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As Claire described, I had the misfortune to play in an orchestra as a right-handed violinist on the right hand side of the music stand with a left-handed violinist on my left.while at first it was quite amusing, it became clear after some near misses between tip of bow and eyes(mine usually)that we were incompatible and my partner was moved to the rear of the section where he played quite happily, and safely, on his own!
It seems that at least on here there are a lot of left handed percussionists, I totally avoid playing on anyone elses instruments as I have mine set up left handed and in exactly the right places for me, also it makes a difference how mine are set up as I am short, my right foot has no hope of being able to keep up the constant beat on the bass so my own set up is essential. I even managed this in the very “left handed is unacceptable” world of the 1950s.
Yes I’m told I look odd when playing and on the odd occasions when I have been expected to play a concert bass drum as in a band contest, I have said no sorry when I play it I cant see the conductor so I take my own and use it like a kettle drum and sitting down, there are ways around everything. I think leftys learn very quickly to “think outside the box”.
Some one has said on this forum being left handed will either make you excell or fail miserably, I failed miserably on the piano and my hand writing is really the worst, the piano failure was due to not being able to get my right hand to work correctly, but my hand writing failure is totally due to the school teachers I had who would not let me even hold my pen for a moment in my left hand, so because my grip in my right hand was poor the pencil or pen went everywhere by the time they finally gave up it was to late for me to learn to write with my left hand either I was so far behind it was impossible. Thank God for the typewriter and now the computer! And excell yes in anything to do with being creative, art ,design, sewing I learnt to think outside the square very early for even sewing machines are right handed.
Logn live the lefty percussionists
I’m a lefty but I learned to play guitar, bass, and drums right-handed. I eventually switched the set up lefty(using my right hand for hi-hat/ride only). I never had any trouble learning any instrument (either way). I was first taught guitar by my right-handed father (He made sure I was comfortable with it first though). I have recently found that I can play lefty as well– whitch (among other things) leads me to believe that I may be ambidextrious instead (although my preferrence for most things {writing, eating, manipulating objects} is to use my left hand. I’ll keep up my lefty guitar, but I have eleven years experience playing righty….so I’m not going to give THAT up.
Yeah I am the same way…I first tried playing the guitar on “guitar hero” left handed but it was to confusing…Playing it right handed just came more natural….The same was with playing an actual guitar…I dont know many left handed people who can play right handed besides me, so it was nice to see there are others…. I also cant use left handed scissors! I tried, all it does is bend the paper lol it wont cut…So I just use right handed…..
hi,
i have played bass guitar for 20 years and guitar for the last few.
I started on right hand guitar, mainly as i didn’t know the difference and left handed guitars have always looked odd to me!
Over the years i thought about swopping to a left handed, but like you the time put in as a right hander would be wasted.
The advantage on guitar though, especially electric is the dominant hand is on the fingerboard, especially for solo lines. (i think that is why Jimi Hendirx went left, he was right handed….i think!)
Keyboard players can do basslines very easily.
Now, with all the info. on the internet, we can see what us lefties are naturally good at…..the choosen few!
Hi,
I love music and had no problems learning the recorders nor the clarinet. I used to play one of those little electric organs you could get in the 70′s with chord buttons on the left and keys for the right hand, with my hands crossed over, until my Dad insisted I taught myself to play the ‘right’ way round. However when I came to learn the piano I was fine except for the over-loud bass, but when a piece got difficult and I had to really concentrate, then without any conscious thought, my left hand would play the treble clef and my right hand the bass clef – woops. I really struggled doing drum rolls on the timpani- until I started the roll with my left and hand not my right. For some reason I could not cope with playing the harp at all. Singing is non-handed but I do not seem to be able to pitch accurately and realiably. Any other lefties have problems with singing in tune reliably? Liz
I have really enjoyed learning that there are a lot more left-handers that are drummers in the world. I learned to play right-handed with the traditional grip used for sticks but now I try to used a matched grip whenever possible. I haven’t played for awhile but miss it alot and hope to go back to being a stickman very soon. I was very lucky growing us as eventhough my mother wanted to change me into a righty, God Bless my first grade teacher Mrs. Caldwell who flatly told her NO! In regards to an earlier post concerning having to use the leadliner’s kit in a concert setting… This is very true. I have several friends in the sound system/concert stage business and a lot of the time the kit is theirs, set to the demands of the main act. Also, as mentioned, time constraints also are sometimes prohibitive. Now, 52, I am so used to being left-handed in a righty world, a lot of times it would now be more diffifult to do certain tasks as a true left-hander. But, if I had a child who was a lefty, I would encourage them to be a lefty to the max. If their teachers were not open to their particular needs, I’d be sure and protest until they were. In my area in Eastern KY, a school system outlawed peanut butter because one student… yes one student out of hundreds was allergic to peanut butter. LEFTIES ROCK!
I wanted so much to learn the violin. But in my younger days, they didn’t have violins for lefties. I tried with a right-handed violin, but I had to quit before I found out if I could do it or not. So, I became a pianist. I don’t have the dexterity in my right hand as much as in my left. So, playing the trills and other right hand techniques is harder for me. I had to really work at it, but even with years of work, it is still not as easy for me.
I’m left-handed and have played the violin most of my life. My advanced violin teacher once told me to use my bow as if I were stroking my lover to which my reply was ” I use my left hand for that”! I reached quite a high level of playing but I was always frustrated by my inadequate bowing. My fingering was pretty good, however.
It is almost impossible to get a good left-handed violin. Not only does the bridge need to be reversed (very easy) and a left-handed chin-rest found, but the bass bar has to moved over to the other side and the fingerboard has to be replaced with one that slopes in the opposite direction. This requires opening the violin and taking it apart to rebuild it. A very expensive business and something that no-one would do to a violin made by an old master and probably worth thousands of pounds.
Anyone who is interested:
There is a company in Ireland that sells wooden Irish flutes and can make them right or left handed. It is called Hamilton Flutes. You can find links to it by doing a Google search (or another search engine) under Hamilton Flutes. They offer keyed and unkeyed versions of the instrument.
Edward
I am left handed and have played the piano, the violin and the flute and the only thing I really had any problems with was the violin. I LOVED the piano and flute and played them both and picked them up very easily actually.
I’m a left handed pianist.
Doesnt change much but you reall need to work hard to make both your hands even. This is usuyally because, in a majority of piano sheets, the right hand holds the melody, while the left hand is accompanying. But when I started learning the piano my piano teacher always had to tell me to too keep my left hand quiet – I was left handed, so playing louder with my left handed wasn’t supposed to happen. But I trained myself and getting better – actually playing the piano has made a me a bit semi – ambidexsterous.
I am left handed and teach music as well as playing instruments myself. I think left handers learn to be more ambidextrous than right handers and I have no problem with piano. I was taught guitar right handed by my right handed father but I always found holding down the strings the tricky part and as this is done with my left hand, I think playing this way probably helped me. When teaching recorder, what most (right handed) children find difficult is putting their left hand at the top. The first three notes usually taught are B A and G, all formed with the left hand only, the right just supporting the recorder! I think here, left handers have an advantage, at least at the beginning! My daughters however have been learning the violin and I do find it hard to help them and learn with them. If I hold the violin as they do (they are both right handed) it feels wrong. I know that, despite playing the guitar the right handed way, that I want to hold the bow in my left hand and that doing it the other way would not work for me. I may see if I can get a left handed violin so I can learn with them.
Hiya Ruth, thanks for mentioning the recorder and I agree that a left handed child does have an advantage when begining recorder as the recorder is held left hand supporting and making the first notes. But could you tell me if it is possible to buy a descant recorder, where the last note position is possible to turn.. My 6 yr old daughter, is a leftie, but she’s not only left handed she’s completely left sided, and when trying to introduce the lower notes, she switches from holding and playing the top notes left handed, to playing them right handed, but then can’t reach the last two holes on the recorder as they are placed around to the right hand side. Any help would be appreciated.
Yes I’m a rightie and so is her twin brother.
Hi Donna – my old school recorder was constructed in 3 sections – so the final section containing just that final hole could easily be twisted round to the other side for left handed playing. The two little holes are slightly different sizes though, so I’m not sure quite what happens when you play C# and only cover one of them. It always felt completely natural to me as a leftie playing it the “right-handed” way – that way you get to control the thumb hole with your left hand which I found to be a positive advantage. I guess the most important thing is to settle on one or the other – it’s not practical to keep switching hands around as you play.
I am a left handed drummer for 37 years. I play cross hand style with my right hand hitting the snare drum ..
I find that you can accent more because the left hand is in charge. Also playing
in a lot of jam sessions over the years you adapt to playing a right hand set up.
strange enough i was taugh to play guitar and bass right handed.YES we do live in
a righted world.
I also play the drums and i’m left handed.
my drum teacher has taught me left handed, and i play the same way as you do. It is difficult to set my drum kit up the opposite way to as right handed people would play it, but it’s something you get used to after a while.
it’s nice to know that someone else is a left handed drummer!
11/29/09
I, too, am a left handed drummer. I play a right handed set up drum kit while using my left hand for both the ride and hi-hat cymbals. My right hand plays the snare and toms. I am happy to find more left handed drummers opinions about drum kit playing.
Ken
When trying to play right handed, i get mixed up, and so i prefer playing left handed. Also because my left hand is stronger than my right hand, and therefore i find it easier to keep up the hi hat beat with my left hand.
I am only thirteen, but have been told i have a talent and not to throw it away, haha!
Since i started learning how to play the drums, i’m forever watching music videos, and when i go to concerts to see which famous drummers i have seen are left handed. So far? None.
Does anyone know any famous left handed drummers?
Hi,
As a leftie drummer(and dentist) of MANY MANY years, I am aware of some of the following drummers being lefties and playing that way…wearing the hi hat on the right..
Ian Paice(Deep Purple) Phil Collins(Genesis)Dom Howard(Muse) are all lefties. The band GOSSIP have a female drummer-sincere aplologies,I don’t know her name,is also left handed! Pete Riley a well known drum tutor on Rhythm magazine is a leftie! Even better is the fact, that his video lessons are shown as a leftie, thus for once its our right handed majority who have to work out what is going on…”now you know how it feels!”
I play Violin, and classical Indian drums and I am very good at them. For some reason I have just picked up a flute and messed around with it and seemed to be exxelent with it. the left handers brain which uses the right side (mostly anyway), which is good with spatial abilities, acoustic abilities and 94 percent of lefthanders have an IQ of over 110. I love being the only lefthander in my family.
My interest is in traditional Irish/celtic music. I’ve played a number of string intruments over the years, most of which I still have! Originally I simply swapped strings around and recut bridges to suit left handed playing. This included mandolins and bouzoukis (both 8 strings). More recently I’ve had intruments built for me, including a four string tenor banjo a Dave Freshwater cittern (really an 8 string mandola) and a Fylde 8 string bouzouki.
My biggest problem has been that I can’t read music. I’ve bought lots of tutorials for mandolin, banjo and so on but (naturally) diagrams have been for righted-handed players. I’d love to hear how other lefties might have addressed this problem..
When I was younger I dabbled in guitar playing. On reflection I’m not convinced I play any better having “switched”!!
By the way, the Gaelic (Irish) word for a leftie is “Citeog”, which has connotations of awkwardness (see http://www.hiberno-english.com/body.php?id=1355 )
I am a university percussion performance major, and I know how hard it is to be a left-handed percussionist.
One of the wonderful things about percussion is that it’s such a visually interesting instrument, although that’s tough too sometimes. When high school marching bands put on a show, they always make sure that all the percussionists use the same sticks (right or left) at the same time, and being left-handed, I lead with my left hand about 80% of the time. So when I was in marching band, even though I learned the part quickest and could play the best, I was the one who always seemed to be having trouble with the stickings.
And that didn’t change as the music got more complex or soloistic. Many good composers are extremely interested in sticking and how it makes the music flow better, so many pieces are written with a specific one in mind. Then I have to choose: learn the right-handed way to ensure the flow, or figure the whole piece out left-handed and disregard the composers intent and make my teacher mad at me.
As a percussionist, I simply have to adapt. All the students in the percussion studio are right-handed, and I just have to fit in sometimes. You can’t play bass drum left-handed in a concert setting, all vibraphone pieces have prominant right hand parts. Honestly, I think that’s fine, because I have to get strong in both hands, not just one.
But it’s not all bad… All semester I have been playing pieces that have a simple right hand melody with an extremely complex left hand accompaniment, and because of my left-handedness, those become extremely easy. Or when I’m playing frame drum left-handed, I can simply mirror exactly what the teacher is showing me, way less confusing.
It’s even had the unexpected benifit of making me stand out, by giving me a signature style, a unique way of playing. I caught the attention of an famous percussionist this last summer when he noticed that in all his years of playing, I was the only person he saw using the left foot for the pedal of the vibraphone…He was impressed; I was so happy!
So even though it’s been hard sometimes, being a lefty percussionist isn’t all bad. Sure, it can be inconvenient and annoying sometimes, but don’t let it get you down; it’s a wonderful asset to have!
I have 3 children, 1 right and 2 lefties – both the left handers play an instrument – flute and piano (recently French horn as well). My right handed child has shown no interest in learning, where the two lefties were easy to persuade and enjoy and practice their instruments regularly.
Oh yes, both my husband and I are right handers!
I am a drum teacher, and although I can play both ways I always teach with a conventional set-up. I prefer this term to ‘right-handed’ as really there is no such thing. The main reason is to do with practical issues already mentioned. Much teaching in schools takes place in groups and there is simply not the time to keep changing the kit around. This is equally true when it comes to gigs and concerts. However, more fundamentally, as drummers we are aiming for complete 4-way independence i.e. being able to use each limb independently and equally as well as each other. Therefore, although some lefties may find it more challenging at first, particularly with regard to playing the BD, once this has been mastered they have an advantage of righties and usually make swifter progress towards independence. There are also simple concessions which can be made such as playing open-handed which is quite acceptable, and actually to be encouraged in all players where it is appropriate!
Hi Liz
I have been playing for a few moths now self taught.
I set my kit out with bass and hi hat pedal swapped and playing open handed.
Went for first lesson last week and was told to try normally.
I’m finding the crossed hand approach a bit tricky.
And also find when tapping foot to the bass of a song I instinctively use my left.
Any ideas?
Thanks Bronson
Every left handed drummer gets fed up when gigging at small venues and to save space some bright spark suggests sharing the right handed kit ! At least we dont have the problem of having to pay extra for a l/h kit
As another left-handed drummer playing a right-handed kit (because i share time on it with three righties) I echo the points above. Dexterity around the toms is not as good as it should be, and power on the kick-drum is somewhat lacking, but my snare backbeat on the left hand is rock solid and as I play a fair bit of Latin stuff, this falls easily on my left hand as well.
Like the idea of the ‘open’ kit. Watch Terl Bryant for a good example of this (although I think he is right handed).
On a completely different tack, the English Concertina is a dream for left-handers. The keys of C, G and D plus the thirds and fifths above all fall under fingers of the left hand. Left-handed folkies take heart!
I play the tuba and that is definitely built for right handed people but by just exercising the fingers on the right hand, any lefty can pick it up easily (in the non-literal sense).
I am a violist – playing the standard way. Interestingly, I was once teaching a violinist at the Guildhall school of music whom I had never heard before and something about the way he played made me ask if he was left-handed. He was! It is the bow arm that makes the sound and the phrasing and therefore “leads” , and I felyt that he was trying to make the music with his left hand leading, which doesn’t work. I have felt this with my own playing too at times. George Lang is right that the violin family is set up for right handers and it is difficult to change it. I don’t know what it would be like to leave it as it is and play left handed, with the “bottom” string at the top?
I would be very interested to know if anyone has done research on the problems of left-handers bowing with the right arm. Of course one has good fingerwork being a lefty, but the violin/viola/cello must be played this way historically because it suits right-handers better….
Excuse my ignorance-so the bow is NEVER held in the left hand??
I have only known of one left-handed violinist, now retired or deceased. We are all taught the “normal” way and not offered the option. I don’t think you can buy beginners’ violins set up for left-handers. I suppose you could re-string a normal one but the bass-bar which gives structural support would then be under the higher strings which would be a bad idea.
I play the violin with my right and bow with my left. I had bought a left-handed violin from e-bay. There are several sites that one could buy left-handed violins ready made.
I am a left-hander, but because of an injury to my left hand fingers was unable to use it for the strings.
In my opinion the string placements can be memorized but all expression and passion for the music is played through the bow. Think of one of the great master painters trying to paint using his wrong hand. Would their work have been as great?
I’m a viola player and music graduate. I’m left-handed, as is my viola teacher, who is among the top players in the country; I know several other left-handeded players too. Interestingly, I instincitvely played with the viola in the left hand, bow right the first time I held the instrument – the only people who’ve wanted to play the other way have been right-handed, when they’ve had a go on mine.
The main reason it’s not common to swap hands is orchestral playing. Apart from the ‘look’ of the orchestra, it’d create havoc with space (especially in the cramped setting of an orchestra pit) if there were some players going one way, and some the other. The only occasions I’ve heard of a player swapping hands is if they sustain an injury to one hand is when, like Stormie, they sustain an injury, or have a disability, which prevents them from using the left hand for fingering.
Being left-handed doesn’t necessarily make any difference; both hands require great dexterity. I’ve always thought being a lefty was a great advantage for vibrato.
I have played the ‘cello since aged 8 approx (will be 40 next month!). I am left handed and was taught to play the same as everyone else. My mother enquired about a left handed cello but was told it was not available. I have never had a problem bowing with my right hand and feel I have the advantage fingering with my left. However I did have problems playing the piano as I couldn’t master the difficult right hand part in conjuction with my left.
One point to think on – if people played string instruments right and left handed then string sections in orchestras would be in chaos with arms clashing all over the place!
Hi, I am learning to play the wire-strung harp (the clairseach in Irish Gaelic or clarsach in Scot Gaelic) — it’s the instrument at Trinity College in Dublin (the Brian Boru harp) and on the money in the Republic of Ireland. Anyway, it was traditionally played on the left shoulder (back in the 1600′s, in the time of O’Carolan) but today most people who play any sort of celtic harp play on the right. When I first started I was given the choice and I of course chose the left, it feels more natural to have my left hand playing treble and the right in the bass. Plus, finally, something in life made for lefties! I’ve been curious about where the left-shoulder preference originally came from. Any thoughts?
Does anyone know if there are more left handers among musicians than you would expect from the population at large? My impression is that yes there are.
Some years ago I was playing for a barn dance and the dance caller cracked a joke about knowing your left from your right, then asked “who’s left handed here?” The dancers had a pretty average showing, but the caller and all four members of the band were unanimously left-handed.
I’m a left-handed trombone player! When I first started playing music, I was on the trumpet, and I had no problem whatsoever playing the trumpet as a leftie. Maybe it was even better because the left hand holds most of the weight. With trombone, there’s definately a difference. It gets hard because you move the slide with your right hand, and most people’s right hands are stronger than mine. Although, in marching band, holding up that heavy instrument with my left hand helps me march for longer and longer!
I too also play the trombone and I know exactly how you feel.
How sad.I did not appreciate that..Get a leftie trombone and start poking some eyes out! Or just hit drums like me!
I too played both trumpet and trombone for awhile in Middle School. I did find the trombone hard being a lefty and it didn’t last long. But to be honest, neither did the trumpet. I played many different instruments during that time. I always went back to playing the clarinet then, but still really enjoyed the bass notes of the trombone. I have now found my niche later in life with a bass guitar. I now get to play those bass notes again, but in a way I can as a lefty and even more fun now as an adult.
My 7 year old son, Kyle, is just about to start piano lessons at school. He is left handed and I wondered if the teacher should take this into account when instructing him.
Dear Rona,
I’m 59 and also learnt to play the piano when I was 7. It did me no harm to have a right handed teacher and in fact, I’m sure that she didn’t even know that I was left handed. I went on to play other instruments, – recorder and cello as a child and pian accordian, concertina, handbells and church organ as an adult.
Hi Rona!
I’m a 56 yr. old musician (guitar and piano). I have played piano for 53 years now. I started playing by ear at age 3 and just continued on with it. I believe it is helpful for your son’s teacher to know he is left handed. As many others have said, the left is the dominant hand and it can drown out the right hand on the piano. I use those squeeze balls for my right hand to keep the strength equal to my left hand. I have found that my left hand plays the bass/foundation of the sound easily so I concentrate on my right hand to make sure the melodies are strong and my dexterity develops better. There are always plusses and minuses for left handers, however, I believe the piano is the best instrument to accomodate both right and left handers almost equally. Other than the few things I mentioned above, I believe your son will not have that many difficulties at all, especially since you are starting him at a young age. Kids learn to compensate much easier than adults because they don’t think about it as much. Kudos to you for asking and starting him young, Rona! I wish him and you the very best!
I am left-handed and I took a year of lessons for the piano when I was 6-7, I dropped the lessons, because I wasn’t interested. But two years ago (I’m 13 now) I got my keyboard out and started teaching myself. There really isn’t any difference except the left hand holds notes and the right hand plays the melody. I have recently started taking lessons again, and I don’t think my teacher has any clue that I am left-handed.
Dear all fellow left handers…….I am a drummer in my forties(though in my real job I am a dentist).I play drums as a leftie always have,wearing my hi hat to the right. I think you play whatever way feels most comfortable.Drumming does become somewhat ambidexterous in nature anyway..
It upsets me to read some fellow lefties being almost coerced to conform as a right hander..My advice for novices is to try both ways, if one does not immediately feel right. So many left handers are capable of different approaches any way.
eg we all my use left hand to write,but kick a ball right footed .or play tennis right handed etc.
Currently I notice Dom Howard (MUSE) and the girl drummer in The Gossip(sorry I don’t know her name) are playing lefties..It LOOKS so cool always..Of course Phil Collins ,sadly injured just now, is also left handed on the kit. There are many more.. Right handed Teachers SHOULD easily be able to accomodate left handers. Not to do so is lazy…..
Next time you visit your dentist,see if they are lefties….We stand to extract teeth on the opposite side!!! Or are your eyes closed then???
As a Scot I want to know why there are few leftie bagpipers….it would be great to see the pipes over a different shoulder!
Yours in music and teeth!
Thank you, Rory!
I am a piano and guitar player. I play the guitar upsidedown and backwards – meaning I can take a standard righthand guitar, flip it over, and play it as is – no string reversal. I have played this way for over 45 years now. I, too, get riled about it. Being blessed with a natural ear, I have made my own chords, created my own fingerstylings and have advanced to playing in many alternate tunings (some of which are much more easily played in this style as opposed to right handed). I have tried for years to find someone – anyone interested in helping me publish this style. I am registered at several guitar stores to teach this, with no takers. It is nearly impossible for anyone without a natural ear to play this way and, boy, is the world missing out! Maybe someday left handers will have an equal chance to learn to play a fully left handed way without being restricted to a modified right handed system. In the meantime, I continue to offer my help to anyone who is interested. If they are willing to “buck the right hand system” and work hard to play fully left handed, they will not be disappointed – guaranteed! Your email was “music to my ears”! Thanks again, Rory!
DAWN,
terrific post, you are so right!
I play the piano and my teachers would always get on me because I hit the lower notes harder than the upper notes. My left hand is naturally stronger and I found it difficult to play the left hand softer than the right. My left hand also reaches farther than my right and sometimes I can’t reach the span of upper notes written on the score. I will generally hit the note that I can’t each with my right hand with my left (either the exact note or the same note an octave lower).
Jennifer,
that is interesting, I too play the piano and hit the notes harder on the bass due to being left handed, but ironically– playing the piano is the only time where I am comfortable using my right hand, mainly the melody part and higher notes, as opposed to putting stuff in my right hand due to my grandmother screwing me up when I was little, I still turn to jelly.
I have been a drummer for almost 30 years. When I first bought my set home, I didn’t quite know how to set it up. My uncle and I looked at a Downbeat magazine and set the drums up exactly like they were in the magazine. Unknown to us at the time, all of the pictures were showing right-handed drum set-ups.
A year or so later I began to take lessons and my instructor had to inform me that I was playing as a right-handed drummer. I tried to adjust and start playing left-handed but it was too hard to switch over.
My instructor and a (right-handed) drummer friend of mine told my that I had the advantage over other drummers because I was left-handed playing right-handed.
I am a very solid POCKET drummer, however I think that my foot would have more ease to it if I was playing the bass drum with my left foot.
There are moments when I switch hands but over all it feels easy playing right handed, with the exception of my feet.
I have also tried playing guitar and bass using right hand instruments and turning around, it was very interesting. I play a little piano and I wonder if there is any advantage to being left handed or not?
Drummer Girl,
cool article, you got it, everything you see is set up by a right handed person and for right handed people; when my first wife would hang up my clothes after she took them out of the dryer, I got the worse headache because she hung the clothes up as a right handed person, as opposed to when I showed her how I hung up my clothes being left handed. People who are not right handed have no idea what we go through on a daily basis being left handed, and trying to cope in a right handed world where everything is made and created by right handed people, especially office buildings.
I am a cartoonist and a drummer. I draw left-handed, but play the kit right handed. When I play congas, however, I set them up for a left-handed player,ie. largest drum on the left up to the quinta on the right. This all came about naturally, seemingly the easiest way for me to do all of those things. With most instruments, a certain amount of ambidexterity is required, and if it came down to it, I could probably play the kit left-handed and left-footed. I don’t think that I could draw right handed!
Marian is right about playing in situations where a back line is set up for everyone to use. It has never been set up for a left-handed drummer in my experience, and it would be a drag to have to reset the kit when you usually only have a few minutes to be ready as the bands changeover. I guess the best thing is to be as prepared as possible for whatever comes your way, and to be as adaptable as possible. While we tend to think of ourselves (left-handers) as being somewhat superior (!) than our less fortunate rightie brethren, being “bi” is actually at the top of the heap!
If you learn from an early age, then I don’t think it poses much of a problem. I play the trumpet and when I started learning at the age of 9, I don’t remember there ever being an issue with using my right hand to control the notes. Plus the left hand takes most of the weight of the instrument, which as my stronger hand, works fine with me. I wouldn’t like to think of the cost for a special left handed trumpet to be made!
Other instruments seem harder though. I always wanted to play guitar but could never get over the whole ‘playing it upside down’ scenario and no one was ever willing to teach me. A lot of other left handed musicians I’ve come across all tend to play the right handed way. I think as left handers we are just more adaptable, which can only be a good thing in my book.
Most instruments I have tried seem to me to be either left-handed or even-handed. I think we lefties have a definite advantage. This is particularly true of the even-handed instruments. A left-hander living in a right handed world will inevitably be forced to have more dexterity in their weaker hand. It fascinates me that left and right handedness are not exact opposites. Most of us (whether left and right handed) use a knife and fork the same way round but have different reasons why it’s appropriate for us.
It is natural to me to pick up a violin first, followed by the bow. So the violin automatically ends up correctly in my left hand. The (left-hand) fingering requires considerable dexterity, while the (right-hand) bowing is more about arm movements than fingers. A standard violin is quite definitely a left-handed instrument. The same applies equally to other members of the string family.
I have occasionally seen left handers trying to play their accordion upside down so that the two hands are swapped over. This doesn’t work well with a standard instrument because the bass buttons are deliberately angled to fit the position of the left hand, and this angle works against you if you try to play them with the right hand.
I sometimes do a bit of teaching at accordion workshop sessions. The most common issues are with managing the bass buttons (normally played with the left hand). Even as a leftie myself, when playing advanced music, it’s the bass buttons that give me most trouble. The keyboard on the right seems to pose fewer problems. So I think that again we have the advantage.
Piano and church organ both seem pretty even handed to me. The right hand often seems to be in charge, and plays the tune but both hands have plenty to do. The organ at our church has more stops on the left side of the keyboard than on the right. (These are the knobs that switch different registers in and out.) This makes sense because the right hand normally plays the dominant role on the keyboard leaving the left hand a little more free to change the stops. But it means that my left hand is kept busy – one up to us again!
I have occasionally dabbled with woodwind instruments and generally found that although you finish up making considerable use of both hands, typically the first few notes you learn use more fingers from the left hand than the right. As a beginner, this is a big help to me.
I don’t play guitar, but I think it could be left handed or right handed depending on the style of music. Strumming is a fairly simple movement, while finger picking requires much more dexterity. The fingering probably falls somewhere in between.
I haven’t tried brass instruments either, but I watch the brass players in the orchestra. The trombone is definitely right-handed but I reckon the french horn is left handed.
All in all, this discussion probably opens up a huge market for ‘left-handed’ instruments because the right-handed majority might well benefit from trying it the other way around. But for the benefit of us lefties, perhaps we should keep quiet about it!
I agree with your comments about string instruments. When I was younger I learnt to play the cello and I always thought that it was an advantage for me that it was my left hand responsible for the intricate finger work. Out of curiosity once I tried to see what it would be like relying on my right hand to do the fingering by leaning the cello against my right shoulder instead of the left – my fingers felt weak and clumsy and I’m sure I’d have found it much harder to enjoy playing if this was the ‘standard’ though I guess whatever you start learning soon becomes the norm. As others have noted, lefties do on the whole seem better at adapting to the environment as required.. I suspect that this is a necessity more than a choice as if we couldn’t cope in a right-dominated world we would soon flounder!!
i totally agree with you on the French Horn statement. i am one of five French Horn players at my school (i am also one of the youngest). however, since i am left handed, i can finger the notes much better than my right handed counterparts. i am currently second horn, with a girl (who is a senior) being first horn. i am very thankful that i am left handed and that i can play this wonderful instrument
Dawn is correct, but notice that the violin is set up for right handed players. To play with the bow in the left hand it is necessary to change strings over, refit the bridge, and move the bass bar inside the belly to the other side (expensive). A few solo and chamber players have managed this successfully – but it’s impossible in an orchestra!
I’ve been drumming for over 16 years now. And as I’m completely self taught I play with my left footed but right handed. Consequently I play open-handed (rather than the usual cross-handed). Whenever I play a gig or at a practice studio I have to spend a good 5 minutes moving around all the toms so i’m comfortable.
Where this leaves me at a disadvantage as i can’t do sixteenths (the hihat and snare are just too far apart) I do have the advantage of being able to play a lot of off-beats as my hands won’t hit each. Plus i find I can bounce a lot around the toms more freely, more so than someone who plays cross-handed.
I love being left-handed!
I’m gonna write this again as the original’s incredibly messy.
I’ve been drumming for over 16 years now. And as I’m completely self taught I play ‘cack-handed’. Bass drum with my left foot, hihat pedal with my right but I also play the snare with my left and hihat with my right.
Consequently I play open-handed (rather than the typical cross-handed). Whenever I play a gig or at a practice studio I have to spend a good 5 minutes moving around all the toms so i’m comfortable.
Where this leaves me at a disadvantage as i can’t do sixteenths (the hihat and snare are just too far apart) I do have the advantage of being able to play a lot of off-beats as my hands won’t hit each other and are free to do independent things.
Plus i find I can bounce a lot around the toms more freely, more so than someone who plays cross-handed. I naturally end up from a roll with my right hand at the hihat; the perfect place to carry on the usual drum pattern.
I love being left-handed, we have so much more power over right-handers, we’re forced to do so many things right-handed that we become wonderfully ambidextrous with many tasks.
Most right-handers admit they could lose their left and not miss it that much, but if they lost their right they’d be completely screwed.
We could survive just as well losing either hand.
I’m a novice drummer. Like many other left-handed people, I’m being taught to play right handed – not for me, but for everyone else. The fact is that anyone ever playing a gig plays with the kit belonging to the headline band, because there is no time between sets to change kits, and invariably that kit is set up right handed, and there is no time to change that set-up either . So it’s best to learn right-handed if you are ever likely to perform. If you go for lessons, the kit will be set up right-handed, you will waste the time you are paying for changing it, and more than likely be expected to put it back in your time, to or the person following you will waste their paid time putting it back. This principle applies in any walks of life where you share equipment with right-handers – as a scientist taking microscopy exams I was disadvantaged because the microscopes were set up with a space to the right for your notebook so you could draw the specimen. The space to the left was for the person on the next microscope – so I ahd to move the microscope and risk losing what was on the slide for myself and those following me round, and then move it again when I moved on. There is no satisfactory left handed solution to any of this – we live in a right-handed world. We brought my left-handed son up to eat right handed, simply by setting the table that way – it saved him all the elbow-clashing I constantly endure/cause. Can’t say I feel bitter about any of this- imy attitude is pragmatic – but it does explain to me why there are twice as many left handed geniuses and twice as many left handers at bottom of the heap intellectually – lefthandedness is kill or cure as far as getting on in the world is concerned.
As a left handed drummer who plays a right handed kit, I swear it’s the more logical way to play anyhow!
Well as a child I learned to play the violin. i always thought I jad a significant advantage being left handed, since that is the hand that does all the complex work!
I too thought I had an advantage being left-handed learning cello as a child. I learned it very quickly. As I advanced, however, my playing should have become smoother and more refined, but in hindsight I think my weaker right-handed bowing skills held me back (and, to be fair, my dwindling interest and lack of practice didn’t help!). I also found it hard at times to play the louder parts. In the end I didn’t pursue cello after high school.