My daughter wants to play guitar...
I have 3 guitars she could use but they're all standard, right-hand configurations and she's left-handed.
My wife thinks I should teach her to play right-handed. Since she's never played before, it won't be like she'd have to unlearn anything. However, I'm concerned that I could be potentially limiting her later on because she might not ever fully develop the dexterity she might have otherwise developed if I had just gotten her a left-handed guitar to start with. |
Jimi played a righty, he just strung it backwards.
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I'm kind of curious why guitars are set up this way anyway. I'm right handed and play right handed, so that means I'm doing much more intricate work on my guitar with my left. that has never made sense to me. I bet I would be a lot better forming chords with my right.
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I'm left handed and play right. |
I'm also left-handed, and my guitar teacher insisted on teaching me right-handed.. and I am sooo glad he did! Lefty guitars are rare and more expensive typically than right-handed axes. And being a lefty, most of my dexterity is in my left hand, which is what moves around the fretboard. I would absolutely say to teach her right handed...
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Get her a left handed guitar. I went that route and tried to learn right handed when I first started. I got really frustrated and gave up. I didn't start playing again for two years when my friend restrung a right handed upside down so I could practice left handed. It still never sounded right and I didn't start to excell until I bought a left handed guitar. So coming from a left handed guitar player I strongly encourage buying her a left handed guitar if she is serious about learning
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Try it. I'm left handed, and play the guitar right handed. Give it a go.
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It can be difficult finding good guitars that are left handed. But I hate it when guitar teachers make their students play right handed. Some of the greatest guitar players played left handed
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Right handed.
Her strongest and dominate hand will be responsible for the most intricate parts, which will be to her advantage, if she sticks with it. Guitar is super easy: it's just shapes. She'll benefit greatly with a right handed guitar. |
Any pics? With pics I can determine what kind of guitar would suit them best.
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I am a music store owner.
Personally, I have never understood this obsession with a left handed guitar. Frankly, guitar, like violin, is an ambedextrious (sp?) instrument. Furthermore, more advanced guitar playing has more work on the LEFT hand when playing in a traditional "right handed" configuration. So I would think that this would only be a benefit for a lefty to learn traditionally. Violin players dont get the choice for example as all bows have to move in the same direction. If they did lefty violins, the lefty & righty players would have bows hitting between them constantly in a section. |
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Have her pick one up and pretend to play... Whichever she chooses will be the natural choice. I've played guitar left and right, banjo, piano, bass, cello, tenor banjo and numerous other instruments... All have their own natural feel when you pick one up. Her mind will make the choice for you.
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Guitar? The Dane Cook of plucked string instruments? Please.
Set her up with a dulcimer. |
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There is a place in Houston that specializes in left handed guitars. I play right handed so can't vouch for the prices but check it out anyway, couldn't hurt. http://www.southpawguitars.com/ |
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http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...58813204_n.jpg |
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I'm a lefty and I learned to play righty. It's an advantage. The left hand fretting and playing chords as well as scale runs is dependent upon left hand dexterity.
Have her learn right handed. It's really a tremendous advantage being a lefty playing righty if she ever wants to stretch it out. |
First of all, I can't believe how many left-handed people we have here. :)
Thanks for all of the advice. I'm gonna let her play on the Strat tomorrow. |
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I agree, get the girl started right (pun intended) Z |
Where the **** are all you left handers coming from?
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Right or left handed there is nothing natural about playing the guitar when you first pick it up. Natural comes with practice and bloody fingers, doesn't matter which hand imo. I really don't personally know any left handed players and I've known and jammed with many guitarists over the years. Maybe I have but I don't remember any. |
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of course, if this lefty would've learned to play right-handed, he might have amounted to something.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T6azobZEcj...mi-Hendrix.jpg |
Notice that Jimi is actually playing a RIGHT-HANDED guitar.
Jim and Tony both learned to play before they actually made left-handed guitars. |
http://www.lefthandedguitarists.com/...guitar=2&opt=3
Famous left-handed guitarists who play right-handed AL ANDERSON BILLY BOB THORNTON BILLY CORGAN BOB BROZMAN BRUCE COCKBURN CALVIN NEWBORN CARL WILSON * CHRIS MARTIN (Coldplay) CHRIS REA DANNY GATTON * DAVE HOLE * DAVID BOWIE * DAVID BYRNE DUANE ALLMAN ELVIS COSTELLO ERIK DARLING (The Rooftop Singers) GARY MOORE GEORGE BARNES GEORGE VAN EPS * GILES HEDLEY (Giles Hedley Blues Band, The Aviators) INORAN (a.k.a. INOUE KYIONOBU) JANICK GERS (IRON MAIDEN) JIMMY RAINEY JOHN WETTON (KING CRIMSON) JOHNNY WINTER JULIA ROBERTS KEANU REEVES KEITH CARRADINE LEFTY FRIZZELL MARE WINNINGHAM MARK KNOPFLER * MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO * MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD MICHAEL HEDGES NICK LOWE NOEL GALLAGHER (Oasis) PASCAL PERIZ PAUL LE MAT PAUL SIMON PHIL HILBORNE PRESTON REED * RIK EMMETT (Triumph) ROBERT FRIPP RUVANE KURLAND STEVE CROPPER * STEVE MORSE TED GREENE |
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One at a time. |
I'm lefty, I tried righty with the same thoughts in mind. It didn't work out so my father took the guitar to a shop & had it flipped like Hendrix.
I felt much better about myself and my playing. I felt more comfortable in the lefty setting than the righty & my playing took off. Don't do it to your daughter, if she's lefty - she's a lefty. Sure the selection is extremely limiting in terms of buying a new ax down the line but I've always found great guitars. Just my two cents since I've been in a similar situation. |
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I literally half glanced at this list... and THIS was the first name i saw. |
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Johnny Depp is a really accomplished guitarist as well. That's actually why he moved to L.A. originally: To be a rock star. |
Look at this way, Dude: If your daughter has any real talent and decides to pursue this for a living in some fashion, whether it's as a songwriter or sideman or a band or whatever, it makes more sense for her to walk into a room and play right handed.
If she's asked to sit in somewhere or sit in on a session or contribute to a song or whatever, she'll always need to have her left-handed instrument on her at all times. IMO, that's a major detriment. And as I said earlier, guitar is easy. It's just shapes. I doubt she's out to be the next Yngwie Malmsteen. And make her take piano lessons as well. If you can play piano, you can virtually understand and play almost any instrument because it's laid out so simply that the music theory is natural. |
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My 13 yr old daughter has become quite the musician; instumentally and vocally, as a lefty. In-part it is because of who she is, and in-part because of learning in a right-handed world as a left-handed musically inclined "tweener"...I'm proud, and she "rocks." Just my experience... |
Stick with a right handed guitar. She can use her dominant hand to work the neck.
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I'd start teaching her the more standardized way which is right handed. As a lefty she should be able to pick up the switch back rather easily if she just can't figure it out right handed. As it is now you are dealing with a clean slate so go the more common less expensive route.
She could end up being a bit of both as my younger son is. He writes left handed, eats right handed, kicks right footed and plays drums, djembe, congas and bongos. My other son self taught bass, guitar, keyboards. Both of my sons got the musician bug and we love it. Except when they want to try to make that their life's work...Bubble busting is hard. If she truly loves the instrument and/or has a gift for it then she'll pick it up rather easily. It's like magic to watch. |
Lefty, learned to play righty, which is the way any music teacher should do it. I hated it at first, but having the dom hand for the frets was an advantage for stamina. If it was my lefty kid, I'd teach 'em the standard right-handed way. I'd only switch if the kid couldn't grasp the technique, but that shouldn't be an issue for a beginner.
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if you go the strung backwards route, just make sure you adjust the bridge accordingly.
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My oldest, I just sit and listen in wonder. She learns faster than I ever did. She jets through whole lesson books. She's the same with the clarinet. And with the clarinet, she skipped an entire year of instruction when she skipped a grade. |
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The nut would have to be altered or more likely completely replaced. |
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I'm another lefty that plays a righty (I thought I was the only one).
I've always felt that the dexterity in my left hand has compensated for a weak right picking hand. I've always had to work on my picking way more than anything related to my left, (i.e chord formations, scales, bending, etc...). I would suggest she play a right handed guitar, but make sure she doesn't slack on her picking by using too many hammer ons and pull offs with her left. |
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The other advantage to her learning on a righty is that 95% of the lessons and tutorials available on the internet are taught righty.
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:facepalm: |
I'm a lefty and play golf right handed..she'll be fine.
....it's all in your head, anyway. |
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I would want my dominant hand picking and strumming. Dexterity comes pretty quick with practice.
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I don't want to lay down a 40% premium for a lefty axe only to have her quit in a year... |
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She'll pass through a phase or make you proud and keep with it... |
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This is an interesting topic.
I started playing drums at a young age (righty). I was pretty accomplished and when I was a freshman in HS I met another fellow drummer who was left handed. We were both in orchestra and other band combos (jazz, etc). We both had our drum kits at school and I started messing around with his left handed kit. I sucked at first, but after a while I got to the point I liked playing lefty as much as righty. It also made for some interesting variations doing things I normally did right handed on a left handed kit. I improved a lot in that short amount of time compared to the previous months/years. |
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But not sober and with intent. |
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You can't just turn it upside down. |
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Spanish Classical. She should learn to read music, it will help open doors later (playing piano, violin, etc)
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Let her mess around with both left and right handed guitars and see what feels more comfortable. Some people are left handed but prefer a right handed guitar.
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I suck at piano but personally, there isn't a finer musical instrument in the world. |
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