Cajon

=Cajon=

Culture (Music)
A cajon is a box-shaped percussion instrument, originally from Peru. It is generally played by slapping the front or back of the box, usually made of a thin wood, with the hands, fingers, or sometimes other items such as brushes, sticks, or a mallet type device. Cajones are mostly played in Afro-Peruvian music, as well as more modern music styles such as flamenco and jazz. The word or term “cajon” is also associated with other box drums used in Latin-American music and Mexican folk music.

Very thin pieces of wood are used to construct the cajon, with the front or ‘striking’ surface being the thinnest and called the “tapa.” There is also a sound hole in the back of the box. The edges are often left unattached so they can be tapped or hit against the box to produce another sound. Modern versions of the cajon have rubber feet, strings or stretched cords attached to make a buzzing sound, but the original cajon was just a wooden box or sometimes a dresser drawer. The player will sit on top of the box, tilting it a bit, and playing it between their knees.

The cajon has been widely used since the 18th century when the slaves began to use it in Afro-Peruvian music. The drum was made by African slaves and could be descendant from the box-like drums in the Antilles or Angola. It is possible that they could have been adapted from the shipping crates on Spanish ships while traveling from Africa to South America. In port cities, crates and drawers became instruments. Another theory is that the cajones, or box drums, were made from any boxes, crates, etc, as a way for the slaves to avoid the ban of musical instruments put on them by the Spanish. They could be disguised as seats, or stools, and not recognized as an instrument easily. It is probably a combination of African heritage and the bans placed on African slaves by the Spanish.

Today, the cajon can be heard all over the world in many different music venues, but in Peru it is used in Coastal Peruvian musical styles. It usually accompanies piano or acoustic guitar. A cajon is very portable and is starting to be widely used instead of a full drum set by different genres of music. The cajon is even being used more often in Irish music.

By: Laura Reed