About The Cajon

The Cajon (pronounced Cahone) is a small wooden box type drum originating from Peru. Over time the Cajon has been used for different musical styles. It is now often seen in Flamenco music and is increasingly popular with acoustic folk, rock and pop. Although it is mainly a hand percussion instrument it can be played with brushes or beaters.

Types of Cajon Drum

There are three main types of Cajon. All Cajons tend to be made of plywood with a thin plywood playing surface supported by thicker sides. Cajons will also have a sound hole positioned at the back or to the side.

Traditional Cajon
The original version is a standard version with out the addition of and snare type effects.

Snare Cajon
My Cajon is a snare type. Inside the drum is a row of snare springs. These press against the front of the drum to give the drum a slight snare sound when played. There are a few other variations used to add a snare effect. Flamenco Cajons use nylon guitar strings and others use bells or rattles.

Hybrid Cajon
There are also some desigin variations out there. There is a lap Cajon which is a smaller laptop version. I have also seen versions with a sloped front surface and even Cajon Congas. Different materials have also been experimented with. Meinl offer a fiberglass playing surface and there are picture on the web of an all acrylic version.

This site covers Cajon playing techniques and rhythms for western styles.

All the techniques on this site are my own interpretations and adaptions of other percussion techniques. I don’t claim to be an expert but they seem to work for me.