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  #31  
Old 12-30-2016, 02:45 PM
zhunter zhunter is offline
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Serious thread drift. Re left and right brain function. It is 20 minutes, you'll probably get bored but it is worth it to stick it out. Nothing specific to guitar but clearly right brain does certain things, left brain does other things.

hunter

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  #32  
Old 12-30-2016, 04:48 PM
Otterhound Otterhound is offline
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Those of you taking the position of force her to play right handed are projecting your own views onto another .
It doesn't matter what you claim your natural personal orientation to be , you are still doing it .
This is and should remain the choice of the individual irregardless of how much this strays from the pack mentality .
Please stop doing this .
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  #33  
Old 12-30-2016, 04:56 PM
zhunter zhunter is offline
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She should play right handed.

hunter
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  #34  
Old 12-30-2016, 09:13 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pf400 View Post
I have a new student who is just beginning. She is right-handed, but has learned her first couple of chords playing left-handed on a left-handed guitar, an wants to stay left. Any feedback from AGF members would be appreciated. Do you think she'll advance ? She struggles with strumming but didn't we all. Does anyone know why it is that conventionally we strum with our dominant side but play chords etc with our "weaker" side ? Thanks in advance. I'll go shovel snow and check for answers later.
I can understand the girl wants to keep her progression intact and not unlearn stuff just to fit a conventional profile. When I first picked up a guitar the thing was foreign to both hands. it was only because of the guitar's build that I learned as a righty.
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  #35  
Old 12-30-2016, 09:41 PM
Otterhound Otterhound is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pf400 View Post
I have a new student who is just beginning. She is right-handed, but has learned her first couple of chords playing left-handed on a left-handed guitar, an wants to stay left. Any feedback from AGF members would be appreciated. Do you think she'll advance ? She struggles with strumming but didn't we all. Does anyone know why it is that conventionally we strum with our dominant side but play chords etc with our "weaker" side ? Thanks in advance. I'll go shovel snow and check for answers later.
Strumming is the thing that was there for me at the start .
There is no dominant side when playing a guitar . Two hands doing very different things at the same time . Dominant side things tend to be tied to hand/eye tasks .
There does tend to be a hand that has the rhythm and that should be the side to remain doing that task .
I do find it interesting that she found a left handed guitar first when so many claim that they are so difficult too find even when looking for one intentionally .
I do love irony .
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  #36  
Old 12-31-2016, 09:02 AM
Sagebrush Tom Sagebrush Tom is offline
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When there's a thread regarding left handed players, some of those who play "their way" seem to think something is very wrong with playing left handed. Us lefties could care less about which way you play and i think she feels the same way.
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  #37  
Old 12-31-2016, 09:28 AM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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OP here. Student is practicing hard, doing her best and very interested in advancing. I would say that her skills with both hands are equivalent so far. If I see for example, that she cannot get her strumming to advance beyond absolute beginner level, I'll lend her a "right-handed" guitar and ask her to try a switch even if only temporary. She wants to learn (model student) everything...fingerstyle, strumming, various musical styles. FYI she is an adult, has high expectations in everything she learns, and gets migraine headaches. OK I love her...she's my niece. She's been playing for 3 weeks total. Can form 8 chords but none are sounding clean yet.

I posted a thread a little over 2 years ago about a new student with mental illness who wanted badly to learn metal and rock guitar. He can now play rythym for 30 rock and metal tunes, and other skills. His confidence as a person has slightly improved. I received very helpful advice from this forum and I thank everyone for their input on that, and on this, request.
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  #38  
Old 01-02-2017, 04:40 PM
595jeremy 595jeremy is offline
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I'm a left handed, and learned on a right hand guitar mainly because this was what was available. It took me a lot of time to get my right hand in control but then again I had no teacher and wasn't practicing correctly.

It started coming on after a year and ever since it feels natural !
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  #39  
Old 03-28-2019, 07:09 PM
Axelorox Axelorox is offline
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Old thread, but I have some experience I hope is helpful to some people considering handedness.

Handedness is not always straightforward. I am right-handed in that I write with my right hand. But according to my parents I started out as a lefty and switched to right-handed writing when I noticed all the other kids were doing it. I am still left dominant on some activities like eating.

I have played guitar left-handed for years. Like almost everyone else I started on a righty guitar. But I never progressed much (had trouble with strumming) and lost interest. Then I realized, perhaps if I flipped the strings over to play lefty, I may have a better time with strumming coordination. There was also the added motivation of being like my idol Paul McCartney, which for a young teenager just getting into Beatles music was a huge driver in itself.

So I am a case of a righty who plays lefty. The instructors I've had have never been very concerned with it.
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  #40  
Old 03-30-2019, 04:49 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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My only comment on this would come only after having some discussion with her.
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  #41  
Old 03-30-2019, 06:05 PM
bachoholic bachoholic is offline
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In my opinion the right hand has by far the more difficult task whether flat or finger picking so all the more reason to play RH if you're RH. Initially chords seem so hard for the left hand but of course that slowly gets better. What would you rather be, a person that chords well and has an amazing RH or vice versa? If Tommy Emmanuel had an average LF but still had his incredible RH he'd still be a top notch performer but not so the other way around.
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  #42  
Old 03-31-2019, 04:45 AM
SunnyDee SunnyDee is offline
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Our feel for rhythm lives on the dominant side. However, research shows rhythm dominance is controlled not by handedness, but by lateral language dominance (we need our innate feel for rhythm to learn language), which for most people, even many left-handed people, is on the left side of the brain, resulting in rhythm working best on the right side of the body for the vast majority. That, alone, could explain why a lot of lefties play right-handed guitar comfortably enough to be happy with it, but other lefties, those with right or mixed language lateralization, do not have that same experience.

I'm lefty playing left. Strumming felt natural for me as soon as I picked up a guitar left-handed. Fretting is not natural for anyone, but tapping a rhythm should be. If she hears a song and snaps her fingers on the right, she really should play right. She will stop struggling with chords in a couple months. Struggling with rhythm could be much longer to forever.
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  #43  
Old 04-01-2019, 01:36 PM
beninma beninma is offline
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I'm left handed and play right handed.

I would say you let her do what she wants or she'll quit or find a teacher who can teach her the way that works for her. If had started with a teacher and the teacher insisted I switch to playing lefty when I showed up with a righty guitar and had started that way I'd find another teacher right away.

In the end guitar is not maintenance of a nuclear reactor and the opinion of the person playing the guitar is probably the most important thing. There have been a lot of great players who made up all their own rules as they went.

I think some of the predicted strengths & weaknesses of this student are probably right on the money based on those of us who play right handed but are left handed.

Namely fretting will come easier & picking will be more difficult. That is certainly my experience as a lefty playing right handed. Some of the fretting techniques have come very quickly for me, but some of the picking techniques have taken really hard work.

It all balances out.. we all have some stuff we learn quick and other stuff we have trouble with. I don't think this situation should be handled any different just because there are fewer lefty guitars on shelves. That's really only a factor for a GAS/Collector type person.
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  #44  
Old 04-02-2019, 11:30 AM
SouthpawJeff SouthpawJeff is offline
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Zombie thread guys!!!
I’m guessing if the person in question is still playing they are too far in now to change.

Jeff
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  #45  
Old 04-08-2019, 12:02 PM
Optofonik Optofonik is offline
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It seems the simple solution is to ask her, she is a paying customer, if you can give her these initial lessons to learn in left and right hand. Explain to her that you want both of you to be comfortable with her decision. I wouldn't go on about your preferences anymore at this point. Just let her know that, at this early stage and especially going forward, you want to make sure you're both building a solid foundation for her continued progress and success.

After "x" amount of lessons for both dexterities, you both can determine which she seems to have a natural proclivity for when it comes to learning and playing her instrument. She should be able to make up her own mind from a less arbitrary perspective after this and you will feel comfortable with her decision as well. You may find yourself with a real challenge if you discover she's truly ambidextrous.

If she only has a lefty guitar then loan her one of yours. Explain that you need a deposit that you'll refund once she chooses a side. Assure her that if she chooses RH you can help her find a buyer for her lefty guitar and assist in choosing a righty for her that is within her budget. Value added service like this is a fact of life for freelancers.
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