How the
syllabus works.
How I build the cajón syllabus — and how we'll pick your way through it.
When building a percussion syllabus, a teacher can pick one of two approaches.
Either go for academic rigor for its own sake — every combination, every permutation, every possibility within a time signature — and bury the student under a deluge of homework (urgh, that forbidden word).
Or curate a small, friendly path and quietly leave most of the rhythmic landscape untouched. It takes students far enough, but falls short of true satisfaction.
I've found a way to make it
deep and fun.
It takes two elements ↓
On one side
Mathematical
Comprehensiveness
A large compendium of patterns, logically grouped and ordered by difficulty.
On the other
Musical
Intention
Every rhythm tied to the genres that use it and the emotional effect it creates.
You don't just learn a pattern; you learn what it's for, where it lives, and what it makes you feel.
That tie between pattern and purpose is what makes a vast amount of material digestible rather than drowning. You want to learn the rhythms because you know where each one fits; you have an empty cup and you want it filled.
Here's what it means for you in practice. I don't expect any one student to learn everything in the syllabus (though I'd love to meet the one with the capacity and tenacity to try). With the full map in hand, I can pull out the parts that fit you — the music you love, the feel you're chasing, the goals you've set.
You end up with a wide rhythmic toolkit — or really, a buffet. Pick what you like, leave out what you don't.
The only question left is
What do you want to
create today?
And if you don't have an answer yet, that's fine too — finding the path is part of what I'm here for.
The Four Compendiums
Every lesson develops
four core skills.
Rhythm, technique, groove, and fills — the building blocks every cajon player needs, woven through every session.
Rhythms
Music theory, reading notes, and internalising rhythm so deeply it becomes second nature.
Techniques
How to use your hands — and later your feet — to draw every sound out of the cajon.
Grooves
Applying rhythm and technique to real beats that lock into the songs you love.
Fills
Filling the empty spaces with impressive rhythms — the foundation for soloing.
Your Journey
Four ladders,
one climb.
Each compendium has its own rungs. You climb the ones your goal needs — not always all four at the same speed.
Entry level · 3 stages
Rhythm Explorer
Lay the foundation.
Where everyone starts. You'll get comfortable on the instrument, read your first rhythms, and lock in your first grooves.
Intermediate · 3 stages
Rhythm Challenger
Push into fuller sounds.
With foundations in place, we move into trickier subdivisions, more masterful techniques, and richer textures.
Advanced · open-ended
Rhythm Adept
Specialise deeply.
A personalised deep dive. You choose where to focus — I tailor the curriculum to match your interests and goals.
Each rung holds several modules
Rhythms
Techniques
Grooves
Fills
Adept
∞Rhythm Adept
Open-ended · across all four compendiums
Challenger
3Challenger
2Challenger
1Explorer
3Explorer
2Explorer
1↓ Everyone starts here
The four ladders are independent. You might be a Challenger in grooves while still exploring fills — that’s normal, and it’s the point. We climb whichever rungs get you to the music you want to play.