Cajons

The Cajon Drum is a boxed shaped wooden drum originating from both Peru and Cuba from African influences.  In Cuba the cajon is used in the Rumba, an Afro-Cuban song/dance/drum style.  And in Peru, the cajon drum is used in Afro/Peruvian music. 

There are a variety of cajon drums on the market today in all shapes and sizes, but primarliy there are two types:  String Cajon & Snare Cajon.  Both the Snare Cajon and String Cajon give a snap, crackle, pop sound and tension can be adjusted on almost any most models.

More info on Cajons:

Cajon drum is an instrument brought in by the slaves and popularised in the 1800s in Peru, the Cajon drum has become the most popular influence in the dance style music called the Rumba. This box shaped percussion instrument is played by slapping the front face of the instrument with your hands.

Like many traditional instruments that we developed under the influence of different cultures, the Cajon also has no clear point of origin. While some believe it was developed by the slaves once they came to America, others contest that the instrument was brought from West Africa. But the most popularly accepted one is that slaves used cartons and boxes available to create music to fight the music ban decreed in the Spanish colonies.

The drum is covered on five sides with a thick wood. A thin sheet of plywood is used to create the striking surface on the sixth side with a sound hole cut out on the side opposite the head. You will need to sit astride the box, tilt it slightly and the play by striking it with your hands. Today the instrument has evolved to include percussive timbre with some versions having a strings stretched across the striking face.

There are many new styles of the Cajon – the Box Cajon, the Conga Cajon and the Laptop Cajon. You can choose your Cajon based on the style of music you want to produce. The Box Cajon is the most commonly preferred type by Cajon drum and today is widely used as an alternative percussion instrument in bands.

A large number of music styles have adopted the Cajon as their primary instrument. The Cuban, Coastal Peruvian and MusicaCriolla, Tondero and Zamacueca are a few of the music styles that have been influenced by the Cajon style of drumming. The modern dance styles of Flamenco and Rumba have also been greatly influenced by the beats from the Cajon drums.

These amazing instruments have the capability of producing a wide variety of tones including bass tones, high-pitched slaps and even snare drum effects can be achieved. The wide variety and configuration enable the drummer to produce many different sounds and easily adapt to playing in different musical styles. A Cajon can basically be used anywhere were traditional hand drums and drum sets are used.

If you are an avid drummer then you should certainly try your hand with the Cajon drums. It will definitely surprise you.