Lefty, lefty playing righty, or righty?

[RocketRalf]

Inspired by the other Lefty poll, I was wondering, how many of us are lefty yet we play righty? Is there anyone that has done the opposite? (poor guy )

I'm a lefty, I write with my left hand, I can't use a normal scissor, yet I learned to play violin at the age of 5 the righty way, so I never ever considered going lefty with a guitar or bass. But if I had not played a stringed instrument before, I still would have gone righty, lefty guitars seem weird to me, plus they're more expensive and hard to find.

 

[leftyguitarblue]

lefty guitars seem weird to me, plus they're more expensive and hard to find.

That's a funny line, and I get it, believe me.

We all know my story.......next!!

 

[edrod]

My parents said they tried teaching me to do things with my right hand when I was a kid. They told me I would always switched hands so they just taught me to be left handed since it came natural for me.

As far as guitars, I tried playing right handed but I was never able to. My guitar teacher told me how much of a pain it would be finding guitars. He also told me that if it wasn't happening (trying right handed) I might be wasting my time and might take me twice as long.

To be honest, I love being left handed. It is who I am and would never change this. Also, I could take pride by saying I have adapted to this right handed world.

Sorry for the rant.

Eddi

 

[TonyEVH5150]

I write, pitch, throw, bat, and predominately scan with my left hand. I even play drums left handed.

But I play guitar right-handed. when I took up the guitar, I got to choose - a faster fretting hand, or a faster picking hand. I figured my left hand would handle fretting, and I could train my right hand to handle the pick responsibilities.

I guess the limited availability of left-handed instruments played a small part in the decision, but in the end, I can find a guitar anywhere now. . . . .

 

[emanon]

Since guitar playing is not a natural act, both hands are ignorant to the act fretting or strumming. I think Steve Morse and Mark Knopfler have done just fine being lefties who play right handed and Hendrix did just fine being lefty and playing lefty. Moral of the story, it doesn't matter unless the availability of instruments is important to you.

 

[leftyguitarblue]

Since guitar playing is not a natural act, both hands are ignorant to the act fretting or strumming. I think Steve Morse and Mark Knopfler have done just fine being lefties who play right handed and Hendrix did just fine being lefty and playing lefty. Moral of the story, it doesn't matter unless the availability of instruments is important to you.

In a way, I'm glad i am left handed because I probably would be constantly broke from buying guitar after guitar OR the other way to look at it; If I were a righty and always had a choice of guitars, I would be accustomed to being able to have what I want and wouldn't buy them like they were going out of style.

But I have to disagree that "it doesn't matter"...I tried and tried but could not get comfortable playing righty, it just didn't work for me. I'm sure Hendrix and Iommi tried as well, and imagine how hard it was to find left handed gear back in the
1960's!

 

[edrod]

In a way, I'm glad i am left handed because I probably would be constantly broke from buying guitar after guitar OR the other way to look at it; If I were a righty and always had a choice of guitars, I would be accustomed to being able to have what I want and wouldn't buy them like they were going out of style.

But I have to disagree that "it doesn't matter"...I tried and tried but could not get comfortable playing righty, it just didn't work for me. I'm sure Hendrix and Iommi tried as well, and imagine how hard it was to find left handed gear back in the
1960's!

+1, I completely agree with this.

 

[RocketRalf]

Since guitar playing is not a natural act, both hands are ignorant to the act fretting or strumming. I think Steve Morse and Mark Knopfler have done just fine being lefties who play right handed and Hendrix did just fine being lefty and playing lefty. Moral of the story, it doesn't matter unless the availability of instruments is important to you.

Wow Morse is lefty? There goes my excuse for poor picking speed

 

[MrMusashi]

try pickin up a "reverse" guitar and see what happens.. hehe.. your mind knows exactly what it wants to do but the body doesnt have a clue..
i guess thats how beginners feel except their mind doesnt have a clue either...

MrM

 

[Sweat]

I am a natural lefty in every way, but when I decided to try and learn guitar a few years ago it just seemed natural to play it right handed.

 

[ivanmihaljevic]

I'd love to see someone who is actually a righty, but plays lefty

 

[leftyguitarblue]

I'd love to see someone who is actually a righty, but plays lefty

Even I might have to laugh at that!

 

[Nik_Left_RG]

I am a lefty and I play lefty.. i dont think my playing would have been great if i played righty.. The guy who taught me was cool enough to let me do what i want.. Got an acoustic at first.. Just strung it around and there.. Felt at home.. I can play righty.. chords and very very slow melodic stuff.. but somehow.. there seems to be no feeling/Mojo to it..

To each their own.. It counts for why we have so many things to choose from -- If everybody thought the same.. Did the same.. No one would have an identity.. Thngs like this + a million more makes an individual..

 

[andynpeters]

I'd love to see someone who is actually a righty, but plays lefty

That would be me....I am EXTREMELY right handed, yet from the time I first posed with a tennis racket to a Shadows record I have always played left handed.

These days the lefty is reasonably well catered for....I own ,or have owned, lefty guitars from Aria, Burns,DeArmond, DiPinto,Eggle, Epiphone, Fender, Fylde,G&L,Gibson,Gordon-Smith,Ibanez,Kincaid, Martin, MusicMan (of course),Paul Reed Smith,Rickenbacker,Warmoth,Washburn,Wilson .and Yamato.
We don't get every model or all the colours usually.....but enough choice to spend way too much money on guitars!!
EBMM is an extremely Lefty-friendly company.

 

[RocketRalf]

Just to clarify, when I said harder to find and cheaper I meant here on my country. I think I've seen 3 lefty instruments here in my life, and maybe I'm confused and those were at GC Orlando

 

[Jack FFR1846]

I'm a righty playing righty (ducks the tomatos being thrown) but do some things lefty (hockey) and many ambidextrous (soccer, lacrosse). My older son's lefty but does a few things righty including playing the guitar. I recently thought about picking up a lefty guitar just for fun. I got a chance to play bass for a couple gigs instead, so had to sort of re-learn bass playing. I might pick it up anyways.

Lefty playing righty....Eric Clapton.

jack

 

[paranoid70]

I am right handed and do everything that way including playing guitar. In fact, I am surprised the poll doesn't show at least a 8:1 ratio of righties to lefties. It sure seems that right handed people are a significant majority.

BTW, my daughter is lefty, but learned to play guitar righty. (I don't know if playing guitar will stick with her.) Also, I had a friend from grade school that was righty but played bass lefty. He severely injured his left hand as a toddler and could not move the fingers on his left hand very well. Thus, he played 'lefty' and used a pick to play the bass.

 

[RobW]

I'm really surprised that there's even 2 rightys playing lefty

 

[Slingy]

I'm a righty but I skate goofy foot, does that count?

 

[John C]

I'm one of the lefty's playing righty. Of course I'm one of those who does most things left-handed but I play golf and bat right-handed. I did try it both ways; it actually goes back to those cheap plastic "toy" accoustics that were about 1/2 size when I was about 8-9. Tried it both ways by taking the strings off and putting them back on a couple of times, left it right-handed and threw it in the corner of the basement.

When I was more like 14, I picked up a cheap accoustic and just stuck with playing right-handed; it just felt better than trying it left-handed by then. I didn't do much with it until I was 17; at that point my folks got me a student-model Fender (a Lead II that I still have) when I got serious about it (practicing daily, taking lessons, etc.).

On of life's ironies is that from 1981-1985 I played the Fender guitar into a Music Man amp (RD-50 112); now 25 years later I play an EB/Music Man guitar into a Fender amp.