This wooden box looks like my dad’s makeshift garage stepstool. Or my friend’s makeshift ferret bin. Due to the hole, one might assume it’s a makeshift stimulating aid from someone’s fetish closet. Regardless, it screams makeshift.
It’s actually a cajón, a lesser celebrated instrument in the contemporary world of percussion. When struck, this seemingly simple wooden box has all the pitches of a drum set’s snare, tom(s), and bass.
At first glance, it looks and sounds like something from Stomp, but it has a rich and interesting history. Rather than rip from Wikipedia, I’ll credit one of my dear friends D.G. who said the cajón was invented by African slaves who struck rhythms on fish crates during their time at sea. And so the cajón was born.
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