Comments on: Wind instruments

By: Bezz x

Bezz x — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Same here:-)

By: Bezz x

Bezz x — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I am currently learning to play keyboard/piano and find that I also find it easier to play the tune with my right hand rather than left. However, in tunes with a melody in both hands ,like sticks and stones, I have found it easier to play the piece than other “class mates”. Whether this has anything to do with my being left handed I have apsolutly no idea.

By: Natasha

Natasha — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I played classical guitar as a child/teen, and found no dificulty playing in the “standard” way. In fact I found it easy to use my left hand for the notes as that was a more difficult thing to learn than the picking/strumming initially. I think that Guitars, in fact most instruments, are AMBIDEXTROUS rather than being right or left, as most require both hands to be used equally if differently. I quit guitar because my teacher was boring and it wasn’t challenging or interesting enough, wish I’d kept going.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I am an 11 out of 12 lefty, I tried to learn to play the piano my teacher finally told me I was wasting my time and money, my right hand just did not do what it was meant to do, if I could have found a left handed piano!! being in the retired age group I grew up in a world where to be left handed was not acceptable, and was always being forced to be right handed, which failed miserably and made me miserable as well. I play percussion, and get comments that I look odd when I play, but of course I play left handed with my right hand doing very little work. I notice that I play in reverse to a right handed player who brings the right stick down first, and above the left one.
My husband and 2 of our 3 children are left handed, but they are each ambidextrous to a degree, they play brass instruments with ease, and our eldest son taught himself to play guitar on a borrowed guitar which of course was right handed.

By: Libby

Libby — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I started playing recorder in year 3 and clarinet in year 5 and have never had any problems playing either of them, I think it may be becuase I find it more comfortable with the left hand at the top like its suppossed to be played. The only problems I do have is the keys at the bottom right hand side which often have to be used. I’m in year 9 now and I’ve olny just realised that that is why it seems easier for me. My Dad tried to teach me guitar with the strings reversed but I was rubbish!

By: Zoe

Zoe — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I get conflicting advice re playing the recorder. All right-handed professional musicians and music teachers tell me it does not make a difference, but the few left-handed people I know tell me it does make a difference.

I am not sure if this will be different in a few years time, as my parents’ generation was still taught to write with their right hand not matter what to ‘train’ both hands, and because ‘it doesn’t make much of a difference.’ Well, that has been proven wrong, and I wonder if in ten years or so all left-handed children will be taught on lefty instruments…

I have been advised to buy my child a conventional recorder, and am currently trying to decide whether I should just go ahead and by a left-handed one nonetheless!

As for left-handed musicians having an advantage over right-handed musicians when it comes to strings…I know for a fact that that’s not true, since I am a musician myself (violin). Also, if that was actually the case, why are instruments not built in a way that favors the (right-handed) majority of musicians – in a world where everything else is geared toward right-handed people? This argument does not follow, IMO.

By: Edward Johnson

Edward Johnson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

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. I
was not sure if this should have been in the “other instruments” category because it is not a conventional flute so I put a comment about it in that section also.

Edward

By: Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

But don’t any of you oboists make your own reeds? I had to learn to make them when I was an oboe major in college; not knowing that there were such things as “right” handed and “left” handed knives, I purchased one for righties. My oboe teacher at first was going to have me return and switch it, then decided that I should try learning to use it right handed. I did, and made reeds all through school and beyond – right handed. I couldn’t begin to do it the other way around now!
Also learned to knit right handed when the Girl Scout leaders couldn’t figure a way to teach me to do it the opposite way. I can use the mouse either hand, but the really important things like eating and writing are left-only.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Hello Sarah.

I’m teaching also, here in Portugal, some children how to play the recorder. To the righties, I usually say that the right hand is in the bottom because it has four holes, and the left hand has only three (no counting with the thumb). Well, to the lefties, i say that they have to use the thumb, and so the left hand is in the top of the record!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I am a leftie and play recorder and clarinet in the conventional way. I also teach Primary School children to play the recorder and in my experience, it is the RIGHT HANDERS who always want to put their right hand at the top, which feels more natural to them. At the start of every beginners class, I get all the kids to hold up their recorder in the air with their left hand at the top and go round making corrections. As others have stated, it is important if students go on to learn other instruments and also to avoid confusion when teaching in a group. I wonder if anyone has any fun tips to help kids get it right, especially when practising at home?