I have a new student who is predominantly left handed learning guitar. However her parents have bought her a standard 3/4 right handed guitar, now although it would be possible for her to learn right handed would this be to her disadvantage? Should i suggest that her parents have the instrument set up to play left handed?

Thanks for your help and advice in advance. TC

(Got your message).

The thinking seems to be - with guitar, get them to play the guitar the other way round (see Paul McCartney), and with violin get them to play the usual way.

I've taught a few lefthanders to play the violin and while it can certainly be done, I do think they can end up with tension in the right hand, because the violin is designed to be bowed by the dominant hand. Also I've noticed that particularly in the beginning stages they tend to keep picking the violin up and putting it on the wrong shoulder, suggesting that it's instinctive to finger with the non-dominant hand - interesting, huh?

But I've asked top violin teachers about this and they seem to confer that it's best to teach it the right-handed way. In my view, though, this may be more for reasons of ease of teaching (confusing for the teacher is the pupil's playing it the other way round), and for visual reasons (one violinist sawing away the other way round to all the others in an orchestra would look a bit weird).

Funnily enough I gave a lesson to a left-handed ex-pupil of mine yesterday; she came back for a bit of extra help on a Grade 7 piece she's playing in public soon. I taught her for about a year at the Grade 1 stage (which she passed with distinction!!). She had struggled a lot with a previous (not very good) teacher and I managed to help her to get rid of most of her bad habits, but did feel that some of them were caused by her lefthandedness.

Although she's now a very good player, she still has tension in her left hand which I wondered just yesterday whether they were connected to her lefthandedness. But having said that - she's reached a good standard and has an excellent teacher at her current private school, who obviously hasn't seen any need to switch her over.

However, as an experiment, I'd love to try teaching a lefthander the other way round sometime. I've got a new lefthander at one of my schools and she's already accidentally putting her violin on the wrong shoulder all the time. Perhaps I should carry out the experiment on her?!? She's only at the plucking stage so it's certainly not too late to stitch her...

What do you think?

All the best

Violinia

I still can't reach a decision on this yet but thanks for your thoughts violina, much appreciated!

I've given this some thought, now it seems to me that the dominant hand would have a more important roll in the power of expression and emotion that is projected whilst the other hand would deal with the mechanics of playing. That being the case if the non-dominant hand is being used for the intensity of expression could that make the playing less expressive and more mechanical sounding than using the hand that has the dominant roll?

Just a thought.

When this subject had popped up on another forum I asked some guitarist friends who are left handed. One of them plays a left handed guitar and the others play as normal. The ones who played right handed were pleased they learnt that way (but so was the left handed player ), but they all said that it's best to start the way you mean to go on.

That being said, personally I would prefer to teach them right-handed (not that I teach guitar!), but if it's possible to do it the 'normal' way, surely it's going to make life easier in the long run...buying guitars and not having to restring them...reading chords the usual way around?

Apologies to any left handed person who may disagree with me, but I think that left handed people tend to be more ambidextrous that many right handers. After all, it's a right handed world, they get more practice. Strangely enough, I teach about 15 left handed students the piano. All, except one, tell me they find it easier to play the piano with their right hands. This is possibly because the right hand has always had more to do from the beginning. I'm sure that many left handed students may complain at the beginning about it being difficult/awkward, but then so do right handed students.

So all things being equal...I would keep it right handed.

Just my 2 pennies worth.

Thanks Louise i had'nt thought about that, but you make a good argument for leaving my approach as it is, teaching her right handed. I've done a bit more research and apparently F Noad (notable guitar educator) also endorses teaching left handed players the standard way.

This is a point on the side really, but it sort of reinforces something Louise says about lefties being more adaptable.
In the days when John Lennon was driving force in the ? Quarrymen? I think it was. Paul McCartney turned up to jam along with the band and although he is left handed, he picked up a right handed guitar and played a tune as though he was a natural right hander. So impressed was John, he decided to ask him to join the band, and the rest, as they say is history.

im left handed and play the violin the normal way and the guitar the right handed way, because thats how i was first told to hold it.

Son is strongly left-handed, and plays both violin and classical guitar the "right-handed" way...mostly because he started out with violin, and the guitar teacher thought he would probably be more comfortable sticking with the same approach for guitar. Son is left-handed enough that he played melody in the bass and chords in the treble when he first met the piano as a pre-schooler. Shows how much attention he was paying to the notation...

His violin teacher is a "reformed leftie" (a frequent case in Japan), and has taught to university level. She feels it's swings and roundabouts, the leftie will have much less trouble in the initial stages with fingering, but may then struggle to obtain the needed strength and control in the right hand.

Some "ambidextrous" people are that way because they simply haven't developed enough coordination to be strongly handed...those people may struggle with a stringed instrument no matter which hand they use for plucking or bowing.

I think a leftie should be very careful not to overstrain their weaker right hand, but so much both-handed coordination is needed to play any stringed instrument well that a right-handed set-up may not be the disadvantage it appears to be.

Son tends to hold his right hand bent downward from the wrist instead of straight, putting unnecessary strain on his wrist...ifyou have leftie students, it might pay to watch their right-hand technique especially carefully.

As a left handed person I would say keep it right handed.
I remember reading that it really shouldn't be a problem as it is all new anyway, which negates the left versus right thing.

However if you decide to go for the left handed approach you can demonstrate technique by sitting directly opposite your pupil.
This is how my left handed mother taught my right handed siblings to do things.

Hi,

Unless the student only play chord, otherwise, the work load of both hand should be the same,
espeically in more advance level.
That means, the left handed student will find something easy which is difficult for right handed student and vice versa. So it is the matter of order which going to be easy/difficult, but it also happend on right handed student as well!

Joseph

Hi, this is "all ears" son "Viohazard" here.

Actually I play classical guitar and violin right-handed, though I am left-handed. The teacher didn't yell at me or tell me to do it that way, it was just quite comfortable for me. So I think you should let your student hold it both ways and then decide.

N.B. That's my only my opinon, and sometimes what I think isn't good, so please look at other people's opinions too.

Forgive me saying this but I've long thought guitar-players a mamby-pamby lot with their left v right handed guitars - far worse among electrics apparently.

I mean, you don't get left-handed pianos, violins or any other instrument and people learn to play. Left-hand people don't wear the opposite sex clothes so they can do the buttons up. If you develop your "opposite" hand and make it work, it'll do it.

Right-hand pianists suffer the fact that the strongest note in the harmony is played by the weakest finger of the weaker hand (usually). They still manage to play.

I must say, as a guitar teacher it's always a point of note - do you teach a left hander to play left handed? Well, I have two students who are lefties, and they have each gone the opposite way! One on left, one the usual way...

I say on general principal, if they're left handed - let them learn with a left handed guitar! (Or a right handed restrung and with the nut + bridge switched over). As for 'namby pamby' guitar players or whatever it was, I can only say - what a load of codswollop! If the child is left handed encourage that! It makes no difference in the teaching realistically! One of my close friends is a leftie and also a full time peri - he teaches everyone right handed after all!

Then of course you have the likes of Jimi Hendrix...

was he a 'namby pamby' guitar player? Hmmm.... M

Hendrix was new wave in his day, i liked his approach to the guitar, very daring and provoking

As already mentioned i decided to teach the student right handed and so far she seems to be managing the material in Frederick Noad's first book of Guitar (part 1)quite well.

QUOTE (Mr bluefrets @ Nov 24 2004, 09:10 AM)

Then of course you have the likes of Jimi Hendrix... was he a 'namby pamby' guitar player? Hmmm.... M

I understand that the substances he often used - varieties of a certain almost uncontrollable hallucingenic, probably meant it didnt matter which way he played.*

When he could give as much above his head, behind his back, he could do anything in his realm. He could probably have played it under his chin if needed.

Nope, mamby pamby... other string players don't get so coddled. But then, Stradavarius never accepted commissions like Leo Fender. Nope, I know it's not that but can you imagine an orchestra - some string players poking others' eyes out the whole time!

*If you provide same substances when you teach.... any vacancies?

always good to have a lively debate! Well, leading the subject matter off on a tangent about the recreational habits of the man himself (That's Mr Hendrix to you ) does little to address the target issue - Jimi was left handed and preferred it that way, although he could play a right handed guitar just as well by all accounts!

You see, I think the argument here (in my eyes) would have to be that if a person is predominantly left handed, then it makes sense to consider allowing them to learn that way first - just like left handed writers. Of course, if they try both and find one easier then stick with that one; and with the guitar left handedness is not a major concern - although more expensive, it is perfectly reasonable to buy a left handed instrument for a left handed player. Stradavarius has nothing to do with the issue - violins aren't the issue here - we're talking guitars my friend; furthermore orchestral playing is not really the issue here either, as most guitarists never work with orchestras! (Although I have done so several times)

So more's to the point - what's your point? Does it matter which side they learn on? Only, by reading some of your statements my dear boy, one could almost mistake you for the kind of person who has an aversion to left handedness in general?

Are you anti-lefty!!!? Raaaaar! (Wry chuckle)

QUOTE (Mr bluefrets @ Nov 24 2004, 11:12 PM)

So more's to the point - what's your point?  :)

I made it several posts up - "I've long thought guitar-players a mamby-pamby lot" - an opinion I find hard to change because it's the only instrument that has left and right hand varieties - a sales gimmick that the gullible fall for. Violins appeared as a comparison.

QUOTE

Does it matter which side they learn on?

Of course not but that doesn't make them less mollycoddled.

QUOTE

Only, by reading some of your statements my dear boy, one could almost mistake you for the kind of person who has an aversion to left handedness in general?

How d'you know I'm not left-handed working on my lefthand laptop having a break from my lefthand piano? . .Well, I can't bluff you about my LH Bonnie Raitt Strat as there isn't such a thing...hmm, suppose I could have one custom-built. - But when it's your round I pick up me beer glass with me right hand!