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The music of Black men and women who entered the New World in chains, endured centuries of bondage, and emerged as African Americans has had a very important influence on the musical era known as "The Blues." The lyrics, themes, rhythms and culture of African American's and their slave songs lead to the early development of "The Blues."
"One of the most characteristic qualities of Black music in the slave era is its rhythm"(Brooks 11). In the times of slaves, many slave songs had a assured rhythm pattern. The pattern consisted of an articulation of the dotted half note followed by different dynamics stressed in an entire phrase. For example, in the song Go In The Wilderness, the song starts with an open chorus, which is then followed by an open progression, which is usually a 1-4-5 ratio. This is the same as in numerous blues songs from the 1930's to the 1950's. In other styles of music such as rock, rap, and jazz, the open note is emphasized on a 1-5-7 progression. "Many people categorized this as an open noted articulation" (Haskins 23).
"The call and response pattern is one of the readily recognized characteristics of some African American slave music" (Cohn 234)...