The Left-Handed Guitarist
Dec 21st, 2007 by Guitar MX Admin
As you can see, there are some instructional products that are endorsed on the Guitar MX site. Surprisingly, one of the more consistent sellers is the Picture Chord Encyclopedia for Left-Handed Guitarists. It’s no wonder, since there’s very little resourcesl available for left-handed guitarists. Most guitars, tablature, books and courses are designed for right-handed players. According to Wikipedia, only 7 to 10% of all people are left-handed. With 90% of guitar players being right-handed, it’s easy to see why in the guitar world, right-handers rule.
| Believe it or not, left-handed guitar players may have some advantages when it comes to guitar playing, and music in general. Left-handed people process information in their brains differently than right-handed people. For example, right-handed people tend to be more analytical, whereas left-handed people tend to be more creative and artistic. Left-handed brains seem to be better at multi-tasking, which could help guitar players who sing while they play. |  |
Some well known left-handed guitar players include Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Paul McCartney, Albert King, Tony Iommi, Rik Emmett and Dick Dale. Mark Knopfler and BB King are also left-handed, but play guitar right-handed. Michael Angelo Batio is left-handed too, and can play both right-handed and left-handed at the same time.
Let’s say you’re left-handed and are struggling with the guitar, or you would like to learn to play the guitar; what should you do? First, try to play right-handed. Many left-handers have no problem doing certain tasks right-handed, including playing the guitar. One tip that can help determine if you’re capable of using a right-handed guitar is this: Try clapping your hands for 15 seconds. Did you hold the right hand still and clap your left hand into it? If so, then you’re probably too left-handed for a right-handed guitar. If you clapped into your left hand, or clapped into both hands at the same time, you shouldn’t have any problem using a right-handed guitar.
| However, this is exactly what Jimi Hendrix did. By restringing his guitar and playing it upside down, his lowest string sounded bright, while his highest string sounded mellow. This was due to the pickup configuration on the Strat, and contributed to his unique sound. So it is possible to play this way, but for most players, it’s not recommended. |  |
There aren’t as many options when selecting a left-handed guitar, but there are some great ones out there. Check some of them out here.
For more information on left-handed guitar playing, check out these lessons at GuitarNoise.com as well as this free video lesson at JamPlay.com. You can find additional instructional material for left-handed guitarists here.
am a left handed guitarist,am having problem with playing a complete progression on a song,i dont no wat 2 do
im proud to be a lefty guitarist sum of the greats were left
hendrix cobain freddie mercury mccartney
I love being a left handed guitarist. It does have its pro’s and con’s,
but they don’t bother me. I new it would be harder to get left handed
guitars when I started, but, they are there, you just have to find them.
I am now the proud owner of a brand new American 1952 reissue left handed Fender Telecaster. And, the beautiful thing is, it didn’t cost me a cent more than than the right handed version would. And, when it comes to actually taking lessons in some way, lefties generally have an advantage. Chances are, your instructor, whether online or in person, is going to be right handed, (or at least play that way) so, all a lefty will have to do is mirror his/her instructor.
And that is my word of encouragement to those attempting to learn guitar as a Southpaw.
HI there,
I too am a lefty and proud of it, so much so I have started to create a blog about left handed guitarist etc. now I am no internet marketing guru or anything like that but I’m sure you might be able to relate to one or two points in there.
So check it out and let me know how I can improve it
[URL="http://www.lefthandedguitarist.blogspot.com/"]Left Handed Guitarist[/URL]
Nice blog BTW
Best Regards
Bronkim
Fret with the dominant hand. Enough said. Why would anyone want electricity affecting the right side of their brain? That sucks, unless you want to feel enraged. I only play a left handed guitar if I want to feel seriously pissed off from 1) the electricity, 2)the slowness of fretting with the nondominant hand, 3)the fact that I can pick so damn fast with the right hand and the stupid left hand cant keep up. Reversed, fret with the right hand, its very very fast, and the left hand to pick faster is sped up, and the left hand never gets in contact with the electricity unless finger picking or tapping. I only finger tap or finger pick to get riled up before really shredding. I have left and right handed guitars. The time perception is messed up playing right handed. Time goes by way too fast, like a demon is in the room. If I play fretting right handed everything slows way down. It doesnt feel rushed, even when playing very very fast, kind of like a car wreck. Everything is going very fast, but it seems very slow. This is just what you need to shred really accurately. So many reasons not to fret with the left hand, #1 being that that is the not logical part of the brain. You want the planning being done by the non logical part of the brain? Nah. That sucks.