The term 'Blues' was used in America long before the Blues were born. To say 'I've got the blues' in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century meant to be tired of the monotony. Later in the same century it would mean unhappiness. No one knows exactly when or where the Blues began. It is said that, together with the black slaves brought from western Africa to the south of the United States, came the roots to what we know today as the Blues. The Africans brought an instrument called banjo. It was first made of a kind of pumpkin, a piece of wood and five strings. The banjo has developed through the years and, though it was not the instrument that formed the Blues, it contributed to develop the techniques that preceded the Blues. But the banjo developed to be an instrument used by white musicians. The afro-american way of singing needed an instrument for its lower timbre and slower tempo. The guitar was then the solution for them. It also had other characteristics which were necessaries for a popular instrument: it was relatively cheap, easy for transportation and could be played along with many other instruments. The guitar became then the instrument of the Blues.