Cajons

Cajón is the symbolic instrument of the black Peruvian community. Like many other South American percussion instruments the Cajon is a substitute for African drums, usually prohibited to the slaves brought to the New World.
The name describes what it is: a big box. It is said that the first cajons were the boxes of the fruit pickers of the coast region.
Also in Cuba, where the cajón exists and is played in certain styles of Rumba: the legend has it that fish crates were played as percussion.
Since then, the Cajón has been improved, until it got the conventional shape and construction that you see today.

The Cajón is played sitting on top of it, striking the front face. On the top side, the sound is sharp and high, while the centre gives a bass tone.
Mixing these different sounds with a wise dynamic playing gives a very effective and versatile way to play many styles of music.
Apart from its natural place, it can be used in virtually any acoustic setting, and with an adequate amplification, it suits even electronic music like Drum'n'bass. The similarity to a drumkit is quite impressive, and is also a lot lighter to carry around with a weight of 3kg.!
It can be used by Conga and Darbouka players, as well as drummers, replacing the stool and enlarging the sound range of multi percussionist.