Lefty - started learning righty but should I switch to lefty?

[Gwnyc]

Hey all. I've been playing for a few months now.

I'm a lefty but I started off playing righty, mainly because my brother plays guitar and had taught me a few songs years ago so that's just how I started playing.

I'm hitting a point now where I struggle with consistent strumming with my right hand. It just doesn't feel totally right and I can't play smoothly consistently. I can play ok finger strumming but the inconsistency really shows through with a pick.

I'm now wondering if I should really be playing lefty. I read online that one test is to play imaginary air guitar. If I do that, it's definitely lefty.

I stopped in a store today to play a lefty guitar, but it feels so foreign. Probably because I'm now used to playing righty. So I don't know if I should keep trying righty or switch to lefty and essentially start from scratch but hopefully be playing the way I should be. I keep flipping my guitar back and forth to test both ways but still don't know. I feel like I can probably strum more consistent with my left hand but it still feels foreign.

Curious if anyone else has dealt with this?

[zenith]

That sounds similar to my experience. I played right handed for a couple months, but felt my right hand strumming was holding me back. I didn't go as long as you so switching didn't feel very foreign. There's was still a lot to develop with both hands, but I think I was better off switching.

It would be difficult to say what would be better for you, but that was my experience.

[Gwnyc]

That's really helpful. Once you had been playing for a similar amount of time lefty, did the strumming feel more natural? Sounds like you think you definitely made the right decision, which is good to know.

[zenith]

It did seem like I progressed a bit easier, this was a number of years ago though, and I am very dominantly left handed.

[blue]

The big dark secret of guitar playing is that all the talent lives in the picking hand. Might as well use your dominant one for that.

To a beginner it only makes sense that the fretting hand is where all the action is. That's the one that feels the pain when you are making those cowboy chords thousands of times to hardwire them into your muscles and brains.

But it ain't so. With all the options out there these days there's no reason for lefty to play righty. Sure there as many options available for a lefty, but there are more than there used to be.

[Gmountain]

I faced the same problem. I was looking for lefty guitars, and everyone was telling me to play right handed.

It's been a while now, and even though I still play air guitar lefty, it feels unnatural when I pick up a guitar.

Strumming took a while. Months and months. Like about 12 of them. But then it all came together.

Strumming with a pick was the hardest. Using just my fingers was easier. Flatpicking was easier.

What I found was that I wasn't used to holding things in my right hand. Holding the pick was kind of strange and took some practice. I found a smaller pick, like a speed pick helped a lot.

One day, though it seemed to come together.

[Gwnyc]

Thanks. I guess that's part of what I'm struggling with. Do I keep sticking it through righty and hope that eventually it just comes together like it did for you. Or do I bite the bullet and essentially restart now as lefty. Decisions, decisions.

Originally Posted by Gmountain

I faced the same problem. I was looking for lefty guitars, and everyone was telling me to play right handed.

It's been a while now, and even though I still play air guitar lefty, it feels unnatural when I pick up a guitar.

Strumming took a while. Months and months. Like about 12 of them. But then it all came together.

Strumming with a pick was the hardest. Using just my fingers was easier. Flatpicking was easier.

What I found was that I wasn't used to holding things in my right hand. Holding the pick was kind of strange and took some practice. I found a smaller pick, like a speed pick helped a lot.

One day, though it seemed to come together.

[FranK_S]

Originally Posted by Gwnyc

Hey all. I've been playing for a few months now.

I'm a lefty but I started off playing righty, mainly because my brother plays guitar and had taught me a few songs years ago so that's just how I started playing.

I'm hitting a point now where I struggle with consistent strumming with my right hand. It just doesn't feel totally right and I can't play smoothly consistently. I can play ok finger strumming but the inconsistency really shows through with a pick.

I'm now wondering if I should really be playing lefty. I read online that one test is to play imaginary air guitar. If I do that, it's definitely lefty.

I stopped in a store today to play a lefty guitar, but it feels so foreign. Probably because I'm now used to playing righty. So I don't know if I should keep trying righty or switch to lefty and essentially start from scratch but hopefully be playing the way I should be. I keep flipping my guitar back and forth to test both ways but still don't know. I feel like I can probably strum more consistent with my left hand but it still feels foreign.

Curious if anyone else has dealt with this?

There's your answer.

The only reason you play righty now is because your brother owned a righty guitar, correct? If he didn't own a guitar you would have no doubt played lefty.

[SunnyDee]

Strong vote for lefty here. I was given a right-handed guitar as a child, but never got anywhere on it. This year, I thought I'd like to try it again. A good friend loaned me her right-handed classical, but, before she gave it to me, she restrung it left and changed my life. It took only a couple of days to know for sure I was never going back. I haven't missed a day of playing since I picked it up. Imo, it's not difficult to mirror the chord information you've already learned and the picking and strumming may come much more naturally.

I also second the comment about how the fretting is only harder at the beginner level. If you want to get past campfire strumming, dominant hand picking should work better for you.

Yes, you'll have to deal with finding left-handed guitars but, hey, that's one way to control the GAS a bit.

[clkbk]

I'm in the same boat and I think I'm going to keep playing righty. Luckily, although I'm a lefty, I'm not very left-dominant. Initially I thought it made sense to play righty, because I wanted the dexterity of my left hand on the neck of the guitar. It works great for fingerstyle, but I've had a harder time with strumming too. After a few months of practice it's coming together though.

[Gwnyc]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to get a lefty guitar and give it a shot for a few months and see how it goes. Although it's definitely helpful to hear from some people that stuck it out right and eventually got it all to come together. I can always switch back to righty later in if lefty doesn't work out. Thanks!

[Lefty Guy]

Originally Posted by blue

The big dark secret of guitar playing is that all the talent lives in the picking hand. Might as well use your dominant one for that.

To a beginner it only makes sense that the fretting hand is where all the action is. That's the one that feels the pain when you are making those cowboy chords thousands of times to hardwire them into your muscles and brains.

But it ain't so. With all the options out there these days there's no reason for lefty to play righty. Sure there as many options available for a lefty, but there are more than there used to be.

+1000% its all in the picking/strumming hand for me too, I simply could never get any rhythm going with my right hand.

[Lefty Guy]

Originally Posted by Gwnyc

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to get a lefty guitar and give it a shot for a few months and see how it goes. Although it's definitely helpful to hear from some people that stuck it out right and eventually got it all to come together. I can always switch back to righty later in if lefty doesn't work out. Thanks!

Hey, good news! Don't forget to come check out all the like-minded folk at www.leftyfrets.net you might even find a nice guitar there too.

[rbachman]

Originally Posted by Lefty Guy

+1000% its all in the picking/strumming hand for me too, I simply could never get any rhythm going with my right hand.

I wholeheartedly agree with Lefty Guy !!

There is NO reason in this day and age not to go LEFTY if you are a lefty

[00-28]

Go to a store that has lots of guitars to play and compare, then try and find the left handed examples to play. If you can work through the strumming issue, your set once those brain highways are formed. If you can do it, stay right handed for guitar.

......Mike