Although our African American history students thought that African slaves sang a lot of folk songs. Africans could invent anything to help them get through their workday. When slaves on the plantation work, it helps them function better by singing songs. According to Black Culture and Black Consciousness by Lawrence W. Levine, a former slave said, “we picked cotton and sang, picked cotton and sang all day.” Music was a daily part of every slave's life. Singing together makes the task at hand more bearable. It would have been very difficult to overcome slavery without music and without other people to share music with. The picking and singing of cotton shows a certain rhyme. Slave songs were an outlet that allowed each individual and group of slaves to express themselves without judgment. Songs were a way to creatively express the emotions and feelings of the master and neighbors. Slave songs gave slaves the freedom to express themselves and how they felt about each other. The psychological aspect of salvo chanting was explained by the high priest Ashanti. He asserted: "...man and woman, free man and slave, should have the freedom to say what is on their mind, to tell their neighbor what they think of them and their actions, and not only to their neighbor, but also to their neighbor. also the king or chief (9). People should have the freedom to express themselves, whether through songs or lyrics, it helps them heal their soul. When people are not allowed to express how they feel to their leaders and neighbors, they can be hurt and their souls become sick. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Slave songs have a leader, someone who would start the song, someone who has a strong voice and rhythm. After the leader sang the first line, the other slaves would join in and sing the chorus. After the chorus there is another solo line, then another brief chorus and then a longer chorus. The way they knew what to sing was through environment. One of the lines that the slaves sang was known to everyone. The other lines they sang came from their surroundings. They would make up a song about anything. “Some of them were full of crude wit, and a lucky stroke always attracted a thunderous chorus among the rowers…”(7). Slaves sometimes composed songs that made fun of their mistress or master. They sang with words they didn't understand. To the outside audience it makes no sense, only the singers know what they are talking about. There are different types of slave songs: country songs, work songs and social songs. No matter what the song is about, they always sing together. In slave songs, singers do not pay much attention to rhythm or the number of syllables in a line coming together. Slaves composed songs about whatever type of work they did to make the day go by. For example, these slaves would cut down trees and sing a song like this: "A frosty col' mo'nin' Niggers feel good Take your ax to your shoulder, Nigger. Talk to the wood. Songs like these are not written down on paper before being delivered to the public. The leader would find a rhythm as he cut interlocking trees. This kind of singing allows everyone to create a certain complicity at the same time..