Not all Cajóns are created equal. Some are designed to sound much bigger and fuller than others. Very few have an electronic jack for amplification, so miking it up might be necessary at certain gigs.
What Musicians Play Cajóns?
In my experience, I’ve seen everyone from professional drummers to young kids playing Cajóns. In addition, they’re great for writing sessions and for hanging out with your friends around a campfire.
It’s a very easy instrument to pick up and start playing. Cajóns have gained a lot of popularity as of late due to their portability and great sound output.
Can You Add a Cajón to a Traditional Drum Set?
You can. By using a special kick drum pedal, you can set up your Cajón next to your hi-hat (for example) and play your Cajón with your left foot on the kick pedal. This setup isn’t the most user-friendly and you probably won’t get the best tone from your box drum in this situation.
Are Cajóns Loud Enough to Upset the Neighbors?
If you live in an apartment or condominium complex, a box drum will be loud enough to upset your neighbors. Be sure to respect them the best you can and see if you can arrange a time when you can play your Cajón. We all like our peace and quiet, too.
Is There Any Way to Make one DIY?
If you’re a handy person, you can build your own Cajón for about $25, thanks to this handy guide. They instruct you to use plywood for the drum faces, but if you wanted to go for a better sound, you could instead use a solid hardwood like mahogany.
A DIY project may sound like a good idea, but unless you’re a master craftsman, this project could get intense.
Schlagwek MyCajon Construction Kit
If you still want to build your own cajón, but lack the tools to cut materials, Schlagwerk makes a cajón you can assemble yourself. The kit includes pre-cut pressboard, prefabricated parts, tension belts, spacer, and quick-drying adhesive.
How to Play Cajón: Best Resources to Start Learning
The Cajón is a very simple instrument. Here’s the basic rundown: You sit on top of the drum box and using both your hands, hit the box in different areas.
You’ll notice near the top of the drum box when slapped, you will hear an articulate, snappy sound. When striking the Cajón with your palm in the middle, you will get a more bass-heavy tone. Using these two sounds in conjunction with one another is the best way to start playing simple grooves.
YouTube is an excellent resource for learning how to play the Cajón. If you’re completely new to playing, check out some videos and watch how people are playing. Try to emulate the motions and grooves you see. Here’s a video that details the basics.
A Brief History of the Cajón
At its purest form, the Cajón is a drum, a stand, and a seat, all in one. The simplicity of this design may have been key in allowing this instrument to travel many miles across multiple continents and cultures.
Despite its simplicity, the drum box remains to be one of the most popular percussion instruments played today.
The Cajón Originates from West Africa
The word Cajón is a literal translation from Spanish meaning box. We see the Cajón in many cultures spanning across several continents and generations. In West Africa, the indigenous people had (and still have) musical traditions that were rich in rhythm and dance.
Their drums originated from carved logs, made with chisels. Some popular variants include the djembe, bongos, conga, and batá drums. Djembes, like Cajóns, are also very popular hand drums.
Drum circles across the world have grown and many major drum manufacturers have taken notice, creating popularized versions of these hand-made drums.
The development of the Cajón can be traced back to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Many slaves were captured and brought to the Americas. They had brought the culture with them, but not their drums.
The slaves did not possess the ability to craft or create their own traditional drums, so they improvised using boxes, crates, or anything else that they could find that would work as a drum. Shipping crates would create the blueprint for the modern-day Cajón. During this time, playing music or instruments was banned by the slavers.
Their inconspicuous appearance may have played a role in keeping this culture alive, as owners did not want their slaves engaging in musical entertainment. An Afro-Peruvian culture was born, and new forms of dance and music were created. The Cajón had become a dedicated instrument native to this culture.
The abolition of slavery also brought the Cajón to new populations of people and continents.
- During the 18th century, all forms of drums and drumming were banned
- People in power believed that drumming threatened their authority
- Peruvian port cities began noticing an unusual number of crates and boxes being used as instruments by slaves
- While we don’t know the exact time the Cajón was born, one of the first images of a drum box was in a drawing by Peruvian artist Ignacio Merino, dated 1841
Peru is a major exporter of Cajóns and other percussion instruments still to this day due to one of its native sons, Alex Acuña.
In its rawest form, the Cajón is a six-sided wooden instrument with a sound hole cut into the back. The front panel is referred to as the tapa and is made from a thinner wood than the rest of the box.
The tapa provides the necessary resonance to create both a boomy bass tone and a slappy snare sound. The primary role of a Cajón is an accompaniment instrument.
The Cajita and its relationship to the Cajón
Peru is also the innovator behind another cool percussion instrument: the cajita. The cajita is a small, wooden box with a lid, originally used to collect money in churches.
The cajita usually hangs from one’s neck and is struck with a small mallet or stick while opening and closing the lid.
Is the Peruvian Cajón the only variant of drum boxes?
No. Peru wasn’t the only country to be developing the Cajón. At the same time, Afro-Cuban dock workers were similarly using candle crates as instruments.
From the streets of port cities like Havana and Matanzas, we got wonderful styles of music like rumba: Columbia, guaguanco, and yambu.
The Cuban Cajón was different as most of them were five-sided and shaped like a pyramid. Cuban Cajóns are generally held in the lap and pitched in high, medium, and low tones.
The pitch and melody of these instruments are far more important in rumba than its Peruvian counterpart.
The Cajón’s rise in Western popularity with flamenco music
Far after the invention of the Cajón, the box drum eventually made its way back to Spain. Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia and Brazilian percussionist Rubem Dantas discovered drum boxes while traveling on tour in the 70s.
The Cajón quickly gained popularity in the flamenco scene, as prior to this time, percussion instruments used were mostly hands and feet. At this time, musicians began experimenting with snare wires and guitar strings stretched inside the Cajón, giving it a characteristic that resembled a buzz-like snare sound.
It gave it a sound closer to a drum set. The Cajón has since been used in genres like folk, jazz, blues, and rock.
The Modern-Day Cajón
The use of Cajóns in the modern day has vastly changed from what they were originally intended for. You can now hear Cajóns on records, at acoustic shows, and on the busy streets of major cities.
I recently saw an interesting video of musicians jamming together using a Cajón, a kalimba, and a djembe. There’s no right or wrong.
Modern musicians have adapted new designs, adding guitar and pianos strings, drum snares, tambourine cymbals, and even adopted the use of mallets and brushes for playing drum boxes.
