A Cajon Drum is a kind of a percussion musical instrument that existed in the eighteenth century or even earlier. Its origin can be traced from the slaves of Africa and Peru which makes it known worldwide as an Afro-Peruvian musical apparatus.

There is also a great possibility that the box-like drum came from the same type of musical instruments that were being used in Angola and Antilles earlier on. These may have been imitated by the Peruvian workers and slaves by using the materials they salvage from wooden crates and drawers.

Another theory on the origins of the drum dates back to when the Spaniards colonized the African territories and banned music. The African slaves notwithstanding the risks it would cause them kept these drums and played with them secretly. The Cajon’s were made to appear like chairs and pieces of furniture so as to conceal their true nature.

The Cajon Box Drum became very famous around 1850 and towards the end of that century. Musicians, particularly the Cajon players, started experimenting with the designs and features of the drum thereby causing different beats and sounds to come out of the instrument. The drum has greatly evolved since then.

This instrument is made up of wood. The front side which is called the head is made up of thin plywood. This is the part where the musician slaps the palm of his hand to make a musical sound. A hole is located on the back of the box in order to release the sound. The musical player sits on the drum and slaps the head of the Cajon situated between his legs.

Other modern versions of the Cajon Drum have features that can adjust the tones and timbres in order to produce a variety of sounds. The percussionist or drummer may also slap the sides of the box with his hands if he wants to create further sounds. These types of drums are now being widely used globally. It has been known for its versatility and style that not only percussionists are playing this instrument nowadays but other musicians as well.

Question: How many sax players does it take to clean a saxophone?
Answer: Apparently at least one.

I bought a box of Q-tips today to clean my sax with (a various tedious job).

I have, officially, the grimiest saxophone in the world. I looked it up on Google. You do a search on “world’s grimiest sax,” you get markmaxwellmusic.com. I looked it up in the Wikipedia. There’s an article about how dirty my sax is. Argh! I spend so much time outdoors in the dirt, wind, rain – this silver-plated sax collects specimens from all over America and saves them for future generations.

So I get layers of muck on top of the layers of tarnish crust. Mix that with all the spit that flies out of the horn while I blow my brains out. The sax is no longer silver, it’s taken on this weird shiny grayish brown patina.

Strangely, the sax ends up looking very soulful, very antique, and lots of people tell me how beautiful it is! Lots of people! But man, don’t look too close. I think I have a colony of ants living in the bell.

(Roberta has promised to help me take it apart and clean it when I get home. Next time you see me my Yamaha Custom YTS-875S Tenor Saxophone will be shining!)

If you’re a sax player, here’s my advice. Don’t play your sax. Don’t even take it out of the case. Take a picture of it, look at the picture often, but don’t actually put it together and blow into it. Get an Wind Synthesizer and find a good oboe patch.