Cajon drum

[PD.]

I was flickin thru a music store catalouge the other day and noticed this strange lookin wooden box called a cajon (pronounced Ca hone) I did a quick google and found it is a percussion instrument invented by african slaves in Peru way back when. I wanted one as soon as i saw

on youtube. Im always tappn my fingers on benches and tables etc much to the annoyance of ppl around me so i thought this is something i could REALLY annoy ppl with.

Does anyone here have or play a cajon? There doesnt seem to be much on tha net other than things on youtube in regards to playing one but id really like to know more about the inner workings of the things and if you can or need to tune the inside strings. It seems pretty straight forward but there just has to be more to it.

Anyone?

[incognito]

wow i thought you where talking about some kind of bbq on msn

[hebrew]

hey Pd yes i want a cajon as well, they are actually a flamenco instrument, spanish origins, i was not aware them being from slaves in peru, but you never know, spanish were in peru too.

basically they are a wooden box with one or two or maybe more guitar strings inside them. that is what create the vibrations

somewhere i have some plans how to build one, but i dont knwo where i will have to look through all my work crap to find it was going to build a few for my music students. but never got around to it.

i would love one though

i think the strings are tuned but i am not sure to what frequency

Edited November 24, 2009 by VelvetSiren

[PD.]

Well i got one on order but it wont be in till early next week. It seems that they all have "strings" inside them but one guy in Australia is making them with a snare spring(?) inside it that you can adjust for different sounds, lil bit pricey for me but at 4 to 5 hunner a pop. Plenty of pages on tha net on how to make one but im lazee and for 130bux which includes a big arse travel bag for it i couldnt resist.

The cajón was most likely developed in coastal Peru during the early 1800s.[1] 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.[1]

Knowing that the cajón comes from slave musicians in the Spanish colonial Americas, there are two complementary origin theories for the instrument. It is possible that the drum is a direct descendant of a number of boxlike musical instruments from west and central Africa, especially Angola, and the Antilles. These instruments were adapted by Peruvian slaves from the Spanish shipping crates at their disposal.[2] In port cities like Matanzas, Cuba they used cod-fish shipping crates. Elsewhere, small dresser drawers became instruments.

Another theory posits that slaves simply used boxes as musical instruments to combat contemporary Spanish colonial bans on music in predominantly African areas.[3] In this way, cajóns could easily be disguised as seats or stools, thus avoiding identification as musical instruments. In all likelihood it is a combination of these factors - African origins and Spanish suppression of slave music - that led to the cajón's creation.

- from wiki

btw VS, nat finally got some reeds, a book and dvd for tha clarinet today, thanks again mate

[hebrew]

interesting PD, i was always under the impression it was a spanish instrument, but to be honest i have not really looked into it a great deal, but those origins are really interesting. you know the peruvian mesa of the san pedro curanderos, has been suggested that it too comes from the african slaves hybridised with peruvian customs as well as catholic customs, a right hybrid, used as a framework for working with the spirits of the land there. i find it interesting this instrument has similar origins. i find all that stuff intriguing.

you can see many similarities with palo mayombe and the north peruvian mesa. in a book i have it mentions records from conquest days there and it documents a healer from that time, where he carries his mesa in a pot that is hidden away from people in a dark place i think, and this too you see in palo mayombe as they use a cauldren which is full of sticks, also known as palos, and in the mesa tradition these staffs are place at the top of the mesa as opposed to within the cauldren.

anyway off topic.

i am glad that instrument can get some use there with you. good stuff. if you have any questions i will do my best to help out.

and take some photos of your cajon when you get it, how cool and that is a good price ay.

[Chiral]

Try bongo's, tabla, Djemebe drums also...I have the same habit, every surface I touched I use to bang out some sort of rhythm. My dashboard, steering wheel, legs, any desk surface and even my little daughter I tap out rhythms. Roland have a wicked ass electronic hand drum module called The "Handsonic 2000", I've played one and fell in love it with, it has lots of small rubber pads that you can load different sounds onto and jam away creating nice long rhythmic sequences, but they are exy. Bongo's and Djemebe's are easier and cheaper to come by and can be an amazing amount of fun.

[PD.]

Got it yesterday.. You can tune the strings inside it which are just steel guitar strings and i have tightened them up fairly tight which seemed best for the snare drum sound. The bass drum sound depends on where you hit it and how but ya can get a good deep bass kick out of it aswell as some mid range toms effects. Looks like fairly basic construction, my guess is marine grade ply with a smaller grade ply for the front "skin" around 3ply or something. Wouldnt be too hard to knock one up i dont think and with the prices for some of them it would nearly be worth havin a go yaself with some nice aussie hardwoods. A bit of tassie myrtle veneer for the front would look nice.

[hebrew]

awesome PD, you lucky man, i want one, i think i will buy a few at work.

[tassiejd]

im in peru now and these drums are great, im going to go back to boliva before i go home just to buy one, great sound and great fun to play with