Level 1 · The Three Sounds
1-4 - Boom meets crack
Switching sounds cleanly - the core cajón skill.
How to practice it
Alternate bass (beat 1) and snare (beat 3), moving your hand between center and edge. Make the CONTRAST as big as possible: deep round boom, bright sharp crack. Use one hand for both at first, then try bass-right / snare-right with the left resting.
Suggested take: ~60s · start 60 BPM → pass around 80 BPM
1
B
2
·
3
S
4
·
60 BPM
Start at 60, exercise passes around 80. Legend: B bass · S snare · g ghost · - rest
Tips
- • Exaggerate the hand position change - big move now, small move later.
- • Listen for the two sounds being obviously different characters.
- • Keep the metronome on: the move between positions must not steal time.
Watch out for
- • Both sounds converging into a generic mid 'whack'
- • Rushing beat 3 because the hand is already traveling
- • Looking down and hunching - stay tall
Record your take
Aim for ~60s. Put the phone ~1m away, facing the front plate. You'll get Rafa's feedback within a minute of submitting.
Up next after this: 2-1 - Two minutes, zero drift