My daughter's a lefty, do I teach her to play left or right handed?

VimFuego

I wonder if it comes from the time when all guitars were fingerpicked and it was the R hand doing the hard work. Likewise the mandolin family, where the left hand has a relatively easy job of it and the R hand has the harder job (leastways, I can't imagine trying to tremolo pick with my left hand). 

JAYJO

Im left handed and play left handed. My left hand has more controlled rhythm. ie If i play with drum sticks the left is the one i can controll the best. It feels more natural and the first thing i ever did with a guitar was to try and strum it. It didnt matter if it was left or right i had no idea it was upside down i just ran my thumb over the strings.

Clarky

stickyfiddle said:

Right handed. I find it baffling that guitars are even available left handed when no other musical instruments are. 

this is soooooo wrong… it makes a huge difference

1nten5e

If I'd let my left handed son learn right handed from the start, it might have been better for him as regards purchasing guitars.........but it would also mean I would have to keep a sharp eye on my right handed collection

samzadgan

perfect solution...

 

hobbio

Well it's all academic now anyway. I asked her if she was still interested in getting a guitar and she said that she just wants to concentrate on her violin. Understandable really, as she really seems like a natural violinist.

Clarky

I'm very left handed... when I was a kid I tried goofing with guitar a little as a rightie.. it never made any sense to me at all.. I just couldn't get anything to work at all.. then within a year of that I tired a guitar strung leftie and took to it immediately..

it has less to do with what hand is on the neck and more to do with the hand that picks and strums.. essentially, the hand that provides all the timing and rhythmic information..

Drew_TNBD

Clarky said:

I'm very left handed... when I was a kid I tried goofing with guitar a little as a rightie.. it never made any sense to me at all.. I just couldn't get anything to work at all.. then within a year of that I tired a guitar strung leftie and took to it immediately..

it has less to do with what hand is on the neck and more to do with the hand that picks and strums.. essentially, the hand that provides all the timing and rhythmic information..

Absolutely the same experience. My first guitar was a blue Westfield acoustic type deal. I smashed it against my bedroom wall in a fit of anger after owning it for 2 hours.

Yeah... kinda got the rockstar thing down quite well when I was 16!

Jalapeno

You never see a left handed Violin, Viola, 'Cello, or upright Bass ...

Just saying ...

Drew_TNBD

Jalapeno said:

You never see a left handed Violin, Viola, 'Cello, or upright Bass ...

Just saying ...

um.. actually... you do.... Loads of people play them left handed. Some of them restring them, others just play it inverted.

not_the_dj

http://33.media.tumblr.com/957e45d65624dde932d6ff02e32ba5c4/tumblr_mfm1o7v1Ui1r84iplo1_500.gif

Jalapeno

Must be a laugh a minute in an orchestra pit as a lefty

frankus

Richard Barth might say:

VOT YOU TALKIN ABOUT, VILLIS?

Ornette Coleman played violin left handed

"I ain't neber seen a bigot admit to bein' wrong... jes sayin'"