Any other lefties out there that play right-handed?

[rbachman]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

Yes, but you used part of my argument to make your point and blew off the other equally salient point; that while my friend may not be as fast as he might otherwise be when picking, he also gained an advantage in the things done with his other hand. Make your own arguments; don't cherry-pick someone else's.

I am fully aware that some people are so strongly left handed that they feel only comfortable that way. While I think that the availability of product is a very strong reason to play righty - if a person can do so - there are of course people who simply are unable to do so. This does not make them weird, or that they should be burned at the stake. Pointing out the downsides do not equate to an attack; unless that is how you take it, irregardless of intent. You have no idea of the struggles that I went through with my own left hand, or how I feel watching my friend play. He is no slouch with his right hand either, while he is never going to be Tony Rice, he is fairly quick and even more importantly, quite accurate. And a hell of a fingerpicker.

TW

I'm just giving my own experience and what I so-called 'cherry-picked' from you fit my experience and I used it.

I saw what else you wrote but did not respond to it.

Put it to rest, please.

I will not be looking or posting anymore on the thread because these threads turn into more like a political discussion....

[la palma C]

Originally Posted by rbachman

This is why I hate these threads .... What if everyone told righty's to play lefty ... There would be revolution !!!

Nobody is telling anybody how they should play in this thread, and if they are that is certainly not my intent. I simply asked others who have a similar style to my own what sort of successes or challenges they encountered and asked for some personal insight. This is not a lefty guitar bashing thread, but you seem to be taking it that way.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Otterhound

Please Google left handed violins . It's never too late to learn .

Still waiting for a left handed pipe organ…

[la palma C]

In response to the other posts I guess I'll add some more of my personal experience

As TW pointed out, his friend had some trouble with flatpicking/crosspicking. This has been my case as well, but I also played a lot of electric guitar in college and I think that really helped me with my acoustic flatpicking. I still struggle a little with crosspicking, but I mostly fingerpick anyway so it's not something I normally practice or even care to play.

My first attempt at fingerstyle was learning the Travis picking pattern, and somehow I managed to pick it up pretty fast. I can honestly say I have excelled at this and many other alternating-finger patterns. What still gives me trouble is rapid picking on adjacent strings such as a T-I-M triplet (like I mentioned in the OP). There's no substitute for practice and my ability to do these cleanly is directly proportional to how often I practice/play them.

Further, if I take a long break from playing (a few days or so), when I first tear into it, my timing and attack is sloppy, but will return to normal after a few minutes. It's like my right hand muscle memory just isn't as long..

[martinedwards]

I'm righty.

I play guitar and do everything else right handed but play golf.

I don't play golf.

I MAKE guitars and mandolins and am perfectly happy to make lefties.

a lefty mando I can play upside down with no problems.

a lefty guitar I can play a few chords and blues runs.

I'm currently making a fanned fret lefty guitar and it has messed with my head something awful!!

I'm at setup stage and playing it with the fan going the wrong way is just WRONG!!!

[acmeseed]

speed issues with flat-picking/cross-picking" is the main issue with me !!!

Amen to that, I am in the same boat. I learned to play right handed as a teenager because that is what my buddy had and I could not afford to buy a guitar. I dropped out of playing for a bunch of years; I picked it up again about 3 years ago and got real serious about it, getting a somewhat OK strumming was a struggle, for fast songs I have to strum by hand because with a pick I fall apart.

I do hear the argument that we have an advantage on the fretting hand, I think it all depends on what type of playing you do, right now I am playing in a worship band mainly rhythm, for every chord I fret I usually have to move the strumming hand up and down a few times, where the fretting hand stays put, I wish I could feed some of the fretting hand advantage to the right!

I find amusing the statement that "there are no left handed pianos" Here is a test, grab a pen write your name with the dominant hand without resting it on the table, do the same with the less dominant and compare the results. To me this is the same thing that happens when you try to fast pick with your less dominant hand, it is just not as easy and clean.

Just my own experience and opinion.

[jimmy bookout]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Still waiting for a left handed pipe organ…

Really???

Well, I'm still waiting for right handed players to get over it. Some folks play (and are more comfortable) playing left handed. These pithy "left handed pipe organ/piano/woodwind/etc" comments are just silly, everyone knows guitars are 2 handed instruments (as ALL of you righties point out, ad nauseum), I have never understood why YOU care? I AM more comfortable playing left handed, I have done so for 40+ years, I have paid the price in lack of availability of guitars, having to special order practically every guitar I've ever had, and usually paying more than a right handed player would pay. Not a victim, just wanted to play guitar and liked it better (and found it MUCH easier) left handed. The downside is every time I walk into Dream Guitars or Gruhn or where ever, I can only look, which is a decision I made. Why is this SO hard to understand?

As always, these threads always turn into statements of the OBVIOUS from right handed players, jeez, just let it go. What in the world is the problem? I am out of this thread, I am sick of defending something so unimportant as to be laughable.

Jimmy

[fongie]

I've always wondered how a righthanded 'Luthier' or vise versa build a guitar? If he was righthanded building a lefthanded guitar, wouldn't it be awkward?

I mean, how do they get to test it out? Interesting

[Bearman]

I am naturally left handed, and do everything that way, except play music... i play several fretted instruments right handed (and poorly!)
Gerry

[blex]

I'm a lefty that plays right-handed. It's nice to I'm not the only one with screwy wiring.

[hussman]

again

I'm a profoundly leftie who plays right handed.


I am fast on the fretboard but my right hand is slower .


however to overcome this I have developed techniques in picking and strumming that add a different dimension to the music I play including missing beats etc.


left hand guitars were a rarity when I started so had no choice.


overall I reckon it is easier for a leftie to learn guitar than a rightie, due to the left hand being more busy with chords and scales.


btw my son is also left handed, and as an accomplished pianist and sax player had a terrible time early on through his left hand being to strong on the bass notes compared to his right hand.


but he adapted.....

[JohnW63]

To be honest, I would say all keyboard instruments are right handed. The most busy hand, the one that does most of the melody, is the right hand. The left does the bass parts, which in most cases is not as taxing.

I'm a lefty who learned right handed. Like most, the guitar I had around to learn on was right handed and that fret board stuff seemed like the harder part.

The down side for me has been not being able to play really fast strumming stuff. The intro to "Crazy on You", by Heart comes to mind. I can finger pick well enough and I can hybrid pick ( hold the flat pick and still use the free fingers to finger pick ).

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Still waiting for a left handed pipe organ…

Show me a right handed one , please .

[Lefty Guy]

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

Really???

Well, I'm still waiting for right handed players to get over it. Some folks play (and are more comfortable) playing left handed. These pithy "left handed pipe organ/piano/woodwind/etc" comments are just silly, everyone knows guitars are 2 handed instruments (as ALL of you righties point out, ad nauseum), I have never understood why YOU care? I AM more comfortable playing left handed, I have done so for 40+ years, I have paid the price in lack of availability of guitars, having to special order practically every guitar I've ever had, and usually paying more than a right handed player would pay. Not a victim, just wanted to play guitar and liked it better (and found it MUCH easier) left handed. The downside is every time I walk into Dream Guitars or Gruhn or where ever, I can only look, which is a decision I made. Why is this SO hard to understand?

As always, these threads always turn into statements of the OBVIOUS from right handed players, jeez, just let it go. What in the world is the problem? I am out of this thread, I am sick of defending something so unimportant as to be laughable.

Jimmy

Well said that man!

[lennylux]

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

Really???

Well, I'm still waiting for right handed players to get over it. Some folks play (and are more comfortable) playing left handed. These pithy "left handed pipe organ/piano/woodwind/etc" comments are just silly, everyone knows guitars are 2 handed instruments (as ALL of you righties point out, ad nauseum), I have never understood why YOU care? I AM more comfortable playing left handed, I have done so for 40+ years, I have paid the price in lack of availability of guitars, having to special order practically every guitar I've ever had, and usually paying more than a right handed player would pay. Not a victim, just wanted to play guitar and liked it better (and found it MUCH easier) left handed. The downside is every time I walk into Dream Guitars or Gruhn or where ever, I can only look, which is a decision I made. Why is this SO hard to understand?

As always, these threads always turn into statements of the OBVIOUS from right handed players, jeez, just let it go. What in the world is the problem? I am out of this thread, I am sick of defending something so unimportant as to be laughable.

Jimmy

I'm naturally left-sided, but play right handed, first this was out of necessity, then it was something I stuck with to avoid all the issues you've listed. The weirdest thing now is I'm so used to it, I find a left handed guitar quite odd.

I've never understood the furore over it either, I dare say if the first guitar I had was a lefty, I'd have a load of leftie guitars and stories similar to what you've mentioned.

Some people just like to sound off, when they do sound off there's another expression that ends with 'off' that I like to aim at them.