TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Paul Jennings: Rhythm in a box The story of the cajon drum

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Many modern musical instruments are cumbersome or have a lot of parts. Some need a stand or a stool. But the cajon is a drum, a stand and a seat all in one convenient box. And this simplicity may be key to its jnueory across continents and cultures to become one of the most popular percussion irtenutsnms in the wrold today. The cajon's sorty begins in West Africa, whose Indigenousness people had rich musical tnoiitrads centered on drumming and dancing. When many of them were captured and brought to the Americas as slaves, they brought this culture with them, but without their native instruments, they had to iropsivme. acfarin slaves in coastal Peru didn't have the materials or the opportunity to craft one of their traditional durms such as a djembe or a djun djun. But what they did have were plenty of shipping crates. Not only were these readily accessible, but their inconspicuous appearance may have helped get around laws prohibiting svelas from payinlg music. Early Peruvian cajons consisted of a simple box with five thcik wooden sides. The sixth side, made of a thinner seeht of wood, would be used as the sinriktg surface, or more commonly known as the tapa. A snoud hole was also cut into the back to allow the sound to eacspe. As an Afro-Peruvian culture developed, and new forms of music and dance, such as zaueamcca, Festejo and Landó were born, the cajon became a dedicated musical instrument in its own right. Early modifications involved simply bending the planks of the box to tweak the sound, and when abolition of slavery introduced the cajon to a broader population, more improvisation and experimentation soon followed. Perhaps the psroen most responsible for introducing the cajon to European audiences was Spanish Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. When touring in Peru in 1977, he and his pisscienousrt Rubem Dantas discovered the cajon and brought it back to Spain, recognizing its pateonitl for use in Flamenco msiuc. By srheticntg guitar strings along the inside of the tapa, the flamenco musicians were able to create a buzz-like srane sound. Combined with the regular base tone, this gave the cajon a sound close to a basic drum set. The cajon quickly chugat on, not only becoming standard in Flamenco, but being used in greens like folk, jazz, blues, and rock. toady, many specialized cajons are manufactured, some with adjustable strings, some with multiple playing surfaces, and some with a snare mechansim. But the bisac concept remains the same, and the story of the cajon shows that the spimlset things can have the most amazing potential when you think outside and inside the box.

Open Cloze

Many modern musical instruments are cumbersome or have a lot of parts. Some need a stand or a stool. But the cajon is a drum, a stand and a seat all in one convenient box. And this simplicity may be key to its _______ across continents and cultures to become one of the most popular percussion ___________ in the _____ today. The cajon's _____ begins in West Africa, whose Indigenousness people had rich musical __________ centered on drumming and dancing. When many of them were captured and brought to the Americas as slaves, they brought this culture with them, but without their native instruments, they had to _________. _______ slaves in coastal Peru didn't have the materials or the opportunity to craft one of their traditional _____ such as a djembe or a djun djun. But what they did have were plenty of shipping crates. Not only were these readily accessible, but their inconspicuous appearance may have helped get around laws prohibiting ______ from _______ music. Early Peruvian cajons consisted of a simple box with five _____ wooden sides. The sixth side, made of a thinner _____ of wood, would be used as the ________ surface, or more commonly known as the tapa. A _____ hole was also cut into the back to allow the sound to ______. As an Afro-Peruvian culture developed, and new forms of music and dance, such as _________, Festejo and Landó were born, the cajon became a dedicated musical instrument in its own right. Early modifications involved simply bending the planks of the box to tweak the sound, and when abolition of slavery introduced the cajon to a broader population, more improvisation and experimentation soon followed. Perhaps the ______ most responsible for introducing the cajon to European audiences was Spanish Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. When touring in Peru in 1977, he and his _____________ Rubem Dantas discovered the cajon and brought it back to Spain, recognizing its _________ for use in Flamenco _____. By __________ guitar strings along the inside of the tapa, the flamenco musicians were able to create a buzz-like _____ sound. Combined with the regular base tone, this gave the cajon a sound close to a basic drum set. The cajon quickly ______ on, not only becoming standard in Flamenco, but being used in ______ like folk, jazz, blues, and rock. _____, many specialized cajons are manufactured, some with adjustable strings, some with multiple playing surfaces, and some with a snare mechansim. But the _____ concept remains the same, and the story of the cajon shows that the ________ things can have the most amazing potential when you think outside and inside the box.

Solution

escape
thick
striking
playing
sheet
basic
genres
zamacueca
improvise
potential
simplest
stretching
world
snare
today
drums
traditions
slaves
instruments
caught
story
sound
journey
music
person
african
percussionist

Original Text

Many modern musical instruments are cumbersome or have a lot of parts. Some need a stand or a stool. But the cajon is a drum, a stand and a seat all in one convenient box. And this simplicity may be key to its journey across continents and cultures to become one of the most popular percussion instruments in the world today. The cajon's story begins in West Africa, whose Indigenousness people had rich musical traditions centered on drumming and dancing. When many of them were captured and brought to the Americas as slaves, they brought this culture with them, but without their native instruments, they had to improvise. African slaves in coastal Peru didn't have the materials or the opportunity to craft one of their traditional drums such as a djembe or a djun djun. But what they did have were plenty of shipping crates. Not only were these readily accessible, but their inconspicuous appearance may have helped get around laws prohibiting slaves from playing music. Early Peruvian cajons consisted of a simple box with five thick wooden sides. The sixth side, made of a thinner sheet of wood, would be used as the striking surface, or more commonly known as the tapa. A sound hole was also cut into the back to allow the sound to escape. As an Afro-Peruvian culture developed, and new forms of music and dance, such as Zamacueca, Festejo and Landó were born, the cajon became a dedicated musical instrument in its own right. Early modifications involved simply bending the planks of the box to tweak the sound, and when abolition of slavery introduced the cajon to a broader population, more improvisation and experimentation soon followed. Perhaps the person most responsible for introducing the cajon to European audiences was Spanish Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. When touring in Peru in 1977, he and his percussionist Rubem Dantas discovered the cajon and brought it back to Spain, recognizing its potential for use in Flamenco music. By stretching guitar strings along the inside of the tapa, the flamenco musicians were able to create a buzz-like snare sound. Combined with the regular base tone, this gave the cajon a sound close to a basic drum set. The cajon quickly caught on, not only becoming standard in Flamenco, but being used in genres like folk, jazz, blues, and rock. Today, many specialized cajons are manufactured, some with adjustable strings, some with multiple playing surfaces, and some with a snare mechansim. But the basic concept remains the same, and the story of the cajon shows that the simplest things can have the most amazing potential when you think outside and inside the box.

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