Holy Forever • Cajon Playthrough

This anthem from Chris Tomlin looks forward to an eternity in God’s presence, praising our holy King. It’s instrumentation is an excellent example of leaving space- each part is crafted intentionally to work as part of the whole, often times by usings a few powerful notes. Also note the changes in feel between the 4-on-the-floor, steady “kick” rhythms and the more spacious, syncopated grooves! In case it helps, this song is originally in Db and clocks in at 72 BPM in 4/4. I’m a nerd and I’ve always liked knowing the details.

My goal with these videos is to provide a somewhat simplified version of the percussive elements for the song, while retaining much of the feel and rhythms normally beat out on a drum kit. I don’t want to use a ton of flashy playing, or even show the full extent of what I might play if I were to sit in on cajon for a Sunday morning set with this song. I’ve been known to add hihats, tambourines, shakers, toms and a whole bunch of stuff to an “acoustic set” kit. While those can all be appropriate and a lot of fun, I don’t feel like that’s the most helpful for someone who’s sitting on a cajon for the first time or is still getting a feel for playing with a band. For these videos, I’ll stick to a cajon and an occasional shaker.

If you have any questions about playing cajon, how I approached this song, or any song requests, let me know!

Glory to God, always.