There's no such thing as "Left (or Right) Handed Guitars" & other ramblings - Part 1
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- čas přidán 5. 04. 2017
- Ryan discusses left handedness and how it applies to guitars.
See the second part of this video here: • There's no such thing ...
and check out a left hand guitar i recommend here: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
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Left or right handed, if you don't practice you'll always suck.
Leon Todd ok, I’ll practice then.
60 Cycle Hum me too
Leon Todd vary true
yup
and yet if ur left handed and never picked up guitar ur brain will prefer left handed guitar so at the end of the day there is no point to get right handed guitar as a lefty cuz u just increase learning time drastically
I was forced to play right handed for 3 years, then I finally bought a left handed guitar, I’ve been playing left handed for 4 years now and it’s so much easier to have your dominant hand doing the strumming
I need my dominant hand to fret. I fret right handed so I play "left handed".
@@phile5437 same
Exactly. It's not that I can't fret with my left hand, however keeping rhythm on the left hand is completely natural. Vice versa not so much.
Agreed! It is difficult fretting with your dominant hand & strumming with the other!
lmfao literally the same. The one benefit I could have gotten from this stupid expensive school I was pushed into and they forced me onto right-handed gear.
Good intentions but it literally made me put away instruments for 2-4 years completely - not picking em up til after I left school.
I'm also a sucker for good deals on anything, so if I had the opportunity to just buy a right-hand instrument @ half the price and 50x availability i'd have done it by now.
Please for gods sake just go try em once. I spent many hours practicing for months before I touched one. Within the first strum, the familiarity felt like I "improved" my level of play with a change of gear.
If you want to keep yourself humble; flip it sometimes and play right - you can keep this as a secret weapon for when your at a buddies house jamming and didn't bring your guitar.
I've seen right-handers flipped to left and without a lot of body-work it seems the intonation amongst other things are a huge issue. Look into Jimi Hendrix' gear and the processes' the techs developed.
I'm left handed. I play guitar left handed. Simple.
NeptuneReturnz I’d bet $100 you play guitar with both hands.
@@60CycleHumcast There are a lot of people, myself included, that cannot play guitars tailored for the majority that strum with their right hand, and fret with their left-I've tried to do it, I really tried, and it is way more trouble than it's worth, putting me at a great disadvantage. Thus, unless I wanted to restring the thing and play it with my arm resting over the volume and tone knobs and feel like an idiot, I had to find a guitar that was tailored for me: one that's built to put me on an equal starting point with everyone else.
While the average right-handed-strumming Joe like you could just walk into anywhere and pick up any number of my favourite model guitars for dirt cheap, it actually took me years to find them "left-handed,” and I take very, very, good care of them.
This video makes a mockery of every guitarist like me who has tried hard to play the conventional way-who has a tiny selection in the music stores if at all-who has sought long and funded extravagantly for their instruments-who is continually misunderstood and excluded by something we’re merely born with and cannot change.
I’m not saying we’re victims over here or anything-we get along; just some respect would be nice.
same
I'm left handed and play a right handed guitar. I tend to agree that it doesn't matter. Just play what feels comfortable.
Daniel W dame here it’s completely opposite for me
I’m right handed on EVERYTHING but guitar. When I was a kid, no one believed me that I couldn’t use a right handed guitar. I had an instructor physically force me to play “righty” but I couldn’t. So my dominance has always been on my right hand for fretting. There is no huge deal but I sure wish I was “right handed” on guitar since there are very limited options for telecasters and guitars that I like.
Looks like me and you had the same struggle my dude right-handers like play left-handed guitars cuz it's much easier and comfortable
Im ambidextrous and im trying to learn the right handed way but I can’t, it’s easier playing it left handed for me
I have been playing guitar for 6 years with my right hand but no matter how I tried and consulted guitar professionals, I still got the problems of finger independence in these 6 years. recently I am learning left hand because of the much more dexterity on my fret hand.
I played right-handed for 15yrs before I switched to lefty.
Then I got good.
Same
_"Famously I'm a terrible rhythm player"_
And therein lies a common issue with learning right-handed when you're left-hand dominant. The best thing to do is try both ways and see what feels best.
Exactly! When I was about 5 years old and my grandfather gave me a guitar and taught me a few chords he quickly realized that I was going to have to play left-handed. He had bought me a right-handed guitar and he showed me a G major chord and I flipped the guitar over left-handed and played it upside down storming it damn near perfectly lol.. now at 40 years old I can attempt to play right-handed and it feels like day one all over again lol.. but my left hand has complete control over a guitar pick or for your plucky and my right hand has no problems whatsoever with Precision or dexterity on the fretboard.
I'm left handed and I play right handed guitars all my life. I also play a left handed electric bass. I guess the message is just play music and don't worry too much about it
Me to dude
for some people there brain function doesn't respond well.
Same
Since i learned guitar they told me to play right handed i struggled a lot with the left hand and I'm lefty .. But i learned to play that why the only thing i suck on right handed it's to do harmonic sounds , on left handed guitar i dont struggle with does stings and i fell a lot better ... 😎😎😎 playing
you deserve a lefty strat it will change your life lol
Yes, there IS a difference.
String setup, bridge setup, pick guard, even the cut of the body are all different on left handed guitars. So yes, there are left handed guitars.
What you are talking about is hand preference and muscle memory.
Anna Leigh he doesn’t have balls to respond to this
Can we change right handed guitar to left handed by converting its string and other things?
He didn't say there wasn't a physical difference in the guitars. He said he didn't agree with naming them that way.
biggest difference :try to keep a rhythm with your non- primary hand.
It’s called “orientation”. When buying a certain new guitar, that’s an option, left handed or right handed. It’s not just the fret board. As a left handed guitar player, I can assure you, there left handed and right handed oriented guitars. That’s also per manufacturers. So, it doesn’t matter what anybody “thinks”, those are just the facts.
It's not an "orientation", you're born that way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been playing for 2 years now... I write with my right hand, but I play 'left handed'. When I picked up a guitar as a child it just felt instinctive to strum with my left and fret with my right, before I even began playing.
Batman same here!! Lol
Batman I just started, and I have the same instinct
+AshCreDas I'm in the same boat dude
i think that's the secret. We all intellectually think it's the fretting hand that determines it. I really think it's the strumming hand.. the side of your brain that has rhythm.
Same here.
The problem with forcing a natural lefty to learn right handed is that while the fretboard might be easier, rhythm issues won't be apparent until much, much later. The rhythm hand is way more important than the fretting hand. Good rhythm is what pays the bills for most working guitar players anyways. I feel whichever hand keeps rhythm better should be the strumming hand.
I'm a dominant righty who switched to lefty after an injury, for what it's worth.
I learned this the hard way :| after 4 years of playing a right handed guitar, out of curiosity decided convert a righty to a lefty, and straight from the get go the strumming felt more natural. Now to decide wether I power on as a righty or make the switch permanent and throw 4 years down the toilet lol
You'll be able to transfer the skills down to the other hand. Like Batio. :))
I agree that you might want to try switching. It will be far easier to switch than learning was the first time. All your knowledge will be the same, but, also, most lefties are quite good at mirroring the non-dominant side, probably because we grow up forced to do it all it time in the righty world. It'd be totally cool if you end up being able to do both.
Well, 7 months on and switching to left handed was one of the best decisions I ever made :) apart from the odd song that requires a lot of dexterity with the fretting hand, I can play everything better than I ever could. Better still I don’t get the dull ache in my strumming arm when trying to keep up with a fast tempo.
good answer
I learned to play a standard guitar to begin with, but I wasn't very good. After I bought the lefty guitar, I really learned to play. Besides being able to play either guitar, I don't agree with your commentary.
Nobody chooses leftv. 90% of guitars are right handed! If I hadn't chose lefty I wouldn't have learned at all! I've been playing 48 years!
So Ryan we're the complete mirror image of each other. I am very right hand dominant. However I've always played guitar left-handed. It felt more comfortable using my right hand for all the fretwork. May also explain why I don't feel I'm a very good finger picker.
you are the person I wanted to know exists. a Righty who plays "lefty". Thank you for your existence!
I think it also depends on your degree of "handedness" or dominance; I'm probably 70/30 lefty but I don't seem to have some of the same problems as my other lefty buddies do...
Make it 2. I'm mostly righty (65/35) but I play lefty. I've only been playing for 2 years, so it may be too early to tell, but I'm better at leads than I am rhythm.
Me to bro but I am actually good at finger picking, not tremolo tho.
You're my man
man I'm left handed, but when I was first learning I looked so uncomfortable with a conventional guitar that my teacher made me play with a left. felt better tho
Do you play left-handed or right handed?
I'm the same. I play sport or bigger movements right but smaller movements - writing, eating, guitar left handed.
I'm left handed and I play left handed guitars, no problems
My problem has been finding instruments in stock. I can't walk into a local music store and pick my favorite guitar from the eleven that look cool and appear onstage with millionaire musicians. A special order often precedes a play-and-adjust session with a competent or better tech.
@@tomsimms674 Finding left-handed guitars can be a pain indeed, but it comes with upsides too. If you do find a rare guitar, being left-handed makes it even more rare but more importantly none of your "handsy" right-handed friends will ever be playing or borrowing it. #serendipity
@@forkless I've definitely found the non-borrowing part handy. The lefty rare bird is best exemplified by McCartney's Les Paul sunburst, one of four. I thought if an instrument got stolen, it would be easy to recover. Then someone broke into the house where I lived in Miami, and made off with my bass. I still think law enforcement and pawnbrokers didn't give the case their best efforts.
I'm right-handed I play left handed guitars cuz it's much more comfortable and easier
WOW this no... I mean, I´m left handed too and There are lots of stuff i do with my right hand, like using a mouse, shifting gears, and some random stuff, that is not really complicated and you get used to. But when I started playing drums I used to do it like a right handed with no improvements. After a couple of months someone pointed out that I shoud do it the other way around, and oh boy! that was hell of a difference! I started to get better and better and faster than before.
Now I can play both ways, but I´m deffinetely better playing as a left handed drummer. And I´m talking about an instrument where you use your hole body and just have to arrage the way you want.
Now, with guitars (or base) anytime a piked up one I hade to swap it, because it felt more natural to fret with my right hand and strum with the left.
My point is, yeah you can lear to do it both ways, but there is a huge difference between just learning and feeling comfortable while doing it. I know I can pick up a right handed guitar and maybe eventually learn to play it... but I´ll stick with my lefthanded guitar because it just feel right hahaha the irony!
Exactly. Ringo was left-handed playing on a right-handed drum set. That's why he does that odd little reach over to use his left where he needs it. With drums you also need to rearrange them depending on whether you are left or right footed.
tell that to jimi hendrix with an electric stratocaster
marcelo yanez look up pictures of Jimi signing autographs, he writes with his right hand because he is right hand dominate. He frets with his right hand.
sure then every right handed should play a left handed guitar, as his dominant hand would be doing the hard work, but thats not the case, btwif you learn classical guitar, those guitars dont need a thing to do to play them both sides..just flip the strings and thats it, but for electric guitars with nobs where your hand should be resting , or the whammy bar up the strings, not below as you can see there are many diferences..
left handed electric guitars are needed for people who play with the guitar pointing the other way, your opinion is no more than that
marcelo yanez I don't think you watched the video. I wasn't actually saying that there's no such thing as left handed guitars or that people should play one way or the other. My point was that you should play the way that's comfortable for you.
marcelo yanez ...is there an acoustic stratocaster?
yes, fender stratacoustic, also lots of semihollow teles, ephi casinos
i said stratos because of the whammy, sg and lots of other guitars look pretty much the same
also cutaways blablablaaa
Left-handedness and guitar playing is such a fascinating subject. I play left-handed guitars left-handed, but I know of many left-handed musicians who play all sorts of different ways. Some play right-handed guitars right-handed (unnatural, if you ask me)
others re-string right-handed guitars to play lefty. Others play right-handed guitars upside down without re-stringing, learning all the chords the wrong way around. Really, really weird but i've seen it done a lot of times (the bloke in World Party, Diesel Park West and a few others) Me, i'm glad i learnt left-handed because there are lots and lots of left-handed guitars available these days, and they aren't realy any more expensive than right-handed ones. Good video!
Apparently Duane Allman, Steve Morse, Billy Corgan, David Bowie, Dave Hill, Mark Knopfler, Gary Moore, Barry Gibb, George Michael and Paul Simon are all lefties who play right-handed.
I'm right-handed but have always prefer to fire left-handed bows.
But what about Jim Hendricks
Just play however you want and what feels comfortable. I'm a lefty, always play left-handed and always will. If a lefty wants to play right handed go for it. No need to be a major discussion in my opinion.
I'm left handed and play guitar left handed. I started out on a right handed strat copy. I tried it both ways, but playing left handed felt more natural, so I went that way, dooming myself to limited guitar choices forever (although the choices now are much, much better now than 25 years ago). While I feel there are no real rules (just do what's comfortable and natural), I do think there is something to the comments that say the strumming hand's dexterity is more important.
To make my case, let's look at a piano. Why is a piano set up like it is, with the notes starting in the low register on the left side, and rising as they move to the right? It's because, in reality, pianos are right handed instruments. At some point in it's development (like most things in the world), the decision had to be made on how to make this object work for the most people. This is why a computer keyboard is right handed (the number keyboard is on the right). This is why can openers are right handed, etc., etc.. When a right handed person sits down at a piano, it feels natural to play the rhythm notes on the left hand, and melodies on the right. When I sit down at a piano, being left handed, my left hand wants to play melodies, while my right wants to play rhythmically. Can I overcome it? Sure, but that doesn't take away from the fact that my brain is fighting my hands. (Full disclosure: I'm not much of a piano player, and these are my own personal observations. YMMV)
This mindset agrees with the commenters that say that it's the dominant hand that should be picking/strumming, as it is actually the one that requires the most dexterity. In my experience, the fretting hand (my right hand) is all about muscle memory. For example, think about playing a boogie woogie scale. A boogie woogie piano player (think Jerry Lee Lewis) is using their left hand to play that repeating boogie scale (muscle memory), leaving their right hand (the most dexterous hand for 90% of the population), free to play melodies or solos. For guitarists, who need both hands to play a note, you want your fretting hand to be the one with the muscle memory (forming chords and scales), and your picking hand the one with enhanced dexterity (how you play that chord).
I hope this made a little sense. In the end, there is no right or wrong way, it's whatever works for you.
You're right. There's good research showing that left-handed pianist are disadvantaged at the higher levels.
I agree with you, lefty still a beginner guitarist (using a right handed guitar coz it's what i had, thinking about getting a left handed one) i find melodies really easy but strumming and keeping time hard. Also barre chords are hard but i am still a beginner
Same here. This video is really ridiculous. As if being left handed was just a choice...
I'm a lefty, playing right handed guitar for nearly 10 years. I'm struggling to play on time and cleanly even easy songs, even though it shows that I've mastered the techniques I'm using. I need professional help. Where should I go? I feel im in dead end
@@spidey9556 Get a lefty guitar and try it for some time. Seen plenty of stories of lefties switching and all were happy that they made that decision. Either advancing way faster or stopped being totally stuck. Give it a try. :)
Ryan, please don't make the argument against "left-handed" cigarettes, OK?👀
is there such a thing?
That's what the big boys tell me...😇
Ryan, ask your Dad. Don't make me explain it to you.👹
He has "heard" others talk about it. Yeah right!
I played right handed initially. A lefty here but as soon as I decided to play it left handed, I felt more comfortable playing it for rhythm.
Now I play left handed. Learning how to play lead now as I was brought up just playing rhythm for a longgg time.
Long story short, just fine out what works well for you and don't worry about it.
Congratulations, you've spent half a minute quibbling over semantics, the rest of the video wasting time making people feel high-maintenance simply for wanting a guitar for their orientation.
thank you
Agreed.
Anthony Marabito he won’t reply because he is unintelligent 💁🏽♂️
I am "left-side dominant" and learned on a conventional guitar...and it seems natural.
also, injuries,etc. may influence your orientation, like Iommi...
Same here. Why wouldn't you want to do chording with your dominant hand?
Jason, Keith Richards says it's all in the picking hand...? Maybe that's why he sucks?😜
CZcams flagged your comment, but I approved it so everyone can see what a terrible person you are.
60 Cycle Hum Thanks bby
As a confirmed, dyed-in-the-wool lefty what I REALLY want is a left-handed piano!
I want a left-handed cello. I did see a circular piano keyboard. You stand in the center. That would be interesting.
I want a left-handed xylophone.
Dee Broughton, they may exist. I know there are left-handed violins out there.
I'm waiting on a left handed piccolo.
I think King George IV had a left-handed piano specially made.
I have a very important question pls reply, I am basically a right hander so thats why my right hand is powerful and flexible but i have already buyed a right freted guitar but now i think that I should change it to left fret guitar what should i do?????
Is there a left handed keyboard, where it goes down in pitch to the right, or a left handed drum kit, where do I put my tom toms ? Behind me ?
I think this advice would be helpful 20+ years ago. Left handed guitars are still more rare, but with online retail it makes it easier than ever to get anything shipped across the world.
I was told to just "learn right handed like everyone else" as a kid, but it just didn't feel right. Sure, maybe I would've adjusted eventually, but I can't imagine playing right handed now.
I think a simple test is give a left handed kid a guitar and let them hold it however comes natural, answer solved
Rhythm hand issues usually don't come up until much later in the learning process. I feel the strumming hand should be whichever one keeps better time naturally.
Well said! As a left-handed guitarist myself, I would have to agree with you. This guy is a self-loathing apostate lefty
Ian Snider lol
laugh all you want not only are you self loathing youre literally doing damage to newbies who want to take up guitar. Youre an idiot
yeah, I don't think so dude.
This is just silly. You're just an example of a left-handed person who can play right-handed guitars after years of practice.
what about it is silly? lots of lefties play right handed guitar, thats kind of the point.
60 Cycle Hum Because your whole video was about how left-handed people should just suck it up and learm right-handed guitars. You're an exception of someone who was forced to learn in a way that went against how they felt was most natural.
theYoungNation lol, you missed the point and read into it in your own way. I never said anything like that. The point of the video is "don't let anyone tell you which guitar to play, go with what's comfortable for you but know there are better gear options if you go left hand fretted"
And they're even right handed people that play Lefty guitar....
then im pretty sure EVERYONE missed the point
I am really struggling to decide what hand to play with, I am a lefty but I'm ambidextrous in some areas like most of us have to be. I played right handed for a year or so in my teens and have just bought my first lefty almost 10 years later. I can still play a few songs and chords on my old guitar but i'm hopeless with my new lefty. should I keep going with the lefty or go back to the righty that I started with?
If my dexterity on my left hand is significantly and measurably different (no joke, my left hand is more webbed between my 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers), and since I was a kid I unknowingly played "air guitar" left handed because I just naturally thought I would strum with my left hand. Now that I want to learn how to play with my son (who has already surpassed me), should I just play in a way that's comfortable? Would it just be easier to use a left-handed guitar if I want to hold the fret board with my right hand?
nah
still left handed
I'm also left handed but have always played regular guitars.
Nah there are Left Handed guitars
Hey, I'm having trouble picking a new guitar for me, I am left handed looking for a guitar specially for playing metal, I plan to buy a right handed guitar and then switch it to left (so I can save some money) can anyone recomend a brand or model which you know is easy to switch from right to left hand?
I am lefty in everything but guitar
I am right handed in everything but guitar
I'm a righty in everything but guitar, playing pool or shooting a rifle
Finkster Fitness I'm a righty in everything but guitar
Rita Rodrigues same
Same
rhythm is in your dominant hand so you strum with your dominant hand, unless rhythm is not important to you then you can choose any guitar
I’m right handed and I play a right handed guitar but I play upside down so should I get a left handed one or left fretted
I’m right handed and it kinda hurts mor and it’s harder player the notes with my left and but then if I turn my guitar so then my right hands there it’s seems a lot easier and it hurts a lot less but everyone says if you right handed u only use your left and for cord and your right hand to strum and I really want to try getting a left hand guitar so I can use my right and for cords. But I really don’t know if that’s the best for me I’m still a beginner so idk what to do. Could someone help me???
yes, there is. * closes video *
i guess you missed the point then.
Shut the fuck up, Nerd.
im left handed was forced to try and play righthanded by teachers in the 70s a gave up bought a lefthanded guitar in the 80s been playing since,mechanic by trade so fairly dexterious its a individual thing
Anyone know what that explorer/futura style guitar is in the background?
Im thinking about getting a guiter to start and im left handed but im wondering im just motioning it out and the strumming feels better with my right hand and if i do it with my left i jerk around so that means be a lefty using a righty?
Plz answer btw
if it feels better from the get go doing it one way over the other, id try it that way first.
Thx 8) buying a eight handed guitar
I'm a lefty and started playing lefty guitar 35 years ago. I think you're correct about the rhythm. That's something which has always be strong for me. Even when I was just starting out and I couldn't fret anything the rhythm just came naturally.
It makes a huge difference.. I've been playing the guitar since I was 5 years old.. my father, grandmother and great grandmother we're all left-handed. My grandfather attempted to teach me guitar right-handed even though he knew I was left-handed and I was completely inept but would literally flip the guitar over and hold it and demonstrate what he was trying to show me my fretting it with my right hand only upside down haha.. he quickly realized that I could play guitar near effortlessly strumming with my left hand.. now at 40 years old it is no different, it's like day one if I attempt to fret with my left hand, but my left hand has the utmost precision and control with a guitar pick or with plucking while playing classical pieces. If you believed that it truly did not matter that you would not have had a problem switching and fretting with your right hand, and if it did not matter any of us guitar players would be able to play in both positions. Your dominant hand wants to be the one creating the sound when it comes to stringed instruments because it correlates with how your brain receives those sounds and processes them... perhaps you should learn more about the science behind left and right-handed dominant people and understand how it affects people who plays stringed instruments.. yes we use both hands, but there's a scientific difference.
I'm wondering if you can put the strings reverse ex.A will turn to B and D will turn to G then the two E will it turn to a left handed guitar?
Please someone tell me what’s the white guitar directly behind him! The one with 222 on the headstock. I must know
first act
i love it when someone tells me how im doing something wrong.... even when its working for me much better than thier right way...
I've always written, and done most things with my left hand. When I started playing guitar, over 30 yrs ago, I happened to pick up someone's guitar that was lying around, and I started learning on that. It was a right handed guitar. I've played right handed guitars ever since. I've never picked up a left handed guitar. Looking back, it seems natural, the fretting hand is my left hand, the hand that normally likes to do the more intricate stuff. Really glad I did learn on right handed. So much more choice in instruments around :)
I have a question I am right and left handed I can't tell whether to play the right or left guitar.
My left hand feels comfortable on the top (where you tune the guitar) and my right hand feels comfortable at the bottom.
I just need someone to tell me whether that would be left or right.
Extra information- I've always have had trouble with my hands. For example, I can't write with my right hand but can with my left however when I use a mouse for a computer I use my right hand. Or when I hold a shotgun I use my right hand. When I eat I use my left hand. I think you get the idea.
I'm left handed and my left hand as my strumming hand feels natural. I have tried strumming with my right hand and it feel's so awkward lol. I feel like you did when you swapped. Would it be worth while to try working both ways? Maybe buy a left and right strung guitar and practicing with both?
I understand what you're saying and I agree to some extent! I'm left handed myself, but I play right-fretted.
The point you make about either orientation feeling awkward at the beginning no matter what, I disagree with. When I first started, I went for the left-fretted and it felt WRONG. I just knew it was more comfortable the other way. I think you should play both and see which feels better. I even know a guy who is right handed and plays right-fretted.
It's all personal preference. Good video though. You make an interesting point!
Andrew DeLaney I think there's wide variety of ways people can experience the instrument. Handedness comes into more strongly for some than others.
Same here.. left hand dominant and I fret with my right hand playing left-handed guitars. I was 5 years old and grandfather got me a guitar that was right-handed even though he knew I was left-handed, he showed me how to play a few chords and I attempted to play them as a righty and it was very hard, according to him I immediately flipped the guitar over and demonstrated the same thing that he had just tried to show me well only playing it left-handed while fretting with my right hand even though the guitar then was upside down, it felt completely natural to use my left hand for strumming.. he ended up taking the strings and restrung it left-handed and the rest was history haha.
I am not left handed, i am very dominate right, almost left hand retarded, but a decade and a half ago i had the tips of my middle and ring finger broke between the tip and the first knuckle,one finger the middle healed. My ring finger is still broken after 15 years, and I cant seem to hit the right angle on the strings without crossing more then 1 string. I have always wanted to learn guitar but felt a handicapped in this dept. I started watching banjo videos and think I want to learn opposite of my dominate, as banjo requires 3 to strings, and I want to string with my left and note with my right.
This was inspiring!
Thank you!
What if they change the strings for this particular Taylor ? Is just a matter of put a new strings as left handed?.
I am right handed :
When I get a guitar
I'm thinking of getting a left handed guitar.
Or can I just string a right handed guitar in reverse ?
It seems to be it will be more natural as a righty -- to use my right hand to fret.
(?)
What to you guitar player think ?
Thank you very much.
Signed,
Hendrix
I've never picked up the instrument but as a resident left handed person whenever I imagine myself doing so not strumming with my left seems so off
As another leftie, may I offer some observations from my own experience? I've played for 32 years & started out on classical guitar. (then learned electric & bass) The way my guitar "handedness" was decided was by putting a guitar in my lap & seeing which way felt more natural. (my dad was my instructor) I found leftie felt better, & have found some advantages over the years. For one thing, the intricacies of finger picking are helped by having my dominant hand do it. Oddly, my right hand is physically stronger, but my left is more dextrous. Instruments DO have a handedness to them. Brass instruments are right-handed, & only use the left to hold them aloft. Pianos have the dominant hand on the higher, melody keys. I think it largely comes down to where dexterity is most required, & with stringed instruments, I think that's mainly in operating the strings, rather than pressing them down. Just my view.
Your observations explain perfectly my own experiences over the years being left-handed and now 40 years old... I was introduced to guitar at about 5 years old by my grandfather who gave me a right handed guitar knowing I was left-handed lol.. his story is that he handed me the right-handed guitar and showed me how to play a G major chord, I immediately flipped the guitar upside down holding it left-handed and played the chord perfectly. My left hand has complete control with a guitar pick or plucking and like you said.. more dexterity, while my right hand seems stronger.
What's the guitar you are using? The short scale make it look and sound really great
baby taylor
I'm right handed but my left little finger is not working properly. Can I learn with a left handed guitar?
I ve been playing for almost 28 years lefthanded,i tried to play several times righthanded,but it was impossible for my brain to coordinate,however i teached myself to play all basic minor and major chords and even 7 th and some blues/jazz chords upside down, i'm at least able to play on a certain level ata so called 'normal'(righthanded)guitar,andlearn myself al the open string chords to play righthanded,but it willnever feelnatural to me,just like writing righthanded
I'm Right Handed and I play guitar Left Handed.
What if I am right handed and I strum with left hand, am I left handed or right handed? Because its really comfortable to do chords with my right hand
Can anyone answer my query: I'm left handed and I brought right handed but swapped the strings to make it left handed guitar. And it's been 1 year, Ican play rythm easily but I'm having difficulty in playing chords correctly ( I touch other strings) . Is this because i swapped the strings?
its ok to touch the other strings as long as you aren't interrupting their vibration. It takes a lot of practice to develop the muscle memory around chords.
@@60CycleHumcast thanks brother but I have one more doubt I swapped the strings to make it left handed but I didn't altered the bridge and the nut. Is this because of this I'm having difficulty playing chords correctly and what possible solutions I have right now?
Reply Appreciated
Smiling Assassin you will need to take it to someone to cut a new nut for it. Sometimes you can flip a bit around and sometimes you can’t. The bridge doesn’t need to be replaced but I’m betting the intonation needs to be adjusted
I guess your argument makes sense in a certain way. You are a left handed person but prefer "right-fretted" guitar. imagine there are lots of right-handed people that would potentially prefer "left-fretted" guitar but never even know that could be an option.
I choose to play with a left-handed guitar cuz I mainly use my left hand when playing sports(like shooting basketball or tennis) so that my left wrist is more flexible and that's good for strumming. I write with my right hand BTW. It doesn't matter I'm lefty or righty, I just feel better with a left handed guitar.
So I agree with most of your arguments but I just believe that everyone should follow their gut feeling about choosing left-fretted or right-fretted guitar. More people feel comfortable to take a left-fretted guitar then manufacturers may increase the production. Boom, happily ever after.
JINGRU SUN I agree
JINGRU SUN Just to be clear, a fret is a fret. Guitars are labeled right-handed or left-handed according to the dominant hand the picks or strums, not the hand that plays the chords.
I am one of those who do it like that
Left-Handed, and playing lefty, no problems for me!
Thanks, u helped me a lot, I’m a lefty myself, and was wondering if I’d have a left handed guitar, my strumming would be better or either with a right handed guitar my chords etc would be better
Hey!
I'm sixteen year old and I really wanna learn to play a guitar. But I'm left handed person and I have no idea what should I do.
I consulted the guitar teacher nearby and he claimed that I would need a left handed guitar. And when I went to a guitar store, the 'left handed guitar' is priced almost tripple the value of the right handed one.
I have no idea what should I do?
Shruti ya how do you play air guitar? If you strum with you right hand you should probably try right handed guitar, if you strum with your left you should probably play left handed. I recommend the squier contemporary telecaster as a solid lower budget option. They are around $350 new.
I was getting pretty frustrated with what you were doing in the beginning, but then you finally made that first argument and it put me in a better mood, but I’m gonna stick with left handed guitars due to the fact that I’ve been playing left handed guitars for about 6 years at this point.
Unfortunately, I picked a guitar up the wrong way naturally when I was probably 10 or so. I wish I hadn't. The array of instruments for the regular players is incredible. Lefties get the "one size fits all" treatment. I love cool guitars but when you're only given one model in one colour (Black 90% of the time), you have to get pretty creative. So I get to mod all of my guitars to make them the way I want but it would be nice to just find what I want already prebuilt. That's only happened once. I managed to get a neon green 7 string with a maple fretboard and black hardware from Legator so that was pretty cool of them to do something different.
i started playing guitar with my right hand but it turns out that i got a twisted elbow so it was so hard for me to have a grip on the neck so i started playing left handed even though the strings were upside down i still find my self playing the guitar.
Is that 2 screwheads at the 16th fret?
Lefty over here learning and excited to learn both
I am lefty and play bass and drums righty. Back in my day as a kid they never ASKED you - Never even heard of a lefty guitar until I was playing for years. That said you should ALWAYS do what WORKS FOR YOU. At one point in a band with a guitar and drummer who were both lefty play righty. Both of those guys were top shelf players. All the advice I would offer to beginners is try BOTH, find a store with a lefty in stock (most have only a few) and see how you get on. Handy (pun) reference here - ALL these guys are lefty and play righty -
Billy Corgan
Herman Li
Johnny Winter
Steve Morse
Kiko Loureiro
Mark Knopfler
Gary Moore
Duane Allman
Robert Fripp
Janick Gers
Joe Perry
David Bowie
So glad I found this video. Helped me out a great deal.
Are you saying that taking any acoustic guitar and stringing it "backwards" is no different than going out and looking for a guitar that specifically says it's left-handed?
Also, if I get an acoustic/electric guitar, would the positioning make a difference?
thats not what i'm saying at all.
@@60CycleHumcast Well crud. I've always wondered what the difference would be for guitars that are pretty much bilaterally symmetrical other than stringing.
It's weird because even though my right hand is my dominant hand, it always felt more natural playing guitar left handed.
Same!
This issue has been debated ad nauseam. I’m a natural lefty with almost everything and was very inclined to hold the guitar lefty (right hand fret) without any prodding or intervention. My left hand is more rhythmic and it just worked for me. I’m sure I could have learned righty, but now it feels completely unnatural as if I’m a total beginner. I’ve known natural righties that play lefty and natural lefties that play righty. I’m pretty sure Kurt Cobain was a righty that played guitar lefty. It’s less a matter of handedness and more a matter of which hand is more rhythmic. I think the feel and musicality really comes out of your strumming/picking/bowing hand. My ultimate conclusion : play however you want to. There are plenty of lefty guitar options these days so don’t let that argument hold you back. Besides...it looks badass on stage.
Yup. This debate is really old and ridiculous.
I do think that lefties have an advantage as they stand out more on stage. When I’m watching a Beatles video, the first thing I look at is Paul because he’s a lefty Bassist. I actually kinda wanna learn Left handed to see if I could be good. (I’m a natural righty playing a righty guitar)
Paul I might be biased (bring a lefty player) but I agree that it stands out. There’s a Beatles cover band here in LA called Hard Day’s Night Band where the bass player, normally a righty guitar player, learned to switch to look the part! I was impressed to hear that.
gtrbri98 That’s pretty cool but at the same time it must have been a pain to relearn everything. I would like to try left handed out. I’m thinking of restringing my guitar
I am sure my first grade teacher made me change to right handedness. So I refused to even contemplate playing a right-hand guitar. Still getting started.
Ok guys and girls I would like some opinions: I am right handed and in my 40s and play guitar since 14, few years ago I broke my left wrist and surgery was not able to repair it. After a bit of playing I get really unfun pain in my wrist. I am thinking to start all again on left hand guitar but unsure if even possible? The prospect of giving up guitar is just not tolerable to me. Thoughts?
It is possible but will feel like starting over. Some people learn to play both ways as a personal challenge. Good luck! I’m rooting for you.
I can't hit the top frets on a right handed Les Paul or a Tele upside down. I play a righty flipped with the low E on the bottom. Also, I have to remove the knobs because I accidentally turn them up and down while playing.
you can train your self to play right handed guitar but you wont be half the player you could be had you learned left in the first place same goes for for the oppisite and after teaching for over 25 years and being a player as well for over 30 years i have seen my share of this stuff.. starting out on any guitar is the same for everyone left or right but going with the guitar that you hand is dominate is the best way to go to be the best you can be etc. FYI the first guitars made were left handed .. also i have been training my self to play right handed and i know for a fact that that also backs up what i have said.
Im very comfortable playing the way I do and I picked up guitar faster than many of my friends, im not convinced I would be a very different player if i fretted with my right hand instead of my left.
Yeah as long as you work on your picking your fretting hand will always be better than right handed peoples fretting hand.
Right handed people are better at picking so they don’t need to work on that as hard
Left handed people are better at fretting so they don’t need to work as hard on that. I found it very easy to learn chords and fast leads and a bit harder to get alternating picking down.
Kevys Rc & Music I am left handed and cannot learn right handed even if I wanted to because lack of strength in some of my fingers on my left hand to due to a carpel issue on the finger knuckles. Makes it painful use those fingers to apply pressure and holding down a string on the fret board would apply to that. So, probably was good that l learned left handed.
I'm also a fully left-handed person who plays right handed guitar and I feel like my picking is very lacking and I have hit a point where I feel like I should learn guitar left handed.
Mark Knopfler is a lefty. He can bend 3 strings at once, as you can hear on 'Sultans Of Swings'.
Hence his peculiar style of fingerpicking.
Some maybe, but I myself am left handed, and tried to learn right handed, had many tell me it would be better, but, I can not strum for the life of me, no matter how much I've practice, switched to left and *WHAM* success, Personally, I think it's in the person, whether they are going to left handed or right handed!
So my question to you as a leftie did you ever play left first or just was always a right handed player? I've tried right handed and just no go.
i tried flipping the acoustic i had once when i started and it didn't feel any better to me. I feel like i learned pretty quickly playing right handed. Go with the way that feels best to you.
do you string guitars upside down i am left handed but i play right handed
I hope this goes viral
I think that everyone is different. I am left handed and play guitar left handed. Maybe if I had started out playing right handed I could have made it work. I don't know. I do a lot with my left hand but I also favor my right for certain things like using scissors and throwing balls. In a nutshell just play the way that feels most comfortable to you.
I’m left handed and I’ve been playing for 3 years now. I play guitar right handed, reasons why is.
1. More dominance on the Fret board. I can switch chords easy, can stretch more, can do better leads. Playing a left handed guitar my right hand on the fret board can’t get 98% of the chords that my left hand can. Strumming with no rhythm anyone can do with any hand, I just had to develop rhythm in my right hand, that was hard at the start, but I got used to it and I can now do it with ease. I dedicated so much into learning guitar, often all day everyday at some point. Either way you pick up the guitar, both hands play an equally important part of playing.
2. More guitars to choose from. Left handed guitars are a minority and it can be hard to find one, so by playing right handed you have a wide range to choose from.
3. Is most of the time cheaper.
4. I can use someone else’s guitar. Most people are obviously right handed and if you’re with another guitarist you can have a go with their guitar.
5. They can use your guitar too. If you let them use your guitar you can teach them how to play since most people are right handed. And with reasons 4 and 5 you can teach someone guitar by letting them use yours, I’ve taught people and they used my guitar before buying their own.
So I agree that there’s no such thing as a left or right handed guitar, both hands do just as much when playing. It’s more of a preference. Some prefer it one way and some prefer it another.
What it really is is this.
Some lefty’s play right handed
Some lefty’s play left handed
Some righty’s play left handed
And some righty’s play right handed.
If you have a left handed guitar and want a right handed can't you just swap the strings round? That should in theory change it. Right?
You can change the strings on some guitars, classical are easier, but the bracing is likely wrong, the bridge is intonated incorrectly, and the nut slots won't fit. Still, if you have access to a cheap classical and can try switching it, it won't sound great, but it's a good way to try playing left to see if it feels better for you.
forget the debates...WHATS THAT EXPLORER BEAUTY YOU GOT UP THERE?
Kioni Hernandez it's a parts guitar, mim strat neck, gfs pickup, bigsby etc.
It is extremely nice looking... maybe that's how I'd like an Explorer, rather than for metal
I always thought that "right handed" guitars were backwards. It seems to me that fretting and chording with your dominant hand would be more natural. Left handers should have an advantage here!
jimdkc Same here
Fretting and chording arent the hard part of playing. Thats really easy to learn with practice. It's your strumming/picking hand that has to jump all over the place, maintain fast complicated rhythms etc
The concept confused me but hey fretting with my dominant hand is preferable and being a lefty means I can get the instruments I want easier
cdreid99999
Exactly. Your strumming hand needs to be precise because it controls rhythm, dynamics and articulation (stuff that requires a lot more control than just placing your fingers in the correct spot on the fretboard).
The strumming hand movement (requires moving your wrist) is more complex than the fretting hand movement (mostly finger movement). It's like typing on a keyboard vs using a mouse. Typing on a keyboard feels pretty much the same on both hands, but using the mouse on your weaker hand is really difficult.
Whether you should choose a left handed or a right handed guitar depends on which way feels more natural for you. Sure, people will suck in the beginning any way, but one way will still feel less awkward than the other. It's kind of like holding a hockey stick or a baseball bat. I pretty much suck at both sports, but my handedness is pretty strong, so I can only hold the hockey stick/baseball bat one way - the other way will feel really awkward (I hold both on my left side, though to my understanding this has nothing to do with whether you are left handed or right handed). I know some people who can switch sides without a problem.
I’m also a lefty playing right. Totally agree with the amount of product and overall simplicity of your dominant hand doing the hardest bit!
I’ve tried playing with my left hand fretting. I can pick up cords no problem. I’m thinking I should have went the other way round.
I’m just starting out but so far as I know, a “left handed” guitar is simply a regular guitar strung backwards.
I’m learning to play upside down and backwards right strung guitar because I’m borrowing it, I don’t own my own.
My reason for wanting my left hand as my strumming hand is that I don’t intend to just strum forever, is like to learn to pick tunes, maybe even play classical style, both require a lot more work and detail on the strumming/picking hand.
As a leftie I’ve had to do so many things right handed and poorly, ice cream scoops! Right! 🙄 It’s so unfair! 🤦🏽♀️
I want to learn to play guitar in an enjoyable, comfortable way.
"left-handed" guitars aren't just strung backwards, they're shaped and overall made for that handedness, as well! playing a lefty guitar removes the uncomfortable 'upside down' look and feel; it's more like a mirror image of a typical guitar. ^^
noelle hester
This I did not know!
I’m having a wicked time.
Gave up on upside down and backwards,
I was trying to learn right handed, which I think is easier than upside down and backwards,
But the real issue is I’m tearing up the fingertips of my dominant hand by fretting with them!
And honestly,
I can’t make my right fingers pick/pluck in any consistent manner.
I’m going to keep learning right handed until I can afford a left handed guitar. Shaped different sounds awesome because I’m also having trouble with my right elbow, which is had surgeries on years ago, resting on the corner/edge of the side and face.
I’m going to keep pressing on,
I’m not one to give up on anything, at least not until I’ve gotten good at it.
I never would have even looked for such a thing as left handed guitar, everyone always told me it was just a regular one strung backwards, but I suppose if you’re not left handed, one might not know they exist.
Lia Mari i definitely feel you with most of this! i hate playing right-handed- it hurts and while i do ALRIGHT picking and plucking with my right (probably in no small part due to years of piano playing making it more dexterous than it would be otherwise), it just feels unnatural and “bad”. the price point for a lefty guitar is so nightmarish, though, so i CANNOT blame you for just trying to stick with what you’ve got! mine, if i recall right, was $275 USD... bought SECONDHAND, no less! i saved up for over a year with the express goal of getting a guitar, but $275 is a lot of money when you’re 11 so handing it over was still SOOOO painful. anyways, best of luck to you going forward!! 🤗
noelle hester
I just realized we might be talking about different kinds of guitars.
Electric ones look asymmetrical,
But mine is an old Yamaha FG-160 acoustic, that seems symmetrical.
But still,
Maybe by the time I’m done
I’ll be able to twirl it in my fingertips and make music in three different positions that’s so sweet people cry... until then,
I’ll settle for getting good enough right handed to justify carrying a guitar around and asking people to show me riffs... or at least explain what riffs are.
😁
I’m right handed but play left handed. My right hand is doing most of the work. Same for Kurt Cobain. He was right handed but played left. It’s all preference to the individual.
i do everything but write with my right hand, yet i can not play a right handed guitar. My first time picking up a guitar my friend told me to turn it around because i was "holding it wrong". i can only play left handed guitars, my handedness is very strange though.
Thanks for the video.
As a lefty-on-right bass player, I can tell that you hit the spot right there saying rhythm works better with the strong hand. When I tap to a rhythm without guitar, it’s always with my left.
I assume more practice would make a difference and I would be able to do slapping. But after so many years playing right handed guitar I can’t go left.
im a left handed guitarist with 3 left handed guitars! left handed people should have left handed guitars!! if not! they will become like you! an awful guitar player!
my left handed friends! don't listen to this nonsense! watch the video below to choose wisely:
czcams.com/video/EqLwhEFMjDk/video.html
You say shit. The best musician are left handed and play REGULAR instrument
Bull crap. You have been conditioned by righties to play righty.
Be a man. Be a lefty for go sakes
Right on! Lefties of the world unite! Im a lefty and im proud! ✊ Lol
Okay so I play right handed guitars and I'm pretty sick but, I see that my left hand does a lot of the work so let's say I switch to left handed guitars, will I be sicker?
Awesome! Thank You. I’m left handed and want to learn the guitar, this is exactly what I was looking for.