Calling all lefties - Stringed instruments - Any advice for parents and aunties of left-handed kids?

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Music Junkie
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Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:17 am

songman52 wrote:
Michelle, another advantage to playing "the other way" from most is that few people will noodle with your guitar. One of our lead players in our band is left-handed. Naturally, we give him a lot of grief about being backwards, but it really keeps people from picking up his guitars (which he doesn't really like them doing without asking).
As for selections, Southpaw Guitars in Houston has a slew of options. That's where he also gets those hard-to-find left-handed capos, picks, instrument cables and other accessories!

Jerry
Jerry:

A trip to Southpaw Guitars is very high on my bucket list.... B) I purchased a Baby Taylor through them a year or two ago, and they were very helpful. I would love to be able to walk into a store for once and be able to choose something besides a Yamaha or bottom end Fender..... It is so frustrating. From that standpoint alone, I would recommend a kid to start out righty and give it an honest go if they can. I don't mind people noodling around with my guitars, if they can....lol On the flip side, I can't ever pick up a righty and noodle around.... :unsure:

MJ


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Sun Dec 30, 2012 12:15 pm

Hi Michele,

I think as you mentioned this topic has come up quite a few times on the forum before. I have commented on this quite a few times myself, so I won't repeat all of the reasons again....

But, yes, I am an example of a natural left-hander that does everything else left-handed (writes, throws, plays tennis, bought left-handed golf clubs) , but researched the topic, and took up guitar right-handed, as an adult.

Jimc


cosmicmechanic
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Sun Dec 30, 2012 1:12 pm

neverfoundthetime wrote:
Seven years old, eh, Michele? That's good news as all the possible options are wide open. ... there is massive growth of brain potential (in physical terms) until 10-12 then its a consolidation of what's still actively used and a loss of what's not used or needed ...
After some introspection ...

Chris's comment highlights an objective view of the subject. Maybe it's not that dramatic to favor that a child hold his instrument right-handed?

I think there's an archetype floating out there in the collective unconscious.

It's an image of frowning Catholic Nuns in full traditional garb whacking little children's left hands with the sharp metal side of a wooden ruler,
for whatever godawful reason ... and we sure don't want to be the modern version of that with our little lefties.

I just mean that it also counts to weigh that in and to question whether there is really a parallel to be made. Are we over-dramatizing ?

Oh, in a previous post I mentioned a right-handed guitar player who learned to play leftie in order to play Paul in a Beatle band.
Turns out he performs lefty on bass only ... otherwise plays righty ... he is still working on that (!?! :blink: )

Pierre


michelew
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Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:52 pm

Thanks everyone for your advice, ponderings and observations. Given that the teachers I know and trust are saying go with the right-handed approach if you can, and so many lefties seem to be saying the same thing, I'll be encouraging my little ukulele player to keep right. We've had a chat about it and she seems to understand the'whys' so far, as do the adults around her. If she keeps at it, she'll make up her own mind at some stage. But, for the moment it seems that the right-handed approach is the better option and will give her a better start.

Chris, I'm sure you're right about the brain thing, it's the access to learning resources (including videos) and instruments that I'm most concerned about for now.

Pierre, yes the ruler thing ...

David, thanks, it's great hearing how lefties have found it themselves. I've read other similar stories.

Jim, it's great to get your perspective AS a leftie. Thanks.

Thanks again. I'm not sure how I missed the previous posts. Perhaps I just didn't hold the info because I didn't need it at the time.

Shel


michelew
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Sat Jan 05, 2013 9:10 am

Neil provides advice in this issue in the news this week. If you haven't seen it, here's the link

http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/145 ... -2013.html

Thanks Neil

Michele


thereshopeyet
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Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:59 am

Thanks.


immgr
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Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:23 pm

Just another viewpoint:
I am left-handed in all things possible and 50 years old. I started playing guitar 2 years ago. I debated for some time whether to play left or right handed. I decided on right handed and I have been very happy with that decision.

A few reasons:
- I am exclusively self-taught and I use the internet (Neil!) and books extensively to learn. I knew from learning golf (left-handed) at a young age all of the tricks of converting right to left instruction, but learning golf still was a difficult journey from the left side. I didn't want to go down that path again for guitar.
- I am on my sixth guitar now, half new and half used. It would have been impossible to reach this point if I was limited to left-handed equipment selections.
- I feel that my biggest challenge is my fretting hand, not my strumming hand. Using my left hand for fretting has worked out well. Plus, to my surprise, I am able to fingerpick right handed fairly well.
- It' s great to be able to pick up other instruments (at church, for example) and play, as well as sharing the use of my instruments.

Fundamentally, I still don't understand why the standard guitar is deemed to be a right handed instrument - I think I have an advantage fretting a guitar with my left hand, as a left handed person.

Gary


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