickly. After they would stop working at the end of the day, they would stop singing Work songs and start singing what they called Recreational
Gospel evolved from the work songs the slaves sang and from the Protestant hymns they sang in church (“History on”). The birth of Gospel music first came about in the South before it was finally spread to the rest of America (White). First it went through Minstrel shows, then Vaudeville, and finally through records (White). Many of the songs and melodies were embraced by white Americans and has a great influence on religion and popular American music (White). It was common for the slaves to perform for their masters, and later they would perform in large ensembles in front of a polite white crowd (White). Many of the churches that are still in service today revolve around Gospel music. Gospel had eventually evolved into a type of music called