Back in March when Sandra visited me from Germany, I had this weird itch to buy a cajon. Normally I am pretty frugal and don’t like to spend money on things I don’t need, but this particular situation was unique. True I just wanted to buy the cajon to mess around with it, so in that sense I didn’t really need it. Then again, this desire was much stronger than wanting to buy, say, a ticket to a concert or even a car (my car is 16 years old and still going strong). It almost felt like a need, but I didn’t know why.

Fortunately for me, I blurted it out to Sandra randomly. She is pretty frugal too, but she has a good sense of what will be worth it in the long run and is just a bit less hesitant. In fact, she had just bought a wetsuit knowing that she could use it in the short term and also keep it for 10+ years. She loves going in the ocean and swimming, so why not?

Needless to say, she pulled me to buy it. To personally justify buying the cajon, I acknowledged its utility as a chair in place of the bright red, metal folding one I was using in the Santa Ana condo. Perfect! Yeah it doesn’t have a backrest, but maybe I can do some core strengthening while I’m at it. Chair, musical instrument, and postural training device all in one! Oooh, multipurpose box. Also, since it is just a wooden box, it should last fairly long and I can transport it wherever I want to play it. Ok fine, I’ll buy one.

Good thing I did! Especially now that I have a lot of time and don’t have to worry about bothering too many people with the noise, I’ve been playing around with it a lot. Usually I take it outside and play on the lawn, but I’m gradually getting accustomed to the acoustics and have been trying out different orientations in the house. Grandma not home = rock out with no reservations!

As I play, I continue to notice new things that are completely unexpected. For one, it’s a completely different feeling compared to playing my saxophone. Yeah that seems obvious on most levels of perception (one is percussion the other is wind, one is brass the other is wood, one is mostly melodic the other is mostly rhythmic), but on other levels it really isn’t. I’m producing music in both cases, so why would my orientation to the instrument make a huge difference? What kind of differences would it make? Why do these differences exist?

Just from my personal experience, playing the cajon allows me to relax and get out of my mind. To produce good music to the beat, I have to focus my attention on the music. Thinking is too slow. With my attention on the music, I can actually feel how I am playing and adjust accordingly. If I’m speeding up, I slow down. If I’m getting bored, I switch up the beat I’m playing. If I want to calm down (or maybe if I am already calm) I put more spaces between the beats. It’s like a game that sounds good and reflects what I want.

Today, I decided to switch it up. Instead of just playing by myself, I played along to a Studio Ghibli tribute mix that Annah reposted on her Soundcloud. That was really fun! Listening to the music alone was enjoyable, but actually playing along to it added an entirely new dimension. I could actually experience the music with my own body sensations. It was kind of like dancing but I could hear when I was playing badly. Listening and determining when my beats line up with the song is not at all subjective. In that sense, it was kind of like a music lesson.

Also, to contrast it with playing the saxophone, playing the cajon with music felt more like a dialog. Instead of playing over a background track, I was playing my own beats to harmonize with the music I was listening to. Sometimes, I played the exact same base or snare hits. Sometimes, I added my own flair that still sounded good with it. Whatever I did, I had to listen to what the music was doing and adjust accordingly. That feeling, of just playing my cajon to music I enjoy… There’s not much else like it.

This box was a damn good investment!