How it started: The origins of spirituals go back much further than the blues, usually dating back to the 18 th and 19 th century, when the slaves were Christianized and began to sing and play Christian hymns which were very popular. Families were often split up, many cchildren were taken from their parents and Many husbands from their wives but from slavery, it created the genre Jazz and Blues.

Thousands of Africans were taken from their country (mainly West Africa) and sent to America to become slaves and work for the white people. Life was horrible for the Africans because they were treated badly, just because of their skin colour. The darker their colour, the more badly they were treated. They were auctioned off to different white people. What the African people did bring along with them was their music. Music was an important part of their lives because it would keep them motivated. It was also a way for them to express their unhappiness. They could sing religious song, using vocal harmony. When they were working on their tasks, they also sang their songs. Since the late 19 th Century, the genre started to spread. The African slaves also made their own instruments, the most popular instrument used were the drums. It was played in different ways: with the palms of their hands, using a stick or using their fingertips. One reason drums were a popular instrument because it could be made easily.

In some states in America, Africans were forbidden to touch instruments because their owners thought they might use it to communicate secret messages and cause a rebellion however the Africans made their own instruments. A few different instruments Africans made were banjo’s which were a type of a guitar and drum. The banjo is a four, five or six stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame. Usually the membrane is made out of animal skin. Jaw bones were turned into percussion instruments by scraping it with a metal object e.g. keys. A few other instruments they made were shakers, shakers could be easily made by putting rice into a something (e.g. Bottles.) They also made wood blocks, scrapers and fiddles which were a type of violin. Africans also used to mainly play off beat rhythms. An off beat rhythm is playing the beat 2 and 4. An on beat is play the is playing the beat 1 and 3.