Cookes Blog

The rise and rise of the cajon.
 

The cajon (pronounced ca-hon) has seen a huge increase in popularity in the last few years. Its compact, portable and can be played by beginners and advanced players alike. As you'd expect there is plenty of tuition available on YouTube these days but as a newcomer to the instrument myself I've been able to play a few basic grooves with relative ease. Although it helps if you have some experience of drum-kit playing or hand-drumming, even a non-percussionist should find this an easy to pick-up instrument for providing an back-beat to any musical set-up.

Here at Cookes we carry a range of cajons from the new STAGG junior cajon through to the popular PEARL Fibreglass "Boom-Box" cajon with its fibreglass body and unusual sound-port that gives a bottom-end "thump" like no other I've heard. Some use guitar-strings internally and some use snare wires. Snare wires tend to be a little more sensitive or "hissy" whereas the guitar-strings provide a tighter "snap", however both are usually adjustable.

Because of the rise in popularity of this instrument a number of manufacturers have introduced cajon "add-ons" to the market. The PEARL jingle-cup (adds a jingle sound to your cajon), the Rhythm-Ring (a shaker-style ring that hisses as you play your cajon), the MEINL foot tambourine (attaches to your shoe to create a jingle sound when you move your foot) and perhaps the most innovative, the GIBRALTAR Cajon Pedal (turns your cajon into a bass drum to form the foundation of a street/busking drumkit).

With the refurbishment of our drum deparment, we now have a section with all of our cajons out and ready to play. Hear the difference between the various drums and make an informed decision about which one is best for you.

So if you find yourself tapping away on things and are interested in getting into percussion but don't have the space for a full drumset OR you are an existing drumkit player but are looking for a portable, compact instrument to play drumset grooves either busking, jamming or at smaller venues, then the mighty cajon might just be the instrument for you.

Simon.