Cajon


The cajon - in German "box drum" - is a percussion instrument made of wood from Peru or Cuba. It has a drum-like sound and is played with the hands or with a broom or other accessories. You sit directly on the cajon and you can start drumming. In acoustic "unplugged" music, it also serves as a substitute for the kick drum and snare... [ Weiter ]

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The Cajon

Simple design but effective

If someone assumes a modern Cajon is a plain wooden drum with a simple sound, they will quickly be proven wrong with the first strike. Depending on how you play the Cajon and which areas you hit, you can produce deep, resonant, bass-heavy sounds or even snappy tones reminiscent of snare drums.
The construction of the Cajon is the key:
The body is typically made of glued wood. On the back, there is at least one soundhole for resonance. The entire body is covered with a thin striking surface at the front. This fundamental design already allows for an astonishing variety of percussive sounds. However, many Cajons come equipped with snare elements as standard or can be retrofitted with them. Directly behind the striking surface, you often find a guitar string or the typical snare carpet. When you strike the striking surface, these "snares" start vibrating. Depending on how tightly they are stretched, the snare effect varies in intensity.
Today, the Cajon is used as a rhythm instrument in all music genres. It is frequently used as a substitute for the bass drum and snare in acoustic music (unplugged) and has gained popularity in recent years, particularly in rock, pop, and folk-rock