Cajon rhythms
Press ▶ to listen, or open a rhythm to see its pattern, animated strokes and tempo control.
Rhythm library
- Pop: basic beat
- Pop with ghost notes
- Rock: bass on the “and” of 3
- Eighth-note rock
- Rock: two-bar groove
- Ballad: half-time feel
- Sixteenth-note pop
- Disco
- Funk
- Funk with ghost notes
- Hip-hop (boom bap)
- Bossa nova (simplified)
- Samba
- Cha-cha-cha
- Son: 3-2 clave
- Tumbao
- Reggaeton (dembow)
- Rumba flamenca
- Tangos
- Bulerías: 12-beat compás
- Reggae: one drop
- Reggae: rockers
- Ska and punk: two-step
- Shuffle
- Slow blues 12/8
- Boogie-woogie
- Waltz 3/4
- Ballad 6/8
- Afro 12/8
- 5/4 groove
- 7/8 groove (2+2+3)
- Country: train beat
- March
How to learn cajon rhythms
Start slow: every rhythm page has a tempo slider, so you can play the pattern at half speed. Count out loud first — “one and two and” — then add your hands. Play the bass near the center of the tapa, the slap with your fingers on a top corner, and the quiet strokes with the lightest touch.
Patterns read from left to right: B — bass, T — slap, g — quiet stroke, X — bass and slap together, a dash — rest. Any rhythm opens in the drum machine, so you can play guitar along with it.
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