# Is there a name for this kind of percussionism?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 25, 2011, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723 "2011-10-25T08:46:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723/1 "2011-10-25T08:46:47Z")

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Last month, I had the chance to see Josh Kelley playing as opening act for another artist whose name I won’t mention in this thread. I’d never heard of him before, but apparently he used to do rock music and has just fairly recently switched to doing country after the success of his brother’s band Lady Antebellum. He performed with two other musicians - himself on vocals and acoustic guitar and a second on banjo.

The third was sitting on top of a wooden crate and drumming on it with his hands.

Is there a name for that kind of playing? It seems to me like it must come from some sort of jug band or zydeco tradition, but it’s not something that i’ve ever noticed before in any other musical performance.

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**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723/2 "2011-10-25T12:52:29Z")

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The instrument is called the [cajón](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caj%C3%B3n). (Pronounced ca-HONE.)

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723/3 "2011-10-25T14:48:13Z")

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> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#):
>
> The instrument is called the [cajón](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caj%C3%B3n). (Pronounced ca-HONE.)

And of course if you had two of them, they would be your _cajones_. 😛

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723/4 "2011-10-25T15:17:51Z")

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> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#):
>
> The instrument is called the [cajón](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caj%C3%B3n). (Pronounced ca-HONE.)

Which means “drawer” (as in “chest of”), derives from _caja_ (box) and is not any kind of body part. They’re used often in flamenco.

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-kind-of-percussionism/600723/5 "2011-10-25T17:04:42Z")

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> [@Nava](#):
>
> Which means “drawer” (as in “chest of”), derives from _caja_ (box) and is not any kind of body part. They’re used often in flamenco.

I was told that _cajones_ in the (slang?) sense of testicles comes from referring to the scrotum as a container, with the meaning shifted from “box” to “bag” or “sack.” Do you know if that’s correct?