Spirituals were passed orally from person to person, and the folksongs were improvised as suited the singers. According to articles, there is record of approximately 6,000 spirituals; however due to the songs being passed orally and the oppression of the enslaved not being taught to read or write, it meant that the actual number of songs is unknown. Some of the best known negro spirituals are “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen”, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Go Down, Moses,” “He’s Got the Whole World in his Hand,” and “Wade in the Water.”
Call and response, slow and melodic and fast and rhythmic are the three basic categories of negro spirituals.