John Dyson, a former slave, playing the accordion in the 1940s.

Slave Music

For nearly 250 years, slaves were forced to endure harsh treatment from their owners in the New World. During the first half of the 1800s, one of the things that helped slaves survive such terrible conditions was music. Using land, culture and their daily life as inspiration, slaves would sing, dance and play the banjo, fiddle and drum while they worked -- all of which was forbidden by their owners.

One of the most popular types of songs to emerge from slavery was the Negro Spiritual. While work songs were inspired by daily plantation life, spirituals were inspired by religious beliefs. They were also a way of sharing the hard conditions of being a slave.

After the slaves were emancipated, or freed, in 1863, slave music eventually led to the birth of what we know as American music. Some of the most popular types of American music -- blues, jazz and rock 'n roll -- were started by African Americans.