JAKA STRAJNAR
Academic musician percussionist and professor of percussion
ABOUT ME
I am an academically trained percussionist and professor of percussion. I studied classical percussion at the Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana and jazz percussion at the Carinthian State Conservatory in Klagenfurt (Austria).
As an author, I have published numerous professional books that have been translated into English and German. I have also developed several online cajon courses as well as a wide range of digital training programs for educators and childcare professionals.
Across Slovenia and abroad, I lead percussion workshops, seminars, and team-building programs for schools, organizations, and companies. In addition to my educational work, I actively perform in various musical ensembles.
WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, TEAM BUILDINGS & ICE BREAKERS
As a lecturer, I lead numerous workshops, seminars, and team-building events throughout Slovenia and abroad.
For children in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, as well as university students, I design and lead a variety of percussion workshops (cajon, boomwhackers, body percussion, and everyday school items used as percussion instruments). Participants learn playing techniques, world rhythms, various rhythmic patterns, improvisation, and practical performance alongside musical examples.
For preschool teachers, teachers, and professors, I conduct professional development seminars. During these seminars, participants explore the use of different percussion instruments, rhythmic activities and games, individual and group improvisation, non-verbal communication and cooperation, and ways to integrate all of these elements into the educational process.
For teams in public and private companies, I organize team-building events where participants experience and apply the fundamental principles of teamwork in a structured and encouraging environment: communication, listening, collaboration, responsibility, creativity, and more.
I also lead shorter motivational ice breakers at various events — as an opening activity, an engaging energizer during the event, or as a relaxed yet dynamic closing activity.
BOOKS
I am the author of numerous professional books and educational manuals, including the cajon method book Cajon – slovenska šola cajona (also translated into English and German), the general percussion manual Svet ritmov (translated into German), the boomwhackers manual Boomwhackers – zabavne glasbene cevi (also translated into German), and the handbook Fantastični orkester.
I have also written three collections of musical pieces: Svet bobnov (The Drum World) for snare drum, The Cajon World for cajon, and 2 Drum Paradise for drum set duets.
PUBLICATIONS
- Svet bobnov, The Drum World (2012)
- Cajon – slovenska šola cajona (2013, 2. edition 2014, 3. edition 2015, reprint 2016)
- Cajon Method (2015)
- Boomwhackers – zabavne glasbene cevi (2015, additional run 2015, reprint 2016)
- The Cajon World (2014, 2. edition 2014, 3. edition 2017, reprint 2018)
- Cajon – die moderne Cajonschule (2017)
- Boomwhackers – coole Musikrohre (2016, 2. edition 2018)
- Svet ritmov (2016, edition 2017)
- The Cajon World E-book (2019)
- Cajon Method E-book (2020)
- Fantastični orkester (2021)
- 2 Drum Paradise (2025)
