Cajons: The coolest and most versatile percussion instrument you've never heard of!

[ModerationNow!]

Imagine a wooden box you sit on and slap with your fingers and palms(or sticks and brushes), creating many different sounds, of different pitches, which seamlessly fits into almost any musical genre you can think of..... It's called a cajon(pronounced "kah-hone"), and they come in many sizes, styles and finishes, made by a myriad of large companies and small 'microbrewery' cajon companies.

The guy in the 2nd video showcases the many potential sounds from a single cajon. The guy in the 1st video shows several different models, and he also illustrates another technique for modifying the sound by moving his heel up and down the front plate, to change its tension and sound.

 

[KevinKohler]

Looks like cultural appropriation, to me.

 

[ModerationNow!]

Looks like cultural appropriation, to me.

You're joking right?

 

[KevinKohler]

You're joking right?

Lol, yeah.


I'm the last person that would ever seriously utter the words cultural appropriation. Its right up there with triggered.

 

[ModerationNow!]

Lol, yeah.


I'm the last person that would ever seriously utter the words cultural appropriation. Its right up there with triggered.

I'm so glad to hear that, because it "triggered" me!! Lol. The ironic thing about your comment was that I had just posted an angry remark to a leftist on a cajon tutorial, where this lady was OUTRAGED that the girl in the video was playing a cajon using the "foot slide" method of changing the tone of the instrument, because the girl wasnt 100% clear that she didn't invent the foot slide idea. That TRIGGERED the leftist woman, who angrily accused her of "cultural appropriation", followed by a multi-paragraph, anti-caucasian rant, about how whites "steal inventions and ideas from other races and cultures"!

So, I responded to that nonsense by pointing out that EVERYONE uses things from other cultures and races, and that IT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A COMPLIMENT, NOT AN INSULT"! Chances are, much of the technology that lady used to post her racist rant, was invented and produced by members of OTHER RACES, but she doesn't seem to have any issue with "appropriating" that technology!

 

[KevinKohler]

I'm so glad to hear that, because it "triggered" me!! Lol. The ironic thing about your comment was that I had just posted an angry remark to a leftist on a cajon tutorial, where this lady was OUTRAGED that the girl in the video was playing a cajon using the "foot slide" method of changing the tone of the instrument, because the girl wasnt 100% clear that she didn't invent the foot slide idea. That TRIGGERED the leftist woman, who angrily accused her of "cultural appropriation", followed by a multi-paragraph, anti-caucasian rant, about how whites "steal inventions and ideas from other races and cultures"!

So, I responded to that nonsense by pointing out that EVERYONE uses things from other cultures and races, and that IT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A COMPLIMENT, NOT AN INSULT"! Chances are, much of the technology that lady used to post her racist rant, was invented and produced by members of OTHER RACES, but she doesn't seem to have any issue with "appropriating" that technology!

Well, that just means you're not woke, bro.

 

[ModerationNow!]

Well, that just means you're not woke, bro.

Yeah, unfortunately I know all too well what "woke" actually means. I'd rather be 'sleep!

 

[southwest88]

Imagine a wooden box you sit on and slap with your fingers and palms(or sticks and brushes), creating many different sounds, of different pitches, which seamlessly fits into almost any musical genre you can think of..... It's called a cajon(pronounced "kah-hone"), and they come in many sizes, styles and finishes, made by a myriad of large companies and small 'microbrewery' cajon companies.

The guy in the 2nd video showcases the many potential sounds from a single cajon. The guy in the 1st video shows several different models, and he also illustrates another technique for modifying the sound by moving his heel up and down the front plate, to change its tension and sound.

...

Yah, I ran down the origin. As it looks, it's cajón, a Spanish word (for box - you can type in the word in your browser & get the pronunciation). I'm used to seeing it in Flamenco music & other traditional Spanish music. The idea shows up in a lot of places & cultures, so it's good to see it's still out & about in the World.

 

[ModerationNow!]

Yah, I ran down the origin. As it looks, it's cajón, a Spanish word (for box - you can type in the word in your browser & get the pronunciation). I'm used to seeing it in Flamenco music & other traditional Spanish music. The idea shows up in a lot of places & cultures, so it's good to see it's still out & about in the World.

I had never seen nor heard of the cajon prior to randomly encountering a video about them a few years ago. But apparently there are quite a few "percussion related" instruments out there that I'd never heard of til recently. There's the cajinto, the hand pan, and the "tongue drum", which sounds really nice, and it seems more "durable" than the hand pan, because it's made of thicker metal, making it less likely to fall out of tune if you smack it too hard, or drop it or whatever:

 

[the Avatar]

My friends and I use the cajón quite a bit. It has some decent sound variety, and it works as a minimalist alternative to much more expensive drum sets. It fills a good niche in a lot of casual acoustic music settings. Most importantly it's pretty portable and more forgiving for newer percussionists.

Personally, I think a lot of cheaper cajones have too little bass and too much snare. It's pretty easy to muffle the snares and then slightly unscrew the top corners of a lot of them, but you can't really improve a weaker bass sound.

 

[ModerationNow!]

My friends and I use the cajón quite a bit. It has some decent sound variety, and it works as a minimalist alternative to much more expensive drum sets. It fills a good niche in a lot of casual acoustic music settings. Most importantly it's pretty portable and more forgiving for newer percussionists.

Personally, I think a lot of cheaper cajones have too little bass and too much snare. It's pretty easy to muffle the snares and then slightly unscrew the top corners of a lot of them, but you can't really improve a weaker bass sound.

What do you think of this model, the Meinl "Jumbo Bass (Subwoofer) Cajon"?
It seems to have some nice, punchy, low frequency bass capability. It sells for $199.



Or this different Meinl "Subwoofer Cajon", which sells for $149: