Lefty or Righty?

[mikimiller]

I Finally decided to learn to play guitar (yaay!) , and I am ready to learn, but I'm not sure whether to learn "lefty" or "righty" . . . I am very left-sided (goofy footed when snowboard, play tennis, cut, write lefty) but for $ reasons decided to learn golf righty

I'm just not sure which hand would be better for chording: I am not coordinated with my right hand AT ALL, so I don't think that would be a good choice for forming chords on the neck, so I am thinking that playing "righty" is the best choice, but with NO experience, I'm not certain about my thought process.

If this helps, I will be playing while on business trips with online lessons, so I am going to get a Traveler MKII, just need to decide whether to by L or R . . .

Any help deciding would be GREATLY appreciated!

[dennisg]

Typically, it's more important for your dominant hand to do the finger picking and flat picking, because those disciplines require more coordination than does fretting.

[dennisg]

Welcome from the Netherlands Mikimiller!

You indeed have a very good question, I do have some ideas about it, but still I'm not a lefthanded person myself. I know that a few over here are for that matter, maybe they can shine some light into this matter.

Anyway, welcome again and enjoy your 'learning the guitar'-journey!

Cheers

Vanessa

[millponddave]

I have to say that although there are fewer choices in guitars for a left handed player, you should go with a left handed guitar. My son is left handed and found it much easier to just get the right guitar than to try and force something that doesn't feel natural. Even though books and chord charts are designed for right handed folks, You will have an easier time of. Good luck and welcome.

Dave

[jimcjimc]

I am a natural left-hander who took up guitar about 3-4 years ago and had the same dilemma. I talked to the folks at the guitar store and searched the web on this question and after much pondering..... I took up the guitar right-handed.

One of the arguments for doing that is if you go to somebody's house and mention that you play guitar (something I still haven't done ) , if they have a guitar it's likely to be right-handed (The usual argument about us lefties adapting to a right-handed world.)

In the beginning, it seems like the left hand is doing the harder work forming the chords. But, of course, if that were truly the case, right-handers would play the guitar the opposite way. As you get into it more, as dennis pointed out, you learn that the "right hand" side is actually the most important for maintaining rhythm.

About a year into playing the guitar, when I thought I was really sucking and not improving, I went to a guitar shop and played around with some left handed guitars and considered switching. But, I didn't switch. I still play right-handed and don't intend to switch back. But, it is an excuse, I use occasionally for my slow progress. I am doing the best I can, I am just left-handed.

By the way, I took up golf a few years ago and bought left-handed clubs.

Jim

[mikimiller]

I'm so glad I decided to pose the question: I (mistakenly) thought I would need more dexterity on the neck but apparently that's not the case.

Thank you all for your input! I think I now know what to do . . .

I'm really glad I joined, too!

[Music Junkie]

mikimiller:

Welcome from another severe left-hander..... B)

I received a guitar as a gift right before I took up the guitar at the age of 37. It was right handed and I just never could get comfortable with it. I took it to my local store to see if they could switch it to left handed for me (keep in mind I was a complete novice and did not understand guitar construction in the least bit back then). Anyway, the guy just kind of laughed at me and told me that I should learn to play right handed because, as a lefty, I would have an advantage in that my left hand (dominant hand) would be used for the fret board. At that point, the first thing that popped into my head was: "why don't all righties play a left handed guitar then?????" I tried to learn to play for a bit, but just could not get a strum going with my right hand. Timing is so important in this instrument and my left hand is the hand I need for that....

So, I bought my first left-handed guitar and started to learn. Best decision I ever made. Although it does play hell in shopping for guitars, it has been so much better for me. As far as chords and other things being written for righties, I have found that very easy to deal with. If you look at a chord chart and envision it to be the back of the neck, you can pretty much place the fingers of your right hand to match the chord chart and it becomes very simple.

I am glad to hear you are taking up the guitar, and wish you good luck. It is a great gift to give yourself.... If you live near a store that does happen to have a lefty or two to try out, I would recommend learning to play a few popular chords each way (lefty and righty) and go sit down one day and try to strum through them in a steady 4/4 time to see which feels stronger and more comfortable.

If you have any more questions, ask away!

Cheers,

MJ

[TGNeil]

Hi Gang,

IMHO, I have always told beginning students, regardless of their naturally dominant side, that the left hand has by far the most difficult job of the two when it comes to playing the guitar conventionally. I don't see it as right handed or left handed. The guitar, and its ancestors were laid out in a certain way, probably by right handed minded folk, to sit and be played a certain way. Many other instruments developed in a similar manner- the piano and its ancestors, the violin and string family, the woodwind family,... it goes on almost across the board.

A natural lefty has a huge advantage in the difficulties presented by learning the guitar as for the first year or so most of what you need is independence of the left fingers to play notes and chords. The right hand only has to keep a rhythm as simple as tapping on a table at a steady pace. Many lefties become ambidextrous over the years because they have to learn to live in a right-handed world. I can tell you that playing the guitar from a young age has made me a very ambidextrous natural righty and I am now comfortable doing many things with either hand.

The problem of being in a situation where music is in the evening plan and the only guitar available is "right handed" might be real but not necessarily applicable is a small, but important part of the picture. Imagine a piano or violin player presented with the same dilemma.

At this point in my guitar evolution, when I run into a problem executing a difficult passage or series of moves, I might curse being right-handed for the faults of my left hand coordination. As far as the guitar is concerned, each hand has a different, and well defined job. It is a learning process for all parties and parts of the brain involved. Jimi and Paul did not have the advantage of contemporary advancements and knowledge, and it probably would not have mattered in their cases, but most people are looking for the most economical and efficient path to becoming a better musician, and taking advantage of ones natural strengths can only make it easier.

I might have been a great guitar player if I had been born a natural lefty, but I am grateful that I became somewhat ambidextrous because of the guitar.

Neil

P.S. In case I wandered off a bit, I do not recommend playing the guitar 'left handed."

[dsmarion]

mikimiller,

Welcome aboard! Getting here a bit late, but my first thought was you should choose to play right-handed. It just makes it easier to learn from others. That being said I know several left-handed guitarists who are good players (one of them doesn't even reverse the strings so he just plays a right-handed guitar left-handed - you can't get taught to play like that). Playing right-handed will make it easier to learn from fellow right-handed players IMHO.

On another note, have you got a guitar yet? That is a whole other conversation on what you may want to get if you haven't bought one yet. Neil has a beginning lesson that talks about this - check it out in the Beginner series.

Scott

[schm040]

Being a lefty who plays righty, I always thought it was strange that the "hard part" which is the fretting was the left hand on a right handed guitar. In other words, to me, a right handed guitar actually should be called a left handed guitar in my opinion.

So I agree completely with Neil, besides, those left handed chord charts look weird :_)

Good luck in your choice.s

MattMa