Final answer:
The earliest instrumental blues borrowed from the stylings of blues singers, drawing heavily on African-American spirituals and work songs, while reflecting African musical traditions and bearing influence from European musical elements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The earliest instrumental blues predominantly borrows from the stylings of blues singers. Blues as a genre evolved from a mix of African-American spirituals, work songs, and the lived experiences of blacks in the South. This music has its foundations in African musical traditions, which include an emphasis on percussion and syncopated rhythms, as well as the characteristic use of bent or blue notes. The blues was a reflection of the African-American experience and laid the groundwork for various forms of American music, such as jazz, gospel, and later, rock and roll.
Significant figures like W. C. Handy captured these rhythms and codified them in sheet music. Musicians like Bessie Smith and her collaborations with influencers like Louis Armstrong further solidified the blues as a major American music genre during the Harlem Renaissance. The influence from African and European musical traditions is evident in the call-and-response patterns, the spiritual lyrical themes, and the hybrid rhythms that became quintessentially blues.