Music History II at Barbados Community College.

1. The Work Song and
Negro Spiritual
www.stefanwalcott.com
music.culture.music

2. Work Song
• In traditional African
societies music is
connected to all daily
activities and cultural
rituals.
• Large number of
Africans transported to
the American South to
work on plantations of
tobacco, sugar or
cotton.

3. The Work Song
• The work song was the first genre of music ‘created’ by Blacks
in America.
• Founded on African music principles.

4. • No recorded work
songs from
slavery.
• Prison song very
similar to what a
slave period work
song would have
been like.

5. Musical Points to Remember: WS
• Unaccompanied.
• Solo voice with choral response.
• Sung in dialect.
• Usually slow/reflective of work activity.
• American WS: Melismatic lines with numerous blues note
inflections. (b3, #4)

6. Social Points to Remember:
WS
• A pre-Emancipation music.
• Sung in dialect due to lack of grammatical knowledge.
• Not a genre played for pleasure.

7. Musical Example
• Ol Alabama - Prison Songs Vol. 1: Murderous Home

8. Negro Spiritual
• Slaves were originally thought of as not having
souls.
• Religion was HUGE part of African societies.
• Conversion reasons:
1. African religious practices were prohibited
2. Certain African tribes traditionally added their
conquerors gods in to their pantheon.

9. Negro Spiritual Characteristics
• Musically the old N. S. will have many of the
characteristics of the W.S.
• The lyric now contains Christian references.
• Note these references were based on stories of
tribulation and deliverance.
• Two types of Spiritual: Jubilee and Sorrow.
• Popular examples: Wade in Water, When the
Saints Go Marching In

10. “Classical” and “Traditional”
Negro Spiritual
• Since the late 1800s, Negro Spirituals were performed using
classical choral singing techniques.
• Fiske Jubilee Singers was one of the first groups to do this.
• Traditional Negro spiritual however uses many African music
approaches.

11. Point to Remember: NS
• Lyrics show an increased command of English as compared
with W.S.
• Christian lyric of deliverance or sorrow.

12. Musical Examples
• Wade in the Water Discs. 1-4

13. www.stefanwalcott.com
music.culture.music