Final answer:
Songs served as a way for slaves to pass messages, maintain language and culture during the Middle Passage, and express emotions. Coded spirituals and work songs allowed discreet communication of escape plans and resistance, while the act of singing was a form of emotional relief and communal connection.
Step-by-step explanation:
Songs were an essential tool for slaves to communicate messages for multiple reasons. Firstly, their melodies and rhythms helped dissolve language barriers during the Middle Passage, creating a shared mode of communication. Secondly, songs like 'Go Down Moses' contained coded messages about escape and freedom, which were understood among the slaves but often overlooked by their masters. Thirdly, the act of singing offered emotional relief; slaves often sang to express sorrow rather than happiness, as noted by Frederick Douglass.
Slaves also used musical traditions such as calls and 'patting juba' to signal one another across plantations discreetly. The double meanings in work songs provided a way to comment on their harsh lives while maintaining an appearance of innocuousness to their overseers. Lastly, by creating their own versions of European hymns and continuing to hold dances and practice spirituals, slaves maintained a sense of community and resistance against the oppressive conditions of slavery.