Visit our online shop for your left-handed productsLeft handed guitar
| Left Handed guitar background Where to find left-handed guitars and information Famous lefthanded guitarists Uncommon Sound – left guitarists books |
Left Handed guitar background
We are often asked for advice from left-handed guitarists, both on the best way to teach guitar left-handed and for stockists of left-handed guitars.
Most left-handers find it natural to hold a guitar so they can strum the strings with their left handed and finger the chords with their right. If a standard right-handed guitar is just turned over the other way, all the strings are upside down, with the lowest notes at the bottom instead of the top. Some lefties have played this way, including Coco Montoya and Albert King but it is not ideal!
It is possible to re-string the guitar to change the string positions, and again many famous guitarists have played his way, notably Jimi Hendrix with his famous restrung Fender Stratocaster, but it is not really a great solution as the rest of the guitar is still in the wrong places – the direction of the string bridge, the protective panels, electric pickups, sound controls, cable jack, strap connections etc.
What you really need is a properly designed left-handed guitar with all the components made to be played left-handed.
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As with most things left-handed, the answers are never as straightforward as one would wish. If you are thinking of buying a left-handed guitar, you will find that the choice can be very limited. Whether it is acoustic or electric you are looking for, you may find there are no left-handers at all among the glittering display or, with luck, perhaps two or three may be tucked away behind the right-handers. As with expensive equipment for many other hobbies or activities the economics of guitar production and sales makes it impossible for most stores to supply the range of choice that right-handers enjoy. |
| Unfortunately, reversing the strings on a right-handed guitar is not sufficient, since the entire instrument must have all its parts reversed to produce an acceptable tone. We have only two options: to purchase from the few left-handed versions available, even if they are not entirely suitable or to order a left-handed version of a right-handed model you have seen. The second option may seem a reasonable compromise, but actually carries a number of pitfalls. Firstly, assessing the merits of a right-handed guitar by playing it left-handed is far from ideal as you can get only a rough idea of its tone and action. As any guitarist knows, even two guitars of the same model can vary slightly. Secondly, and most seriously, most manufacturers insist that once a guitar is ordered by a customer to be specially made, the customer is then obliged to buy it, even if it turns out to be less than ideal. Bearing in mind the guitar in question may cost in the region of £3,000 if it is a top of the range model, this is a high-risk option. So, not only can the left-hander not, in most cases, walk out of the shop with the guitar of their choice, they may also be obliged to wait anything up to a year before obtaining their purchase. |
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Where to find left-handed guitars and information
Here are some web sites that we have found helpful for general information about left-handed guitars and some of the best sites selling left handed guitars.
Click here to see the selection of guitars available from our USA Partners
Click here to see the selection of guitars available from our UK Partners
Instrument Pro (International)Instrument Pro is jam packed with a huge range of instruments. The guitar and bass sections to this website include hundreds of different types of products with many available in a left handed option. |
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Musician’s Friend (USA only)Musician’s Friend offers over 36,000 products in its mail order catalogs and on its website. Products offered include guitars, basses, keyboards, percussion, amps, as well as recording, mixing, lighting, and DJ gear and they have a good selection of left-handed guitars. |
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Music 123 (International)Guaranteed low price on thousands of guitars, amps, drum sets, keyboards, and everything else a musician needs to succeed. Our customers find an unparalleled selection of top name brands, such as: Fender, Gibson, Martin, Ibanez, Squier, Marshall, Yamaha, DW, Casio, Pearl, Dean, Epiphone, Roland, Korg, Zildjian, and more |
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Active Musician (USA Mainland)Whether you seek a Fender Stratocaster or a Jackson guitar, you can buy the electric guitar of your choice at ActiveMusician. Choose from our 6-string, hollow body, left-handed, starter and shorter neck children’s models when shopping for an electric guitar. In addition to your electric guitar, we sell amplifiers, acoustics, effects, pickups, stage tuners, stands, straps and more at low prices. |
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Woodwind and Brasswind (International)Woodwind and Brass have a range of guitars and offer a excellent variety and choice for left handed players. The left handed manufacturers include top names such as Gibson, Fender and Daisy Rock. |
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ZZounds (International)ZZounds is a leading international musical instrument retailer offering exclusive deals on the internet. They carry a huge product range including top manufacturers like Fender, Ibanez, ESP, Schecter, Jackson, Martin, Marshall and Boss at low prices. |
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Guitar Center (USA)Guitar Center is the world’s largest musical instrument retailer and we now sell directly to our customers at GuitarCenter.com! With superior customer service and a wide selection of brand name, high quality products at guaranteed low prices, GuitarCenter.com will further solidify our unparalleled quest to “Help People Make Music”. We are already the best in the business offline and strongly positioned to be the best in the business online as well |
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Gear 4 Music (UK)Gear4music.com was launched in 2003 and has become one of the UK’s largest retailers of musical instruments and equipment, now having 100,000 registered customers. They supply instruments and equipment by many of the industry’s best known manufacturers at very competitive prices, as well as their own range of good value Gear4music branded instruments |
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If you have any recommendations for links to guitar sites in other countries, please let us know.
Learning left handed guitar
Finding a patient teacher who can instruct in reverse is almost as difficult as finding a left-handed instrument, since most teachers are right-handed. Some even refuse to teach left-handed pupils! yet the solution can be simple: just seat the left-handed pupil opposite the teacher, so it is like looking in a mirror – a simple and effective way to learn.
Some teachers will even argue that with any stringed instrument the right hand has to be pretty dextrous so it shouldn’t make any difference which way round the instrument is played. For folk or classical guitar playing, the argument goes against this theory because much of the control is carried out by the right hand, which left-handers might find difficult.
But what if you have already been encouraged to play guitar right-handed – is it too late to change? The Guitar Workshop in New York made a detailed study of left-handed guitar playing and found that it took three to six months for players who changed over to regain their previous level of attainment, after which they improved even further! Composer and guitarist John Duarte, a ‘changed’ man said: “Now I would not encourage a lefty to learn right-handedly, and when I inherit a student who does play that way round, I advise him to change if he does not appear to be reaching his potential. I think there has been much irrational prejudice against lefties, and such things die hard”
Famous lefthanded guitarists
Thankfully, we can count some great guitarists among our numbers to even out the score. Here are a few we know and let us know of any other great left-handed guitarists to add to our Hall of Fame.
| Picture | Name | Background | Links |
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Jimi Hendrix | Jimi Hendrix pioneered the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. Hendrix’s innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new musical form. Because he was unable to read or write music, it is nothing short of remarkable that Jimi Hendrix’s meteoric rise in the music took place in just four short years. His musical language continues to influence a host of modern musicians. | Profile |
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Paul McCartney | Played Bass for ‘the Beatles’ in the 60′s. Generally considered the greatest pop composer of all time, along with fellow Beatle composer John Lennon. In the Guinness Book of Word Records for most records sold, most #1′s (shared) and largest paid audience for a concert (350,000 people 1989 in Brazil). After ‘the Beatles’ he formed Wings, one of the most commercially successful groups of the ’70′s. Solo career in post 70′s has been sporadic in both commercial and artistic terms. | Profile |
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Bobby Womack | He was born in Cleveland in 1944. Bobby and his brothers sang several memorable songs including his composition “It’s All Over Now” which they recorded as The Valentinos for Sam Cooke’s label, SAR. When the group who had begun as a gospel unit broke up, Bobby started out on a solo career. When he went down to Memphis to cut an album with Chips Moman, he met Wilson Pickett for whom he wrote “I’m A Midnight Mover”. Bobby played guitar on Wilson’s dates and began playing on many other sessions for artists such as Jerry Butler, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Joe Tex. Bobby became a major soul recording artist of the 1970′s, influencing folks such as Rod Stewart and The Stones. | Site |
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Kurt Cobain | Kurt Donald Cobain was the leader of Nirvana, the multi-platinum grunge band that redefined the sound of the nineties. He was introduced to music at a very young age, by his aunt. At seven years of age his parents divorced and he was forced to look at the world in a different light. He spent time under a bridge here he would spend the time alone writting his first lyrics. At the age of 15 Nirvana was born. However at the age of just 27 he killed himself after the presure became too much. | Site |
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Tony Iommi | As founding member of Black Sabbath and architect of such classic riffs as Black Sabbath, Paranoid, War Pigs, Iron Man and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Tony Iommi was – and is – the acknowledged progenitor of heavy rock guitar. His unique style and much copied sound have had a profound influence on succeeding generations of guitarists, and many of the leading bands of today owe more than a passing allegiance to the Black Sabbath sound as defined by Tony Iommi | Site |
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Bob Geldof | Bob Geldof was the leader of the successful punk group the Boomtown Rats. Inspired by a documentary on starving Ethiopian children, Geldof contacted music personalities from the U.K. and the U.S. to make a recording, “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” whose 80 million dollars in benefits were sent to Ethiopia. In 1985, he organized two enormous Live Aid concerts, again featuring some of the most popular acts in modern pop music, and donated the proceeds to charity. As a result, Geldof received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. He was also knighted. | Profile |
You will find full profiles of these left handed guitarists and many more in the book set Uncommon Sound – see below.
If you have any more information about these people or have any other successful left-handed guitarists that you would like us to feature, please add your comments below.
Uncommon Sound -
The left-handed guitar players that changed music
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This set of 2 beautifully designed and printed books is the ultimate reference guide to left-handed guitars and the people who have played them. These oversized books are 14 by 10 inches by 2 inches this, each, and weigh in at nearly 20 lbs. With over 2,500 photographs and more than 1,500 album covers it covers everything to do with the history of left-handed guitarists and the left handed guitars they have played.
An absolute delight to dip into at random or to work through section by section, it will be something you will want to leave on the coffee table! |
Click here for more information on this book set and to see our videos showing the content
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I have been searching the net mainly for a left handed guitar for my son amongst other items and not had much joy. I then came across your site and was very excited. However I tried to click on the link for ‘your UK partners’ but it doesnt seem to work. Perhaps u can take a look at this as im not sure if its your site or my phone im using to access it. Thanks.
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I’ve already mentioned GAK (gak.co.uk) in another reply (Ed says, Sept 18 2009 at 11:17). A few months ago I need to buy a bass guitar urgently, tried a couple of retailers that said it would take about five weeks to get the bass I wanted. Gak had it in stock, ordered online and it was delivered the following day. This next piece of information may be useful to you or not but I did read a positive review of of a left handed guitar starter pack some time ago, I can’t remember the brand name but JHS (jhs.co.uk) are a UK distributor of these packs.
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I’m a lefty but play as a righty. I find that it is easier to strum with the right and manipulate chords with the left because I’m more dexterous with that hand.
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For a truly custom handcrafted left handed guitar NC luthier Jay Lichty is worth talking with. http://lichtyguitars.com/2011/09/08/handmade-left-handed-guitar-from-lichty-guitars/
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hey, im a left handed… is it possible , i want to buy a acoustic guitar, and i want to switch the chord. up side down.. is it possible to play??
i am right handed but i can use either hand on the guitar
i prefer the left handed way though
Firstly, I have a vested interest in posting, as I am the director of a small, family run classical guitar importation business in the U.K. So now that you know I have a commercial interest, you can take or leave what I have to say! If you are looking for a viable alternative to the usual offerings, you may be interested to visit http://www.abanico-guitars.co.uk where you will find correctly constructed left handed models, not just ‘string swap’ guitars. I hope this may be useful to someone out there. Thanks. Steve.
I would class myself as an electric guitar player but it’s worth knowing about any available left handed guitar retailer be it electric, acoustic or classical. I’ve made a note of your details and will pass them on to anyone who asks me about left handed classical guitars.
I’m following this blog about a guy that already knows how to play the guitar right handed, but has to switch to left handed due to a wrist injury.
I’ts very entertaining and useful at the same time.
http://www.mirrorguitarplay.com
I am going to learn how to play the guitar. I am left handed and feel more comfortable holding a guitar left handed. Before I buy a left handed guitar I would like to know is it really hard to learn how to play a guitar if u have to learn with a left handed guitar? Also can only a left handed guitar teacher learn me how to play a left handed guitar?
Hey, I’m a lefty Bassist. I also play guitar too.
Yes, a right handed teacher can still show you how to play. It just takes a bit more focus, because you have to turn what they’re playing, upside down, essentially. A very useful trick I’ve found, is placing a mirror next to the person, and watch them on the mirror. This obviously switches their style to lefty,and is therefore, easier to copy. Hope this helps
I’m right handed, but I play the guitar left handed. Not sure why, but when I first got my guitar, I couldn’t hold it the right handed way, it was so uncomfortable and awkward. I kept holding it upsidedown, and kept getting corrected, till my guitar teacher let me switch the strings and play it left handed. It’s so much easier to play now, and I’m getting quite good, hahaha. XD It’s annoying that I can’t just pick up any guitar and play, though, but I’m getting used to that.
Does anyone else know of a righty who plays guitar left-handed? And does anyone know why I do that? =/
I am a right hander but like you kept picking up guitar upside down. my brother is left handed and he learned to play on a right handed guitar but bought me a left handed guitar and like you I was fine when I was allowed to learn on a left handed guitar. My brother whom is 9 years my senior thinks that I must have been left handed when very little and encouraged to use my right hand. This is a practice that still goes on today but more common some time ago. I don’t remember being told to use my right hand but maybe I was to young to remember. This could be the case with you. All of my siblings and parents are left handers just out of interest. Hope this helps.
take care and good luck.
hey i use the left hand to mate but im right handed,
weird aint it
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Its been over a year since i’ve yearned to pick up a guitar and finally, in November, my mum relented after listening to my attempts to situate myself on my cousin’s old right handed guitar and bought me a left handed Tanglewood guitar for my 14th birthday. Being from Malaysia, there were only two options at the store, so i bought the cheaper one(around $300 in US currency) So far i’ve been self teaching myself with guitar books and internet sources and so far i’ve learned the basic chords. But does anyone have any good guitar learning websites to recommend?
I’ve been playing left-handed guitar in the US since I was taught to play that way by an instructor 40 years ago. Thanks that he decided to do that as it was easier to learn and sounded better sooner so I stuck with it. I bought a Gibson SG left handed in the mid 1970s and just bought a nice sounding left handed Fender Sonoran acoustic from Sweetwater.com.
There’s good left handed guitars out there and instructors who will teach you that way. Stick with it!
ircently bought a fender srat squire model le a lefty gutair to start learn to play i wanted a true lefty gutair.i bought it online from southpaw gutairs of houston texas the have over 900 hundred lefty gutairs ,any one can go online to southpaw gutairs and get a great price on a lefty gutair rich m mondovi wi
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Great to discover this site! I’ve been playing guitar left-handed since 1958, initially on a restrung RH acoustic, later on a LH Kent (yes, a piece of shit, but it got me started). In 1968 I found a LH Stratocaster in a local music store and bought it for $300. I’ve been playing this Strat ever since, professionally back in the 70s, now just for fun. I was recently told by a music store owner that he could probably sell my guitar for $15,000. That would be like selling my youth (even though I’m pushing 60). Will never do it.
Would just like to give my opinion/experience on the ‘should leftys play right or left-handed’ debate.
I am 33, I started playing guitar left-handed when I was 10. I am so left-sided that when I first picked a guitar up I simply could not fathom holding it any other way around.
I played for 2 or 3 years left-handed, on a battered old acoustic strung ‘upside -down’ and reached a fairly intermediate level. I could strum chords to my favourite tunes, was making up my own chord progressions, and learning scales. When I went to finally buy my first electric guitar, the guy in the shop advised me to get a right handed one, as there was more choice, I’d only been playing a couple of years, and when I got older and joined a band I would be the same way round as everyone else.
I took his advice, bought a righty guitar, and went back to scratch. It took an awful lot of work and perseverence to become comfortable with just holding the guitar right handed way around, and even more to actually get good playing it that way.
Biggest mistake I ever made. For the last 20 years I have played right handed. I have been gigging for about 14 or 15 years. With all that experience you’d think I’d be pretty good by now, I’m not bad, but I never reached my potential. I play rhythm guitar, because lead is just too fiddly and tricky for me to do as well as other guitarists I know. I can do it, but I can’t play really complicated or super fast stuff. My right hand just can’t handle it. I do not play as good as I should, considering I have been playing for 23 years and actively gigging for the majority of that time too. I hit a ceiling and just can’t get any better. The only good thing is that I’ve been able to play other people’s guitars. Sure it’s nice I can pick up a guitar anywhere and play, but it wasn’t worth sacrificing my true potential and the ability to shred with the best of them.
So recently I bought a nice Lefty Les Paul and went back to scratch again. I’m learning guitar all over again for the third time in my life. It’s hard, it felt weird at first, and I’m a beginner, nowhere near as good as I am right-handed yet, but I can instantly see and feel (and so can my band mates) that I am going to be a much better guitarist in the long run. My rhythm hand is way more accurate. It even looks more natural when I’m playing.
The heart and soul of what you play comes from your rhythm hand, not your chord hand. Sure it’s nice to have your dominant hand doing the fretwork, but it’s nothing your other hand can’t do with a lot of hard work and practice. But your rhythm hand will never be quite as accurate if it’s not your dominant one. It won’t be quite as fast, or as flowing.
My advice is if you are left handed, play that way. There’s a reason that way around feels right to us leftys. There’s a reason your dominant hand wants to do the rhythm. Go with it. Sure Mark Knopfler can do it the other way around but guys like him are the exception. Let your dominant hand do the rhythm, and work hard at getting your right hand up to scratch on the fretboard. In the long run you will be a much much better guitarist, and will never hit that ability ‘ceiling.’
Hey, Joe!
Great post. I admire your tenacity in the quest to reach your potential.
Your story is compelling. I’m a lefty who has been playing right-handed for 40 years, and my rhythm speed has always been a challenge.
A bandmate, from decades past, is another left playing right guitarist. He did exactly what you did, with one exception;
he worked very hard to improve his rhythm skills and, while still playing right-handed, can strum with the best of them.
Clearly, you made the right decision for you. I would like to be in your head for one practice, and feel what it’s like to actually play something, however simple, both left and right.
It’s that kind of left-brain creative nature that separates us from the “crowd” IMHO.
Playing music is all about discipline and channeling our creative imaginations.
A lot of lefties have had there creativity stifled because we live in a predominantly right-handed world.
But, we lefties have greater potential to be flexible in how we do things.
Most of the posts here stump about the trials and tribulations finding lefty guitars, or challenging the right-handed guitar playing “system”.
That may have been true way back we all started with Mel Bay guitar primers, but let’s face it, the wall to left-handed guitar freedom was torn down long, long ago.
Let’s agree that te best way for a lefty to play the guitar is the way he or she ultimately chooses to play it.
We have had the right-handed establishment telling us how we should do things for centuries.
Now, do we really want a world where our fellow lefties tell us which way is “right”?
hi,
i’m 15, a left hander who has been playing for about four years.and i have a cheap left-handed les paul copy and a right-handed squier strat which i reversed the strings on.i don’t have any trouble with the cable being on the wrong side or the trem arm or switches or pots,and i used small files and superglue to alter the slots in the nut.
My guitar teacher who is right-handed,has recently suggested that i start playing right handed,and i was considering it until i read this message,becouse of the trouble of the cost and the availability of left handed guitars,especialy as where i live is in the north of england,not near any major citys with big guitar shops.i would also be able to play others guitars,which would be a necessity,as my best friend has some really nice guitars that i just can’t play(i don’t have many guitars,and it it is very hard to get hold of a left handed Ric,or Gretsch,for example).i am really glad i’ve seen this post and i am not going to be a right- hander!
I am a lefty playing the Cuban Tres now for about five years I could not find
a teacher for the instrument let alone one that would teach left handed.
so when I found a teacher and he suggested that I go right handed I agreed.
After reading your comments I would have to say that i am going thru the
same experience. I still have to work hard keeping up with the rythm and i just dont have that natural flow in the rythm that i notice on some other tres players .
You really hit the nail on the head when you said “The heart and soul of what you play
comes from your rythm hand” It took a lot of guts after playing 15-20 years to start
again from scrach but the immediate results that you are expieriencing let you
know your on the right road. (please pose your progress when you get a chance)
I would love to hear more from someone who’s undertaken the huge task of switching hands after playing for a while. I’ve played for 5 years and my right hand has improved but I have always felt is holding me back, so am considering switching to lefty. I’m really wondering what I’m in for in trying to do this…
Just another note. There was a (left-handed) guy in my band in the 60s who started off playing right-handed and was really quite good. He saw my guitar (a lefty Kent at the time) and tried it out. He decided to switch and bought himself a lefty Les Paul. After just a few months (practicing many hours a day), he started playing better than he had before. He managed fluid leads and started improvising, something he had never done before. On stage, he could play both ways, once in a while switching to (right-handed) bass for a couple of songs while the bass player switched to keyboards, then switching back to his lefty Les Paul. It certainly confused those in the audience who noticed.
My point is, don’t let some ignorant jerk tell you that you’ll be better off playing right handed when you’re really a lefty!
Mark,
Thanks for the information and your candor.
Regarding Segovia – his style was revolutionary in that he played classical music that was originally written for other instruments.
My point still stands – the 6-string guitar was a rhythm instrument until well into the 20th century.
What I am arguing against, and what appears to be the flavor of the article and (especially) the comments,
is that a lefty has to get his hands on a left-handed guitar if he wants to learn the instrument.
As you said, righties are more hard-wired to their brain hemispheres.
Perhaps it would be extremely difficult for almost any righty to play left-handed.
But lefty brains are more flexible (I didn’t say softer
We are more adaptable.
So, let us not constrain ourselves, especially regarding how we choose to express ourselves through music.
So many people think that Hendrix played a right-hand guitar upside down because he couldn’t find a left-handed Fender Stratocaster.
A false legend based on intuition and ignorance.
Fender produced left-hand guitars in the 1960′s, and Jimi could have bought one, no problem.
The fact is that Hendrix, for whatever reason, thought that the left-hand guitars were inferior in production.
Maybe he tried one and didn’t like it, who knows why?
This article is schizophrenic!
Are you celebrating left-handed guitarists?
Are you pushing left-handed guitars?
I was in a band that played clubs in New Jersey, many years ago.
The bass player and the lead guitarist (me) are both left-handed.
We both have always played conventionally.
How many left-handed guitarists have you failed to include in your “famous” list, simply because they play right-handed.
Are they not left-handed “enough” for you.
“Being” left-handed is special for me, and for most of my left-handed brothers and sisters in the world.
We are different from right-handers in the way we process information, and in how we learn things.
I have always played the guitar right-handed; over 40 years now.
Doe’s that diminish my left-handedness?
No.
I’m a lefty. When I play the guitar, even if I played it with my teeth and toes, I’m still a lefty, and I learn and express myself as a right-brain dominant southpaw.
End of story.
Hi, chorddog.
I used to play right-handed too, although I wouldn’t have called my playing style “conventional.” The fact is that left-handed musical instruments are only becoming readily available nowadays and we oldies had to rough it with right-handed equipment back then.
So I agree, it is possible to learn to play a guitar the wrong way around. However, the design of a guitar is optimised for right-handers to play the very best they can and so I can’t help feeling that a lefty needs a left-handed guitar to play the very best THEY can. I switched a few years ago and the main thing I have noticed is that my plucking and picking has become much more intuitive where it was more mechanical before, although I have to work a little harder on the bar chords now. I’d say my lead playing is the best it’s ever been since switching but the rhythm playing still needs some work.
The differences are subtle and truly great musicians will make great music whatever way round they play their instruments.
Hi Mark,
Three things:
“…it is possible to learn to play a guitar the wrong way around”
Of course it is!
I play the piano “the wrong way around” because I’ve never seen a lefty piano!
Mark, the guitar and its progenitors have been around for hundreds of years.
You are assuming that lefties have been stifled creatively all that time until Fender and others started making left-handed guitars.
This is just wrong thinking.
For example, until 60 years ago, the guitar was strictly a rhythm instrument. It was part of the rhythm section and strumming technique with the right hand was what it was all about.
Today, and especially since the advent of the electric guitar, single note leads, string bending, and fast chord melody have become both possible to play and popular to hear.
These changes make neck hand technique more prominent, no matter which way I hold the guitar.
For me, being left-handed and playing “right-handed” helps make my style unique, perhaps even more so that is I played a lefty guitar.
Mark, remember this;
Our left hands are connected to our right brains – the creative side.
That is what makes lefties different from everybody else.
It’s not about which way we hold a guitar, man.
Really
Chordog,
Don’t feel you have to defend your playing style here. You’re right there along with Mark Knopfler and a number of other famous lefties who play right-handed guitar. I don’t think anyone would dispute that there is a way of playing there and it can be great. I just find that my more conventional playing style works better on a left-handed guitar.
A couple of technical points. The guitar may have been a rhythm instrument in the US until 60 years ago. However us Europeand have been playing melody on them for a lot longer. Have a listen to the likes of Segovia for a sample. Very early instruments would have been made for the individual musician unlike today’s factory-built models and so would have been right or left handed as the musician was, except in eras where lefties were assumed to be satanists. Then they wouldn’t have been run out of town or burned rather than asked to play music.
Actually the left-brain / right-brain organisation only applies to righties, and then only some of them. Left-handedness is a result of a genetic difference which allows the brain to be randomly organised (see Chris McMaus’ work on the LRRTM1 gene). It’s actually our randomness that makes us great.
Anyway – keep playing the music. Lefties are good at it.
see some of my left handed guitars in action at http://www.myspace.com/slideawaygroup, sections photos and/or videos.
wearing the Hemisphere Slogan ALH t-shirt :
photo link :http://s674.photobucket.com/albums/vv106/ericslide1/?action=view¤t=DSC09462.jpg
http://s674.photobucket.com/albums/vv106/ericslide1/?action=view¤t=DSC09462.jpg
Eric,
Great stuff. However, we take your one left-handed guitar and raise you to two in one band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pl13h_m81s
How about sponsoring us, ALH?
Cheers
Noel
Noel
I’ll do!
sory for the late reply
all my best for 2011
Eric
Sorry this isn’t a very formal e-mail. I’m a teenager, what do you expect, haha. I just wanted to say thanks for the tips and everything you have sent to me. i just wanted to comment on the left handed guitar player thing. A few years ago my grandmother gave me my dad’s old guitar, and my cousin had a educational tape that taught you how to play that he actually gave me. When I started to try and teach myself, something wasn’t right. The notes the tape was saying were completely opposite of those I was playing. It took me weeks to finally figure out it was a right handed guitar. Both of my parents are right handed, and I’m “oddball,” but I don’t mind. My friends have come to commonly call me backwards. I love being different. Thanks guys!
HI,im 15 and i’m the same!noone i know in my family would naturaly play a guitar “lefty”.i write with my right hand but kick and playguitar with left.my parents are both left-handed at writing but would naturally pick up a guitar right-handed they both also kick with their left foot.Can anyone explain how this could have possibly happened to me?
Which left-handed guitar under 500$ do you guys recommend? I did some intensive research but I still have no clue what to buy. Im trying to convince my parents to add 99$ so i will grab Taylor 110 dreadnought, or if impossible i take Martin DX1L at Southpaw, but I’m not sure. Anyone helps
Thanks in advance
I have 2 seagull guitars and I ‘m happy with both
http://www.seagullguitars.com
Go to http://www.rondomusic.com/
They have lots of left-handed models.
I’ve purchased a number of guitars from them.
The Agile line is by far the best guitar for the money; professional quality.
Kurt at Rondo will answer any questions, and their return policy is excellent.
hei acually im a right handed guitarist but my teacher told me that im holding cord crooked sooooooooooooo i have 2 play left… and now im good at it….hei yeah i forgot one more thing im finding a guitarist 4 my band pls coment…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
If you want to see a couple of left-handed guitarists in action (and a third left-handed guitar in the background), take a look at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pl13h_m81s
Cheers and Happy Christmas,
Noel
Hi, My 13 year old is naturally right handed, but plays the guitar left handed. His Dad is quite a good musician (right handed), has given him one of his guitars and swapped the strings around. We have never forced him to play right-handed nor has his guitar teacher. We are in the process of buying him a left-handed guitar.
I have a left-handed guitar and it’s awesome but it was quite hard to find one, even more because i’m from Mexico and there aren’t places where you cand find them, anyway before i bought it i was auto-learning because i love music and mi teacher was internet tabs only, i didn’t have a pacient teacher who could make me feel comfortable, actually i had an acoustic guitar but i changed the strings so i could use it right. My point is that it is an obstacle for music lover being left handed but if you want you could make up, the problem is that my learning was very slow and i still need special teachings
I don’t know who here is familiar with Billy Corgan – he is the lead guitarist and vocalist for The Smashing Pumpkins, and has also done solo work (and a short-lived band called Zwan). He is an amazing guitarist – he plays right-handed. However, I got the chance to get an autograph from him once and noticed that he signed left handed. I didn’t have time to really ask him about it, but I bet one of the reasons he can blaze his way up and down the fretboard si that he has a natural affinity with his left hand.
What you say may be true but I hear the argument all the time from right handed people that lefties will be better on the frets because its their dominant hand and they should play a right handed guitar. I don’t see right handed people buying left-handed equipment for that reason.
I am SO in agreement with you Gary!!! Righties tell me that all the time that I should be able to play a right handed bass and fret better. My response is that I have people hold my lefty bass and try it out. They find it feels very awkward to them. I then tell them that’s how I feel with a righty and they finally get the message.
Hello Lefty’s
I found a cool website that I think you’ll like
You can find songs with the chords
It gives you the opportunity to change the chords to a different key
AND! Change them to Lefty chords
So
Go to the site, http://www.chordie.com
look up the song you want to learn and click
After you find the song you will notice the chords noted on the right
below the chords are options to transpose the song.
And then there is tuning – Guitar
Under the tuning option is Lefty guitar
I also have noted a concern about finding a good teacher.
Search youtube for beginner lessons and they will keep you busy for long time
Enjoy
Gary
PS
(If you watch lessons through a mirror they will look left handed)
That works for for other things too.
Want to see what Tiger Woods looks like as a lefty?
Look through a mirror at your TV
I have played guitar for around 30-35 years I have always played left handed my dad and mom and all my sisters are right handed my dad taught me the basics but he did not force me to try and play right handed he purchased a cheap guitar and switched the strings, the action was high and the intonation was off but I learned the basics as I grew older I searched for factory left handed guitars thet were few and expensive then i saved up the money and rickenbacker built me a lefthanded gutar it was a world of difference in the action and intonation. in my adulthood I got saved started attending a Church of God they ask me to play bass I knew a little but there Bass was right handed I played bass upside down for that church 20 years befor I purchase a factory lefthanded schector 5 string it was like learning to play the bass all over again but worth it Im glad my dad didnt force me to play right handed
I had a right handed player try to teach me he restrung it for my left hand then couldnt reverse his play toteach funny when i think back….
I LEARNED ON A RIGHT HAND GUITAR UPSIDE DOWN AND JUST STUCK WITH IT RATHER THAN STARTING OVER. IT WORKS FOR ME.
i learned to play the sane way u did then i got a gibson bass and restrung it i could do this because the strings were the same length. been playing that way ever since. played with a guy who played like you in high school, then about ten years later. excellent plaer miss him a lot. miss u man call me 512 2669971 lol bh
Even fellow Southpaws.
I’ve been playing guitar 20 years and have always played left handed – tried right handed and it just didnt feel right. I’ve always been frustrated by guitar shops not stocking a decent range of leftie guitars. They only ever seem to have the cheapest ranges or the most expensive to choose from and there’s very rarely in the intermediate range, which is where my skills currently are! The lack of choice is matched by the lack of colour choice – you can get most lefties in either black or white only – perhaps red if you’re lucky.
I tend to buy guitars as and when I find a good one – I’ve got 4 semi decent ones now – I’m constantly on the look out for something new, but I dont think my other half would appreciate it these days. It also helps a lot when you’ve got a pal who works in the biggest local guitar shop who lets me know whenever anything nice comes in! I really regret not taking his advice and buying a Gibson Flying V reissue brand new at £500…….
My best guitar came from this place : http://www.lefthandedguitars.co.uk/ – a great lefties only guitar shop! They managed to source me one of only a handful of Cort M600′s a few years ago, getting it direct from Cort rather than an importer – I waited about 6 months for it to finally arrive but it was worth the wait. I’ve just had a look and it seems he no longer sells Corts – probably due to the hassles that it took them getting mine! The Ibanez range look nice.
When I first started playing, there was even less choice of lefties to choose from so whilst beginners these days might think things are bad – it used to be a lot lot worse! My first was a Yamaha electric RXG312L IIRC, then a Hohner GT3 headless Steinberger copy, then a Jackson PS4 with reverse headstock, then a Variax 500 which i got brand new for £250 – absolute bargain! And finally the Cort.
Another guitarist to add to your list – I believe Gary Moore is a leftie who plays right handed.
Shoot, who would have thguoht that it was that easy?
My son, age 9, is a lefty and quite good at both acoustic and electric guitar. We bought him left-handed guitars because we were told it is very important for left-handers to learn on left-handed guitars since the left hand will perform the more complicated tasks and detailed strumming with different strings, etc. He has had no problems with guitar lessons because he just mirrors his right-handed teacher.
Glad to here this. Three years on I hope your son is still taking lessons and progressing.
I play guitar, banjo, piano and accordion. The guitar and banjo are righthanded- and for me, I find that to be OK. I have greater grip strength in my left hand, so using it to finger the strings works out well. It is awkward, but once you begin to actually play something recognizable- it’s worth it. Most of us are more ambidexterous than not- just because the world is right handed and we have had to adapt. I think if you have the music inside you- it will find a way to come out.
Danny Jones does play left-handed guitar at times
Hey there. Wow. I’m guessing i’m the youngest. Ok, i’m 12 and i’m planning to learn acoustic guitar at the end of the year. While at a friend’s house, her elder sister asked if i wanted to try out her guitar and i agreed. When i took hold of it, i turned it upside down first and started strumming. What i’m worried about now is, the lessons. I’m afraid as a lefty it might be a disadvantage and the teacher might not approve. I tried looking through lots of forums but most of the people told the beginners to start righty. I do NOT wanna play righty. I want to go out on stage and play left handed. Prob is, here in Malaysia, the only left handed guitars are the electric guitars, and i know my mum wont approve of wasting money to get me a left handed guitar. I feel alright strumming it occasionally upside down, at the moment. ut should i restring it? Need advice. Thanks.
Hi
Just read my post just below yours. Stand your ground and play the way that feels best for you.
I learned to use the mirror view when looking at right handed players opposing me and thet works like a charm.
Teachers that won’t teach left handed people shouldn’t be teaching at all.
It is very important your instrument feels alright for you. It will make learning to play easier and smoother.
Ok, you have less guitars to choose from, but being able to play the way you really feel you should is very important.
/Hans
Not that easy here in Malaysia. They dont really register the fact whether you’re left or right. Not sure if you can even restring it.
I just started learning a few months ago (though the flute is my real love). My friend- a lefty who plays right handed- loaned me one of her classical guitars (nylon strings) to try out before I spent money on one. She restrung it upside down and it worked perfectly well. I then bought my own acoustic guitar over the internet (from the same place I got my flute). Considering they’re not so easy to come by, I got a really good deal- £70 including bag, pitch pipe and plectrum. If you definitely want a custom made lefty, look at buying over the internet, as you get more choice and you can usually return the item if it’s not right for you.
Well, first of all, try to do like you feel. Your feeling is O.K.
Someone told here:
“I hear the argument all the time from right handed people that lefties will be better on the frets because its their dominant hand and they should play a right handed guitar. I don’t see right handed people buying left-handed equipment for that reason.”
So don’t let the right-handed people in the forums determine your decision. I know, it’s not easy for a left-hander in a islamic country. But my grandfather had the same difficulties in Christian Germany when he was young.
Right-handed people don’t like the thought that their world may not be the only one.
If you feel O.K. with a rightie instrument playing it upside down, all right. If you feel better restringing it or getting a left-handed one f.e. over the internet (eBay etc.) then do this.
I know how it is to go into a guitar-shop and they have nothing left-handed and so you are not able to try them out.
But here in Germany in the last thirty years more and more shops offer lefties equipment.
What the learning is concernd, I think it is not easy; I could mirror the tabulature and in my opinion it is easier to mirror, than playing upside-down.
Considering i haven’t started lessons yet, the decision is completely up to me. Knowing here in Malaysia there won’t be any left handed guitars, i’m still not sure which way to play. My parents know zilch about guitar but they certainly wont get me a lefty guitar. Well, my dad, maybe, but i doubt it. Now i’m wondering if i should restring, or juz play it upside down right now. I haven’t tried restringing yet, so i’m not sure which way would work. Advice?
KayLI,
I learned on a right handed guitar restrung to lefthanded I think its ok to learnon but if you ever play in a band it could cause problems. they are right about the bridge being slanted but I found it didnt change the intonation much on the 1st 10 frts. I did have a little trouble with fret buzz because I didnt get the strings seated in the nutt right but I played it like that for years.
I agree with restringing a classical guitar. I did the same thing and it worked well for me.
You can restring an acoustic steel string but if you look at the saddle you will notice the bone is generally on an angle. On a classical the bone usually goes straight across. The bone on both guitars is usually slanted to fit the string thickness so make sure you also turn it around when you restring from right handed to left.
Well, Im also a Malaysian and i’ve read your post and the replies. Sure it is pain in the neck, to get a factory made lefty guitar here, it seems impossible. I have asked the musical instrument shopkeepers about this stuff, and they said, if you wanna have one, they can order@ custom made it for you. The problem is, you have to wait for it to be finished, and secondly, you have to pay extra bucks for it. Consider an electric guitar of price RM500+, to make it left, the price goes to RM700+. Its nonsense to pay extra 50% for the things that make same sound, and made of same material. Im not sure about acoustical guitar, coz i borrow my brother’s right handed one. I cant play any note@ rhythming ATM, as my fingers will cover some strings at the lower. Thus, i prefer to do plucking, though it limits the numbers of songs i can play. The sound is not much different though. Once at a time, I restrung that guitar for lefty, and played any rhythm songs. Surprisingly, the sound was just as good as right handed one. Except that you have to adjust the bridge it the first hand. My advice here is, if you are thinking to become professional in music, or to make it as your carrier in the future, then you have to consider a custom made lefty guitar for you. If you not, then just restring those right handed guitar. You are still young though, so it is good to practice this early.
Yeah, i read the Yamaha brochures, i only saw left handed models for electric guitar but none for acoustic. Yep. Guess i gotta restring. I wanna play like the Sungha Jung guy, an older student at my school taught me a bit about guitars, so he gave me advice to start right handed, but i insisted to learn left handed.
hey im 15 and i started playing guitar the same time as you.im a lefty and my teacher is a righty.i find it easy to learn off him,becouse i am literally mirroring whatever he does.with a first accoustic,i would just get a rughthaned one,get your dad to alter the nut for the srtrings,and re-string it the other way,thats what i did.
My nickname…. hahaha I’m blind on my RIGHT eye so it could be : HalfBlindDoubleLefty (grin)
There are some things I can do with both hands, the funniest is tennis… I watched opponents go crazy over me switching hands while playing
————
At the age of 12, I (and my parents) were send away from a musical instruments store. The message was “Lefthanded people can’t play guitar ! “.
So I got an Acordeon (yuk) and played the for some 2 years.
At the age of ~16 I got myself an acoustic and after one or two months of trying to play rightie… I restrung the guitar. YES that was it !
I owned a number of righthanded guitars over the years and restrung them all. No lefthanded intrument in sight.
Well in my thirties I found a ’83-’84 lefthanded Tokai Goldstar Stratocaster… Uh Ohhh my playing went from restricted to free and easy overnight.
Meanwhile I own 4 lefthanded instruments and love them to bits.
Tokai (will stay forever )
Epiphone Dot
Greg Bennet Avion (lp-alike)
Stagg (yup) Tele style.
and lets not forget my converted nylon string acoustic.
Over a couple of years I produced some things that could stand up with the “it’s music” claim. (try my website if you can stand Slowblues and ballads)
I tend to get angry with people trying to bully/force lefthanded people into doing things righthanded. At school (first 2 years) I was forced to write righthanded and the teachers told my parents I was just being sloppy and lazy……..
/Hans
I started out playing right handed, and did that for the first six years I played. Why reverse, you may ask? Well, it was never really comfortable. When my brother got a new guitar and gave me his, I reversed the strings and taught myself how to play lefty in about six months. Now I can play either way.
I got my first real lefty guitar (a Gibson) when I was 22. It was the only one in the store, and although it listed at about $100 more than a righty of the same model, they sold it to me for about 50% off because they wanted to get rid of it. I was told that restringing a guitar the opposite way isn’t good for the guitar because guitars are generally reinforced for the thicker strings on one side, and putting them on the opposite side will eventually warp the neck of the guitar.
I have found, when looking for a guitar, ask directly for a left-handed guitar. Reputable places will work with you. When my Gibson was damaged and I needed a new guitar, Gibson’s were out of my price range, and I went for a Guild. I asked the salesman if they had a left-handed guitar (I knew what size and model I wanted, but I was open to suggestions, knowing left-handed guitars are often difficult to come by. It turned out, they didn’t happen to have a left-handed guitar in the store at all, out of perhaps a thousand in stock. So, since I wanted a Guild, the man said, “No problem. We’ll call Guild.” Well, Guild didn’t have one in stock either, so they started asking questions about the specifics of the guitar (mother of pearl or painted fret dots; what color wood on the front, etc.) and in about 6 weeks I received a custom-made guitar. It all started with asking.
Since I learned on a righty originally, when I switched, I could no longer apply the chord grids to what I was doing, but fortunately, I already knew most of the chords. I didn’t know before these newsletters that there were lefty books. One thing I can do that I find odd that righties can’t is watch a righty guitarist and mirror what he/she does.
Cathy,
You’ve hit something obvious about us lefties. We can just look at right handed players and accompany them, even though we have never heard the music before!!
First, I’d like to add Jerry’s Left-Handed Guitars to the list of retailers selling left-handed guitars. Secondly, Taylor guitars offer most of there acoustics and electrics lefty at no extra charge. I’ve had many guitars over the years, all lefty’s. My first high-end acoustic, which I still play and cherish, is a ’74 Guild D-40, bought new in ’74. Guild was very helpful at the time to locate a lefty for me, whereas Martin guitars gave me a run around. Now Martin offers many of their models left-handed……..go figure. But I made the right purchase, my Guild is awesome sounding, records very good. If your in the market for a vintage lefty, check out Vintage Guitar magazine. Many dealers advertise lefty’s in this great mag.
I own several electrics and 2 acoustics,(both are Guilds, the D-40 and an F-30-12). Although we arn’t offered as many color selections as the righty’s, say for instance, a Fender American Stratocaster, many of the big name builders offer lefty electrics and acoustics. Carvin should be mentioned here also, I had a lefty acoustic they build, real nice guitar. Another point to bring up is guitar parts for lefty’s, especially things like nuts, saddles. bridges, and six-in-line tuners. Can’t forget volume controls that turn the right direction for lefty’s……..they’re out there. I just recently “rebuilt” an Aria lefty Strat copy to bring it from an average guitar that wouldn’t stay in tune to a killer player. It came with an solid alder body, great neck, and hot single coil pick-ups. I recently replaced the tuners with Gotoh’s, replaced the cheap plastic nut with a lefty Tusq, and replaced the saddles and added springs to the bridge. Stewart-MacDonald, Guitars Parts Resource and Allparts can help a lefty out big-time.
One more builder I’d like to mention is Schecter. Many of their models are offered left-handed, including a killer acoustic. I have a “keeper” C-1 Blackjack w/Seymour Duncan humbuckers, Grover tuners, TonePro bridge, solid mahogany body, etc. The only thing I did to make it more lefty is reverse the volume pot wiring. Awesome player!!
I hope I have been a help to my fellow southpaws guitar players or soon to be players. Believe me, compared to when I first entered the guitar buying market place (late 60′s early 70′s), there are alot of lefty’s available. The internet is loaded with them. Oh yeah, one guitar I regret selling…..a ’75 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe lefty, cherry sunburst, mini humbuckers, killer crunch guitar through a ’66 Fender Super Reverb amp. Sold both to race motocross..egahs! You can see the Les Paul by visiting myspace.com/cottonwooddrift and check out my pics. Peace and Love!
I wanted to learn to play guitar, and borrowed my cousin’s el cheapo righty acoustic. After several days of trying to make my fingers work while watching a “learn guitar” TV show, i gave up and reversed the strings. WOW! What a difference. I was playing & switching chords in no time.
I eventually got my own 12-string acoustic and the shop reversed all the parts (excpet hte pick guard and fret dots, of course). Later, on a trip to NYC I got a lefty Fender Stratocaster with everything in the right place.
Listen!!
Cobin was a good guiterist And now he is Dead So who cares if he is on the list
dont be so loser plz!
I started off playing right handed guitar and simply couldn’t cope – I nearly gave up. My mother (also left handed) recognised the signs, and amazingly found a lady who played left handed guitar and arranged for me to try out her guitar. It was a real eureka moment, everything suddenly fell into place and my lifetime’s enjoyment of this beautiful instrument began. I play classical guitar and finding accomodating teachers can be difficult – but I have an exceptionally good teacher. I now have a wonderful hand made concert guitar and I only hope that I can give this instrument the playing it deserves. I also hope that one day I can repay the kindness of the lady who got me playing, by doing the same for some other left handed person, stuck with a right handed guitar that they simply can’t play.
That’s a great story Heather; who made your guitar? My pavan guitar is good but I hope to upgrade one day.
What music do you play? I prefer latin/spanish e.g. Barrios, Villa-Lobos, Tarrega, Albeniz etc.
My teacher found teacher me very easy and we are working on some duets to perform in concert. Only trouble here in Virginia is that it is mostly bluegrass and C & W. They are not used to what the guitar can do..
when i tried to take lessons for the guitar the instructor told my dad that it would cost $100 more because i was left hande3d and that he doubted that i would learn to play so we never took lessons from him
Re the list of famous lefthand guitarists. Don’t confuse it with ‘great guitarists’. Yes Hendrix and Iommi are ‘great’ but Cobain, Geldof and McCartney are ‘OK’…no better than the guy who has played in the garage band for a few years. The latter 3 have creative genius but not specia lguitar talent.
I’ve played guitar for 41 years. I’m left handed but just naturally played ‘right’. My experience over the years is that 75% of lefties play ‘right’ and it is only called ‘right’ because of cultural issues and not anything to do with favouring one hand or the other. People who start with a lefthand guitar are usually steered towards it and that is unfortunate.
If there ‘is’ an advantage it is for the lefty. Fingering chords is more difficult in the early months of playing than strumming.
Raptorstyle, I started with guitar lessons in 1969. The instructor handed me a conventional guitar. When I told him that I was left-handed, he said, “Well, your going to learn the guitar right-handed.” I progressed quickly playing the neck, but strumming and holding the pick was a challenge.
Now, I’m glad that I learned to play right-handed. It’s easy, even narural, for me to create vibrato on the frets, and I can master jazz chord progression more quickly. The right hand work is still a challenge, but hey, that’s what metronomes are for!
I think that lefty’s have a creative edge in most endeavors; which way they play the guitar will only change how that creativity is expressed.
By the way, IMHO, Paul McCartney is one of the truly great bassists, left or right. Ask any bass player, and I think McCartney will be in their top 10.
Strange that you mention Paul McCartney. I have read that Paul tried to learn the guitar what you refer to as the conventional way but made no progress until he switched to playing left handed.
Dr. Johanna Barbara Sattler from Munich has been exploring left-handedness since more than twenty years with thousands of experimentees. According to her research there is NO ambidextrousness.
People who are ambidextrous are brain-damaged.
People who TELL they were ambidextrous are forced right-handers who don’t remember their left-handed childhood because of the traumatic experience being re-educated.
Being left-handed but acting as a right-hander absorbs so much force of the left-hander that life can be very difficult. He has to be much better in all disciplines of everyday life than right-handed people. On one hand (litterally) overcompensation can be the result, on the other hand resignation.
The legend of left-handers being more intelligent can be derived from the overcompensation which you can find also with women in male-dominated occupations.
As far as myself is concerned I was a re-educated right-hander. They didn‘t do it the “hard” way but with “soft” hints like “use the good hand” etc. which ended up f.e. in learning to write with the right hand. My handwriting is still a cathastrophe.
Being on a holiday playin Cowboy and Indian at the age of 8, I had a “rifle” (a piece of wood) which I always “fired” with my left hand. My grandfather (left-handed and traumatised) told me to put the “rifle” into the other hand but I refused.
It was the same with “playing guitar”. I strummed with my left hand and stayed doing it.
I discovered my left-handedness at the age of 19, and when I began to play guitar at twenty-eight I borrowed an acoustic guitar from a friend of mine. I could have played it upside-down without restringing it. But then I would have had to read the tabulatures for the chords not only vice-versa but upside-down too. Besides I thought that the inventors of the guitar
were clever people and that the arrangement of the strings was ergonomic.
So I decided to play upside-down and restringed the guitar. I did that with my first electric too. And when I had the money I bought a left-handed “axe”.
But from the first time I had a guitar in my hand I found the string I had to pick with the fingers of my left hand without looking!
So you are saying my son is brain damaged because he chooses to throw with his right and write with his left?
Ridiculous. A massive over-simplification of the brain and how it connects to everything.
I am left-handed, my wife is right-handed; there was no forcing on any issue with the exception of scissors..because he learned to use them before we managed to get left-handed ones, he can’t use the left-handed ones.
If she spent 20 years coming to that conclusion, she wasted her time. Yes there are many cases of forced right-handed; in the UK and US until maybe the 50s, France up to at least the 70s.
I’m NOT saying you or someone else is brain-damaged if he is a forced right-hander, but what I’m saying is, that being a forced right-hander does’nt naturally mean, that open force was used.
Yes, you can use both hands, but it is much more work for the brain of a left-hander to let both hands dominate (which is a contradiction in itself).
Force on left-handed people (and any force) can be applied very smoothly and can come in a very “easy” way in forms of being admonished very nicely to use the “good” hand or getting sweeties for using the right hand and so on.
In later years a forced right-hander may not remember this “soft brain-washing” very well.
Fact is, we can’t switch cerebral hemisphere without harm.
You mention your son. Well, often it’s the surroundings, the peers.
At home he may feel easy acting left-handed but at school he may FEEL a kind of group pressure in the sports lesson.
Especially young people react on their peer-group and want anything else than being different from them.
Having been left handed all my life and a musician since age 3 (piano) I have found it to my advantage to be left handed. I played mallet percussion in band and then switched to French Horn (a natural lefty instrument). When I took up guitar at age 16 it felt natural to hold it like a righty. Since making the chords were the hard part my left hand found it to be much easier. I went on to teach guitar and I did encourage my lefty students to play like a righty — sometimes we must give in to make our lives easier. I married into a family who owned several music stores and my husband eventually took them over. We always keep both electric and acoustic guitars ( and basses) in stock and proudly displayed and sell quite a few each year. Our teachers each have at least one lefty student. I also play set drums — left handed. It is funny when people sit down to play my drums (uninvited) and try to play and then realize that something is wrong. It is better to get an already made left handed guitar — too much is involved in changing the nut, and the bridge saddle on a righty. Anyway you play it LEFTIES RULE!
I saw your list of lefty guitar dealers. I noticed one that was missing. Southpaw Guitars. Southpaw is located in Houston, Texas USA. They have 900 lefty guitars in stock. They are the lefty guitar shop. If you are in the area you could walk in and find the perfect lefty guitar, bass, or banjo.
Find them on the web at http://www.southpawguitars.com/ Hope this helps my fellow Southpaws pursue their musical aspirations.
I have been playing guitar since te folk revival ofthe early 60′s wen it was immposible to buy a lefty. it wasn’t until 1984, when Martin guitars produced, as a matter of course, their D18, as an off the peg left handed box. At the time I was teaching guitar in the local Adult evening institute and all the learners thought mebeing left handed was easier for tem to follow. My martin is now 25 years old and better than ever (I do not have shares in theircompany) the are amazing guitars. At the time (1984) Gibson wanted 50% extra to make a lefty J200 and couldn’t guaranteethe price would hold. luckily we live in a more enlightened age. regards Harry
I play left handed acoustic guitar in a Johnny Cash tribute band called “Keep it Cash”.
My lead guitarist is right handed and always has to stand to my left so our guitar heads dont clash into each other. This has sometimes proved invaluable when playing smaller venues.
When I first started to learn chords I used to sit in front of a mirror so my guitar looked just like it did in the book.
Dave Burnham.
southpaw guitar in Houston only sell lefties..
http://www.southpawguitars.com/
Ed, you say Southpaw in Houston only sells left handed guitars! Great, but that would be tough if you lived in Illinois, never mind Sheffield, England!
I don’t live in Illinois either though I used to live in England. If it’s classical then Stafford guitar in England have some nice ones; southpaw do mail order but I’ve never ordered from them.
http://www.staffordguitar.com/shop/lefthanded.asp
My Pavan was mail order to as they are in upstate New York and I’m in Virginia.
Try GAK (The Guitar, Amp & Keyboard Centre) http://www.gak.co.uk
ITS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE STRINGS ON RIGHT HAND GUITAR TO MAKE IT LEFT HANDED.BUT THE QUALITY IS POOOR AND DIFFICULTY IS INCREASED.IT IS THEREFORE VERY USEFUL FOR BEGINNERS.
The beatles did not form wings!!!! Take some care please!
The info on Sir Paul was written with fewer words to save space, I think. The word “he” was understood by me, to mean “after Beatles, [he] formed Wings”. It is a bit misleading if you read it literally…
Well the word “he” is missing
As for distributors of left-handed guitars, take a look at Skylark Guitars
(http://www.skylarkguitars.com/skylark-speciality-guitars-635-0.html)
They do a range of ‘skeleton’ bodied guitars for left or right handed use, and can make up combinations of double-necked guitars. Both myself, and my fellow band member, who is also a lefty, are very tempted indeed by these..
Hi, I’m the fellow bandmember and, at this moment, there is someone at Skylark investigating whether they can put together a left-handed twin-neck bass and lead guitar at no extra cost to me. Hooray!
I actually started playing right-handed because I only lately discovered my left-handedness. For many years I thought I was ambidextrous until a neurological problem (that involved almost falling off of a mountain and some severe vertigo) convinced me that I had to come off of the fence. I’ve been fine since switching everything I do to the left side and the last thing to switch was my guitar playing.
Now, although I was a pretty good right-handed guitarist, I am a much better left-handed guitarist. So you may get the advice from teachers that it doesn’t matter which way you learn (and it’s easier for them if you go righty) but that is only because some really talented people can cope (eg Mark Knopfler). They would all play better left-handed and the average player will probably never get it sorted out unless they are allowed to play on their natural side. The Fender Strat is one of the most ergonomically designed instruments in the history of music. However you have to play one made for your natural sidedness to appreciate that.
I agree with the poster who says that you find better teachers when they are willing to teach lefties. We have the advantage of weeding out the poorer ones before we start lessons.
hey mark,
I was just interested as to whether the Skylark dude was able to make that specified guitar.
The bass/lead guitar? Any comments would be MOST welcome
Thanks
Andyroo.
Hi, Andrew.
Skylark were brilliant and managed to fit the required bits to order. However, I fixed my guitar synth the same week and don’t need a twin-neck anymore. So I didn’t go for it. However, I would like a classical guitar for stage use and I think I’ll go for a Skylark skeleton one when I decide its time to get it.
“They would all play better left-handed and the average player will probably never get it sorted out unless they are allowed to play on their natural side.”
Rubbish. Your saying, in effect, that a lefty could never be a truly accomplished pianist because a piano is “right-handed”.
Listen, this is the reality.
All common tools and musical instruments evolved with righties in mind because 90% of humanity is that way.
When a child tries to play an instrument for the first time, he or she is endeavouring to master a set of skills unlike anything previously attempted. A blank slate.
A stratocaster is not “ergonomically designed” only for righties.
I’m totally left-handed and right-minded.
I play conventionally, and while my left hand moves up and down the neck playing the sounds I like, I totally appreciate the design qualities of my right-hand American Stratocaster. It’s a beautiful thing.
“When a child tries to play an instrument for the first time, he or she is endeavouring to master a set of skills unlike anything previously attempted. A blank slate.”
If you are using this statement as a justification that the only way to play guitar is the right handed way then you’re the one talking rubbish. When children learn to write, according to you, a blank slate, then why not make left handed children write with their right hand?
I’m a total leftie and have adapted to everthing the right handed world throws at me. I have right handed parents but my Sis and me are both lefties! There is apparently a 9% chance of both right handed parents having a left handed child. I can’t use a standard tin opener or play a standard guitar. I play guitar left handed and have three guitars (acoustic,strat &LP). I understand the logic that a leftie could hold a guitar right handed as the left hand then does the fret work. I tried this early on but as a total leftie it didn’t work. If this were the case, all right handed people would use left handed guitars! I know right handed people who play left and visa versa. This is mainly because some people are actually neither left or right handed but a bit of both (I always feel confortable holding my beer in my right hand). My guitar teacher made no issue with me being left handed and got me through standard chords, barre chords, power chords and blues riffs without issue. Rock on lefties. Hendrix set a shining example!
Hi Adam,
Your convo made a lot of good common sense. I know, although I am a left hander, I’m actually much more ambidextrous. For me, most of it is simply adjusting to a world designed for right handers. Although we may consider this a problem at times, it really can turn out to be a huge advantage for us. Right handers simply do not have the daily challenge we have. My mom is righthanded/ambidextrous naturally. I look at it all this way… We left handers have the rare treat to more fully use the left and right halves of our brains simultaneously. This comes in handy more ways than we all may know. In recent studies, music is the one activity that is not exclusive to one or two parts of the brain. It uses more parts of the brain than most anything else. Studies I have seen (through Dr. Oliver Sacks), show parts of the brain firing up all over the place when one is thinking of or playing music. So, when we left handers use our chosen adapted musical abilities, we actually have the “upper hand”!
Hi Nancy, Nice to hear from a fellow left hander and debate on the subject, especially around a music theme which is interesting to me. You’re comments were intersting.I don’t know about you but I also have a natural talent for drawing. A left handed friend at school was exactly the same. However there is still some prejustice against left handers. I recall a Teacher trying to get me to write right handed and that was in 1976 England. My wife calls me ‘strange’ because I’m left handed and still really struggle to use a tin opener because it’s designed for a right hander. I celebrate left handedness!
Take care, Adam.
You must have been unlucky with teachers; the only problem I had was when they taught us to use fountain pens in the early 70s. Left-handed nibs were supposed to keep your hand off the paper with a 45 degree bend in the nib but the weight of your hand just folded them over.
Hey there!
I’m left-handed but have always played a right-handed guitar. My first teacher tried to encourage me to play left-handed, but I refused, because I found it more logical and easier to do the chord-fingering with my left hand. Unfortunately my right hand is so uncoordinated that I can’t even do the strumming properly, let alone finger-picking techniques.
And another reason was, that I shared the lessons with my brother who is right-handed. And for once I wanted to be, like, not different from the rest of the family and to not delay someone’s learning because I had to be taught everything the other way round.
I think, lefties who want to learn how to play the guitar should decide on the way that feels most comfortable and natural to them and not on the way that is considered most normal, like many people do. (Or you could just try and learn all three different ways, but you would need two guitars for that (; )
Greetings,
Julia
PS: Please excuse any Grammar/spelling mistakes. English isn’t my native language and I’m still learning.
Very true; my son is left-handed as well but after trying both ways for a while has settled on playing right handed because it seems more natural to him.
Funny thing is he play golf/baseball etc. left handed and I play that right-handed..
Playing with the strings upside down I would think would be a disadvantage with higher “lead” parts but if the gents. been doing it for 40+ years, it can’t be all bad..
With talent you can adjust to almost anything (see Django Reinhart on youtube..)
Hi Ed!
You mentioned that playing lead on a flipped over standard guitar without the strings reversed might be more difficult that playing the right hand way. That may be true for a lot of folks, however, when I taught myself, I didn’t know any other way to do it. So, ignorance is truly bliss for me!
Hi Julia,
You pointed out the most sound reason for a left hander who plays the guitar to choose his/her correct style. Pick up the instrument. Try strumming or fretting for awhile. Then flip the guitar over and try it with the hands reversed in the strumming and fretting. Which just feels right? Which feels the most natural? Your choice is your way to learn to play your guitar – not what someone else tells you.. Hopefully, in years to come, teaching material will become readily available so you have an equal chance to play in the style that suits you. Most guitarists I know have multiple guitars to play. Although I prefer to play in one style (upsidedown backwards), I still have 6 guitars ready and waiting. They are half 6 and half 12 strings, and each is in a different tuning. And I can, when necessary, play a righthanded guitar righthanded. It by no means is natural to me, but, as a left hander, I’m blessed with having the choice! That’s cool! Thanks, Julia!
I have a beautiful LH American Fender Stratocaster, that is sunburst in color and it is very easy to learn as I looked for LH handed music books but found out RH books mirror everything you need to learn and sometimes after practice I put on a favorite Blues CD and free style to the music, it is amazing what you can do by just listening and trusting your ear to make your music along with them and if you goof up or get behind it don’t matter, just find them and keep going and it makes practicing not so boring. I love it!!!
I’ve been teaching myself bass guitar for a few months now, with a lefthanded instrument, and I looked into professional lessons and found people who said no because it was left handed and found many people who said I should play right handed but it is so alien to me.
Something not mentioned about restringing an instrument is the balance is all wrong on a non symetrical design, I’ve been looking at getting a guitar and been looking mostly at RH, as thats what they have in the shops, and wearing one upside down is very aukward.
I agree with Ed about not being able to use other peoples instruments, and the other way round as my sister came to visit and was going to show me some stuff on the bass but just couldn’t use it.
I am a natural left hand guitarist. I play a standard right hand guitar upsidedown WITHOUT the strings reversed. I have played this way for over 45 years. I have seriously tried lessons with the strings reversed, found it much more difficult and awkward, and resumed playing upsidedown without the strings reversed. I challenge anyone who says this is not ideal. Isn’t that simply a bit of “right hand” thinking? Let’s replace “not ideal” with a different, but EQUAL way of playing! We’re talking about an instrument with fundamentally 6 strings that can be played as chosen. I can play most any chord, most any style, and can bridge chords. I listen to a right hand chord and then re-create the chord appropriate for my style. There are advantages in my style as well. I can use my thumb extensively and can individually fret (not bridge) with all 5 fingers if necessary to create the unique sound I want. I also play extensively in 4 alternate tunings. Again, I make the chords my own. Many alternate tunings actually lend themselves to this style. They are much easier! Some advantages are that the sounds are a bit different and are very complimentary while playing with a right hander. The combined lush sound is gorgeous. Different fingerstyles played in tandem are intricate and totally amazing to hear. The main disadvantage is that few people take this as a serious and equal way of playing. I also play both 6 and 12 string guitars, acoustic and electric. I have written down many of my chords and their variations. They are readily available to anyone who asks me. I have my name on several guitar shop teachers’ lists for anyone who wants to learn in my area (Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas). I also have years of tips and challenges available. I am a totally “untrained” musician who plays by ear. Yes, I have an extreme gift of playing by ear, but just as we have taught ourselves to play with strings reversed, this is a fully left hand style that should also be embraced and equally published. The ironic thing is this: I have tried for years to publish this style, but no one takes it seriously. Being in the minority does not lesson one’s talent. Please, if we’re left handers, as in many other facets of our lives, we should acknowledge that there are multiple ways of playing, each with it’s own advantages and disadvantages. Forty plus years of playing “backwards and upside down” proves to me that the “standards” of guitar playing are exclusive and not at all standard. As a left hander, I am offered the option of playing as I choose. What a wonderful gift! I can pick up any right hand standard guitar and play immediately. Remember, THIS CAN ALL BE TAUGHT to any left hander with the natural feeling to play as I do. Once you hear it, you will not consider it less than ideal, but a different and wonderful way to play! If you consider this from an music arranger’s viewpoint, comparisons are not necessary. Play on, fellow left handers!
right on nancy!
i’ve been playing exactly the same way, on bass and guitar, for almost 20 years, and i find nothing wrong with it! i9f anything, it gives a different flavour to my sound. us lefties should go our own way!
good stuff
a
How refreshing to hear from you, Aron!
Playing upsidedown and backwards is as natural to us as any other way to play a guitar is for others. Because guitar playing starts from a right hand regimen, playing any other way is not seriously considered. We know what they are missing, don’t we, Aron. I have wished for years that others like us (where are they?) could band together and SHOW people all the beautiful music they are missing. My friends and family sit in amazement when they hear me duplicate a righthand style song and then play my lefthand version of the same song. The song is displayed in an entirely new fresh and unique way. They’ve never been disappointed! All these “problems” with our style of playing are only because we are being asked to consider something different from what we’ve always known/heard. This is sad thinking to me because this school of thought does not allow the fact that the difference in playing is not only comparable, but, in many ways, can be actually be superior. I believe our current way of thinking how to play music is constraining a lefthander’s true and complete capability. I am glad for the many who have learned to play with the strings reversed, but I honestly believe it’s only because they’ve been taught that’s the only way a lefthander can play correctly. Nonsense!!!!! But, the bottom line is always, if you want (and need) to play – play! Just be fair to us all! Thanks again, Aron.
I couldn’t agree more about getting a different sound. I started out as a drummer and learnt to play on borrowed guitars – nobody would let me restring, so I just learned “upside down”. I played so long that way I never bothered to learn the “correct” way and after 45 years playing upside down I can do things and make sounds that a rightie can’t even dream of. I find I play a lot more with my right thumb than the righties and I’ve figured out a finger-style that not only sounds good but is way different from the rest. I was good enough to get 3 tv shows as a singer-songwriter way back in the day, playing alongside Ray Jackson (mandolin player on Maggie May).
Nowadays I can afford to buy my own guitars, so I buy left-handed, switch the nut, restring right-handed and change the pots on the Fenders – I got used to right-handed pots and I could never figure out the reverse configuration on the Strat, so I changed it.
I think all leftis should get together for a huge SINISTER guitar fest – upside down one side, right side up on the other.
I play left-handed guitars, but I have learned to play a right-handed guitar upside down to. At least, to be able to play a range of basic chords. This way, I can pick up any guitar and play it. On holiday, I borrowed my son’s right-handed guitar and wrote a song using it – it helped give me a new perspective.
I like your thinking, Noel!
Congrats to you for teaching yourself to play both ways! It’s exactly that kind of thinking that could help others understand that we lefthanders do have a choice and the choice is not which is better or worse, just a choice of ways to play. You have both sides of your brain clicking away in your decision. Isn’t it interesting that playing “out of the box”/lefthanded challenges you to learn to play “inside the box”/righthanded! The key to it all is this – natural versatility – and you’ve got it!
Nancy,
Thanks for your kind words! It is also interesting that when I first decided to learn to play guitar I tried very hard to play a right-handed guitar the right-handed way, but after a few weeks I stopped turned the strings around, and pointed the instrument the other way. It felt correct straightaway. Why should that be? Why does it feel ‘right’ for me to strum and finger-pick with my left hand and play on the neck with my right hand? Why is there a right (or left) handed way to play the guitar?
Hi again Noel,
Beats me, kiddo! Isn’t it interesting how just using the word “right” causes us left handers all kinds of mental problems in basic communication! I personally believe that fretting/bridging is far easier than strumming/finger picking. So, I just leave the easier stuff to my right hand and the difficult and more challenging stuff to my dominant left. There’s probably someone somewhere in the world who plays the darn thing amazingly with his/her feet…….More power to all players, no matter if they are “right” or “wrong” based on current “standards”. Let’s just let the labels and judgements drop and play away!
Don’t forget the thousands of lefties out there that play guitar right-handed (like me!) including David Bowie, Paul Simon, Noel Gallagher, George Michael, Mark Knopfler & BB King!!
It this the thruth? I play guitar and bass both right handed. I have neverplayed a lefthanded instrument, but always wondered if I should. My guitar sucks, but my bassplaying is professional. I had no idea that there were others likie me, especially the ones you mention.
“After ‘the Beatles’ formed Wings”
Paul formed Wings and the insertion of the word “he” would have made all the difference to your statement. Small word, BIG difference.
He’s a GOD you know, you can’t get it wrong.
Hello,
Jimi Hendrix was a “true” lefthanded guitarist ((-; the only thing was, he was nearly always using right-handed guitars because of the lack of lefthanded ones at that time. But he always restringed them for Lefties!
For examples of people who played a standard right-handed guitar upside down you could name Coco Montoya or Albert King [now updated in article, Keith]
So long
Or Elizabeth Cotton..
Contrary to the previous comment, I find playing right handed guitar easy, and learning left handed was easy for me as when I looked at my friends playing, it was like looking in a mirror and I learnt very easily.
So, therefore it’s a bit like combing your hair, you know you are looking at the wrong side but you also know it is the correct side you are combing.
We left handers are so clever.
Sorry pavan link was wrong.
http://www.pavanguitars.com
I play the TP-30 left handed; very good sound.
Biggest problem playing left handed is not being able to pick up a guitar at a friends house and play it.
For classical in the US, http://www.pavan.com guitars are very good as he is a lefty too.
If you do switch a right-handed, the problems are not that great; I play an aria travel guitar that is a righty and my first electric was too. The nut may need some adjustment.
Lessons are not a problem; if they are, find another teacher. They should be flexible enough.
As lefties are good at transposing in your head, I wouldn’t recommend a left-handed teaching book as it will be at odds with most of the tab music out there. If you learn to read music, that issue goes away too.