Right or left handed?

[Johnny F]

Dear sirs,

At the risk of sounding a little pythonesque I have a theory that goes like this.

 

I am left handed but play what is currently known as a right handed guitar. It seems to me that as my left hand is my most dexterous it should naturally be the hand that does most of the complicated fret work. The vast majority of players only hold a pick in their most dexterous hand, and that is not a particularly hard thing to do is it?

 

To my way of thinking this would make what is currently know as a right handed guitar, a left handed guitar and visa versa.

 

 

If the world is truly this arse about tit I shall begin to live my life accordingly.

 

Please rush me my free gift ASAP

 

Yours closing the tent flaps

 

Johnny Fandango

 

from Sartres Lobster

 

[odeacon]

I saw an interview years ago where Steve Morse made the same point - that he's left-handed, and finds it helpful to have his dominant hand on the fretboard. My left-handed daughter says the same thing.

 

As far as turning the world's conceptions upside down, start in the classical world with violins and let us know how it goes.

 

o'deacon

[soggybomb]

i had a similar idea when i was learning. i flipped my guitar over, put the strings on and tried to play left-handed (i am a righty). it didn't work.

 

what i discovered is that hand dominance is not absolute. left hand people have a greater degree of ambidextrous ability because they are not often completely left handed, but often have more left-handed tendencies. right-handed people, however, are less often found with ambitextrous abilities.

[The Geoff]

Wasn't Joe Pass a lefty playing righty?

 

G.

[Terrell]

I totally agree that for advanced guitar you have to be ambidextrous. For, mid level guitar, you should be left dominant. I think for beginners, strumming and rhythm are harder than chord fingerings. They learn three chords, and poof they're off learning different rhythms.

 

My boy is a goofy footer... Funny thing is, that he immediately turns the guitar over when I hand it to him. I have to tell him how it's strung and ask him to turn it over and play righty. I just think it's funny that he is naturally backwards on just about everything he does. He looks so much like me, many times it's like looking in a mirror!

 

I think he'll have an easier time becoming a good guitarist if he learns with the naturally dominant hand on the fret board.

 

 

[Bottom End]

I wish I had made my left handed self learn as a right hander when I first started playing. I tried to learn righty a few times, but it's very hard because I think of rhythm and plucking/picking movements with my left hand, and fingering is actually less consciously thought about, if that makes any sense.

[Terrell]

Just taught the boy smoke on the water righty... I think I've turned him to the dark side!

[theTragicRich]

I'm one of those freaks who does some things lefty and most righty. Can't explain it, that's just how it happened. I write, drive, and play billiards lefty. Just about everything else (sports, guitar/bass, drums etc) is righty. And I can remember early on someone, I don't recall if it was my parents or teachers, telling me that writing left-handed was wrong.

 

I never was a good listener nor good with authority.

[fantasticsound]

I'm a lefty, play righty.

 

I thank the lord I didn't try playing lefty. That would have sucked to be around folks with righty instruments and not have the ability to play on a moment's notice.