My classroom is performance oriented with a stage, a full set of risers, and more instruments than you would expect in the average elementary classroom. We make music with our own hands and breath, and we do it well. I'm in my sixth year at this school, and in the time I've been here, my students have become multi-instrumentalists on the bass, mandolin, piano, and drums. Some students like to switch around between the instruments, while others have "specialized" and concentrate all their learning on just one. Either way is fine by me, as long as they're learning and enjoying music and school.
My Project
Our classroom currently has three cajons. A cajon is a box drum that you sit on and beat with your hands. I didn't realize when I got the three cajons two years ago that it takes quite a fine touch to play them. Just whacking on it with a flat hand sounds pretty unpleasant and is way too loud for an average sized classroom. I share a wall with the ladies working in the office and the sound carries through. I have been threatened with having my spleen removed with a fork if they kept hearing it.
Eventually my cajons were put on the back burner and didn't get much use for the past year, but with this cajon pedal and beater brushes, you can help my students breathe new life into these instruments.
Having the cajon pedal (which works like your standard bass drum pedal) will eliminate the need for my students to reach down with their hand for the bass tones. The pedal can do it for them. And as an added bonus, it will help them work their foot pressing a pedal. I know it seems easy just to step on a pedal, but any drummers who read this project will know immediately that your foot is the hardest to train to be coordinated. They often want to pick up their whole leg and stomp down like Godzilla destroying a model of a Japanese city. This extra pedal practice, while making our cajons sound great, will help prepare my students for playing the drum set we also have. Extra foot practice is always good! The cajon brushes will allow my students to practice their hands as well for future drum set playing.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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