Cajon - Percussion Instrument

CAJON

Name and Design

A cajón (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈxon] (Ka-hon), "box", "crate" or "drawer") is nominally a six sided, box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes various implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks.

We were playing accoutics music when we were in high school in Viet Nam.

link video for Cajon performance example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn0E7Xjli2s&feature=youtu.be&t=2m55s

When African Slaves were brought to South-America, they were not allowed to play drums. They started to use simple wooden boxes and shipping crates as substitutes. The Cajon was born. The English translation of the spanish word “Caja” is “box”. With time, the Cajon was developed as an instrument, and nowdays many different variations exist. Check out the Comparison Cajon Video at the bottom of the page to get an idea.

It is relatively easy to produce the basic sounds on the Cajon, and the Instrument is getting more and more popular. When you search for Cajon videos on youtube, you will find examples of Flamenco, Peruano, Cuban, Pop, Rock, Acustic and many other musical styles.

Origins and Evolution

The cajón is the most widely used Afro-Peruvian musical instrument since the late 18th century.^[2] Slaves of west and central African origin in the Americas, specifically Perú, are considered to be the source of the cajón drum. Currently, the instrument is common in musical performance throughout some of the Americas and Spain.

The cajón was developed during the periods of slavery in coastal Perú, where it is associated with several Afro-Peruvian genres. The instrument reached a peak in popularity by 1850, and by the end of the 19th century cajón players were experimenting with the design of the instrument by bending some of the planks in the cajón's body to alter the instrument's patterns of sound vibration.^[2] After slavery the cajón was spread to a much larger audience including Criollos.

Cajon in Music.

Since the snare was introduced to the Cajon, the sound of the instrument became very similar to the sound of a drumset. For this reason many musicians that play popular music and would usually perform with a drumset appreciate the cajon for softer acustic settings. Nowadays you can also find additions to the cajon such as special hihats or jingle sticks and it sounds also great when played with brushes.

Cajon is popular in Pop, Flamenco,... but the most famous of Cajon is in Acoutics music.

In conclusion

i'm Vietnamese people, but i'm presenting about Peru original instrument. have you known the reason yet? Yes, Cajon sticks to my student's life. Almost student in Viet Nam know and love acoutics music, they can play together in park, in music class or free class in school. they also submerge in music to become singer in future. day by day, Cajon is more popular and will survive in music world.

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About Minh Nguyen

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