Lefty or Righty?

[Rain Man]

My youngest son is left-handed & wants to learn to play guitar. Do I have him play left-handed or right-handed? I believe that there is something to the "dominant hand doing the picking" argument, but if he plays right-handed, he can pick up anyone's guitar anywhere & play it.

Any thought?

[Help!I'maRock!]

right handed.

[Mark Wein]

How ever he is comfortable orienting the instrument but it's definitely easier if he plays right handed. To be honest, there is no "dominant hand" on the guitar because both hands need to learn all new motor skills....if he really wants to play left handed because thats how he feels then I wouldn't beat him into playing right handed although you might want to mention what I posted to him and how much easier it is to find instruments, instructional materials etc....

[John Watt]

At least there are left-handed guitars hanging in stores for sale.
I saw my first left-handed Stratocasters in 1977, in Ottawa, Canadas' capital city.
Everything left-handed back then cost at least twice as much, if you were willing to order and wait,
and that meant taking whatever they sent you.

As much as I like to type about myself and my playing, me being in bands, I have to admit,
if there's one thing half the guitarists came up to talk about, it was me playing left-handed, all the way.
Of course, that was me ordering left-handed parts and building my own guitar.
Deciding (with Mr. George Bensons' help) to keep the bass strings on the bottom, a right-handed guitar upside-down,
meant my friends could play it and I could play right-handed guitars upside-down, a nice jamming thing.
But so many lefties tell me they had to stop because of tendonitis, or quit because they couldn't get as fast.

I can understand Mr. Mark Wein saying it's all new motor skills whether it's left or right, and scientifically, that's right,
but, music comes from your heart and mind, and you want to develop that co-ordination too,
what your wrong hand can't do, pulling all of your perceptions and perspectives on the world around you,
all those bazillions of previous synaptic firings that determined your balance and reach out into this right-handed world.
And before you expect me to have a definite lefty answer, let me ask you, are pianos left or right-handed?

[Suhnton]

I'm left handed but learned to play right-handed, since I didn't know any better. However, if I were to start again, I'd probably learn left-handed, since when I play "air-guitar" I naturally gravitate to the left-hand style. Plus, other people won't touch your shit if it's lefty.

[John Watt]

"other people won't touch your shit if it's lefty"
If they did, I'd make sure they were sitting.

That's why I started liking anchovies on pizza too.

[paulskirocks]

Well, I have heard stories of weird nervous conditions, such as stuttering, that have occurred in people when playing one way, but they would have no problems when playing reversed... Wasn't this a topic on this forum? Anyways, I don't get it, personally, and John Watt's point about pianos comes to mind...

[fused]

My kids a lefty. Asked me to teach him when he was 12....
Thougtht this over very carefully.... Dominant hand controling the fret board or....

Taught him righty, he is now at Berklee with half his tuition covered in Berklee Scholarships...

I'd say, if lefty, go righty... At least in my experience, it works. He can clean up on his old man with an axe now...
Ok, so maybe I was a good teacher...but I have lost shred contests to this kid.....

Hmmmmmmm..... right.... If lefty, teach em lefty, unless you want them to become better than you :facepalm:

Where's that time machine :rolleyes:

[MikeT]

I'm left handed and learned to play guitar right handed. Hand your son a guitar and see where it lands.

[semimental]

lefty playing lefty here

dont buy the "strong hand on the fretboard" stuff since then rightys would all be playing lefty

Id encourage you to get him to play righty tbh, further down the line its a bastard being left handed and it can be very discouraging

[Baer.Music]

My brother is a lefty, and learned righty. For just a hobbyist, he does pretty well. He also doesn't have to pass up that cool flea-market guitar find, or be limited to what the store has (and pay extra). Now, that he is a dad, he can also pass on his instruments to his son!

Also, first post. Seems like a good forum. Glad to be part of it!

[Deep Eddy]

I'm a lefty who plays right-handed. It was never an issue for me. (I do many things left handed (throw, catch, kick), but some other things I do right handed, such as golf and batting.) I would encourage him to play right-handed only because there are a greater variety of instruments available.

[Mark Wein]

My brother is a lefty, and learned righty. For just a hobbyist, he does pretty well. He also doesn't have to pass up that cool flea-market guitar find, or be limited to what the store has (and pay extra). Now, that he is a dad, he can also pass on his instruments to his son!

Also, first post. Seems like a good forum. Glad to be part of it!

Thanks and welcome!

:wave:

[Peeker]

lefty playing lefty here

dont buy the "strong hand on the fretboard" stuff since then rightys would all be playing lefty

Id encourage you to get him to play righty tbh, further down the line its a bastard being left handed and it can be very discouraging

plus you will look gay
not that there is anything wronfg with that

*dons glittery sash*


*and still plays righty*