This article is about the Peruvian instrument. For the city, see El Cajon, California. El Cajon (ɛlkəˈhoʊn Spanish elkaˈxon is a city in San Diego County, California, United States.

A cajón (pronounced /ka'xɔn/) (plural: Cajones; not cajons) (Spanish for 'crate', 'drawer', or 'box') is a kind of box drum played by slapping the front face (generally thin plywood) with the hands. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone.

Origins and Evolution

Modificated cajón, traditional cajones have the hole at the back, opposite the tapa

The cajón is the most widely used Afro-Peruvian musical instrument in the 20th century. ^[1]

Slaves of West and Central African origin in the Americas, specifically Peru, are considered to be the source of the cajón drum; though the instrument is common in musical performance throughout the Americas, especially Cuba. In Cuba, the cajón is associated with the Afro-Cuban drum/song/dance style known as rumba, while in Peru it is associated with several Afro-Peruvian genres. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America.

The cajón was most likely developed in coastal Peru during the early 1800s. ^[2] 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. ^[3]

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. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central The Antilles (the same in French; Antillas in Spanish; Antillen in Dutch) refers to the islands forming the greater part of the These instruments were adapted by Peruvian slaves from the Spanish shipping crates at their disposal. ^[4] In port cities like Matanzas, Cuba they used cod-fish shipping crates. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la 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. ^[5] 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.

Early usage of the Peruvian cajón was to accompany Tondero and Zamacueca (old version of Marinera) dances. Tondero is a Dance and Guitar rhythm from the Peruvian north coast ( Piura - Lambayeque) The Cueca is the national Dance of Chile, where it was officially selected on September 18 1979, and Bolivia.

In contemporary times, the instrument became an integral important part of Peruvian music and Cuban music. Peruvian music is an amalgamation of sounds and styles drawing on Peru 's Andean musical roots and Spanish musical influences The Caribbean island of Cuba has developed a wide range of creolized musical styles based on its cultural origins in Europe and Africa

In the 1970s the instrument was introduced to Flamenco music by guitarist Paco de Lucía. Flamenco is a Spanish term that refers both to a musical genre known for its intricate rapid passages and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez (in Algeciras, Cádiz on December 21, 1947) is a Spanish composer and guitarist

The drum

Cajón player demonstrating typical hand positions on a cajón.

Half to three quarter inch thick wood was generally used for five sides of the box. A thin sheet of plywood was nailed on as the sixth side and acted as the striking surface or head. A sound hole was cut on the back side opposite the head or tapa.

The top edges were often left unattached and could be slapped against the box. The player sat astride the box, tilting it at an angle while striking the head between his knees. The modern cajón has several screws at the top for adjusting percussive timbre and may sport rubber feet. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different Some versions may also have several vertically stretched cords pressed against the tapa for a buzz like effect or tone. Guitar strings, rattles or drum snares may serve this purpose. The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically The percussionist can play the sides with the top of his palms and fingers for additional sounds. There are also tube cajón, which are played like a conga. The conga is tall narrow single-headed Cuban Drum of African origin probably derived from the Congolese Makuta drums or Sikulu

Today

Today, the cajón is heard extensively in Cuban, Coastal Peruvian or Musica criolla musical styles: Tondero, Zamacueca and Peruvian Waltz, modern Flamenco and certain styles of modern Rumba. Música criolla is a Peruvian genre of music which combines mainly African, Spanish and Andean influences Tondero is a Dance and Guitar rhythm from the Peruvian north coast ( Piura - Lambayeque) Marinera is a coastal dance of Peru, generally called the "National Dance of Peru Flamenco is a Spanish term that refers both to a musical genre known for its intricate rapid passages and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork In Cuban music, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances The cajón was introduced into flamenco in only the 1970s by guitarist Paco de Lucía. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez (in Algeciras, Cádiz on December 21, 1947) is a Spanish composer and guitarist While in Peru, he was given the cajón by percussionist Caitro Soto. Pedro Carlos Soto de la Colina, popularly known as Caitro Soto (born in San Luis Cañete Province, Peru, October 23, 1934 - In the Paco de Lucia sextet, the cajón is played by Brazilian percussionist Rubem Dantas. In 1994, Dantas learned of a technique employing the pressure of the left foot on the front of the cajón to change pitch from a San Jose, CA cajonador named Mike Masuda. This pitch changing technique--derived from Peruvian-style cajón foot muting--is now common in flamenco.

The modern cajón is often used to accompany the acoustic guitar and is showing up on worldwide stages in contemporary music. Matt Krueger, Royal Flush and the Jacks of All Trades, Nine Mile, Jennifer Lopez, The Dixie Chicks, Ozomatli, Fleetwood Mac, Alejandro Sanz with Destiny's Child, Los Lobos, Anastacia, Atom Willard, Ben Harper, Nada Surf, Violent Femmes, Gaelic Storm, Sara Groves, Scott Matthews, Gipsy Kings, Red Wanting Blue, Sandi Thom, Megson, Tyrone Wells with Mark Chipello and the popular Spanish flamenco/rock/rumba duo Estopa, Norah Jones and The Coronas have all recently featured the cajón either on stage or television, and some have used it in the recording of their albums. Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July The Dixie Chicks are a multiple Grammy Award -winning Country music group composed of three women Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, and Emily Ozomatli is a multiethnic currently eight piece band (although they have had as many as ten members and as few as six playing primarily Latin hip hop and rock formed in Fleetwood Mac are a British / American Alejandro Sanz, born Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro on December 18 1968 in Madrid, is an Award winning Spanish pop / Destiny's Child (sometimes referred to as DC or DC3) was an R&B and pop Girl group comprising lead singer Beyoncé Knowles Los Lobos ("The Wolves" are an American Rock band. They are 3-time Grammy Award winners Anastacia (born Anastacia Lyn Newkirk on September 17 1968 is a Multi-platinum American singer and songwriter Adam David Willard (born August 15, 1973 in San Diego, California) known professionally by his stage name Atom, is an American Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American Musician. Nada Surf is an American Alternative rock band Formed in 1992 the New York band consists of Matthew Caws ( Guitar, vocals The Violent Femmes, formed in Milwaukee Wisconsin, in 1980 are an American Alternative rock band noted for laying the groundwork for Folk punk. Gaelic Storm is a highly-acclaimed Celtic band Their music ranges from traditional Irish and Scottish music Sara Groves (born September 10, 1972 in Burnsville Minnesota) is an American Singer/songwriter. This article is about a British musician For an Australian musician named Scott Matthew, see corresponding article Gipsy Kings are a music group from Arles and Montpellier, France. Tyrone Wells is a singer/songwriter in the Folk pop genre from Spokane Washington. Estopa are a popular Spanish rock/rumba duo from Cornellà, Spain. The Coronas are an Irish four-piece rock - indie - alternative band from Terenure in Dublin. Seth Lakeman has used the Cajón both in recordings and when playing live, integrating it with his unique brand of traditional British folk music. Seth Bernard Lakeman (born March 26, 1977 in Yelverton Devon) is an English folk singer Songwriter, and Musician The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous

As the instrument gains recognition, major drum & percussion companies are following the lead of custom builders and bringing the instruments to a wider audience. At the same time, the cajón continues to evolve.

Puerto Rican musician Pedro Barriera designed "wooden bongos".

In the Philippines, it has ushered a new breed of percussionists in the "acoustic" club circuit. The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP

In 2001 the Cajón was declared "National Patrimony" by the Peruvian National Institute of Culture.

Notes

See also

• Afro-Peruvian
• Cañete
• Afro-peruvian music
• Flamenco
• Peru

External links

• How to Build a Cajón