Forcing a lefty to play tighty - thoughts?

[GuitarBizarre]

Originally Posted by rvai

well lefties should play righty because if you get famous and get endorsed you couldnīt actually use your signature guitar as most people who buy guitars are right handed, or maybe you wouldnīt even get the endorsement haha

Omar Rodriguez Lopez is far from the man on everyones lips when they hear the word 'guitar hero/god', yet he has not one but 2 signature models from Ibanez, plays left handed, and has his sig model available in both versions.

[DJR]

hah! just to drag this one back up....

When I'm teaching I also encourage beginners to learn right handed, and as also mentioned on a previous post, I always use the piano reference too... try buying a left hooker joanna! but I never force it and if they end up feeling more comfortable as a lefty, then so be it! If they want a Jem when they're shredding, they can still go and buy one.... and just do a Jimi!

I used to have a lefthooker to hand when I was teaching regularly and it served two purposes. 1) it was a good moral booster to the student when they see me trying to do what I'm teaching them on a lefty, and rather humbling to one's self too. and 2) you can half come up with some very cool sounding chords on a lefty played righty upside-down that wouldn't be achievable on a right handed, and vice versa. This was shown to me years ago by a former work colleague and bassist, Lee Pomeroy, (google him!) who not only is left handed, but plays upside-down too (there's a few of them out there) and used to come up with all these chords with amazing voicing due to open strings that would normally be muted and stretches that if not impossible, are very painful when played conventionally.

Try this one out: -

take your righty (or lefty) and turn it the other way so you're playing opposite (comfortable? *big grin*)

now bar your new fretting index at the 2nd fret on the bottom E, A, D & G (leaving B & top E open)

then middle finger on A-string at Fret-4 and the pinky finger a 5th up on D-string Fret-6.

This is basically a F#m11 but sounds lovely. Now go and flex your fingers and wrists and find the ONE way you can do this as a static chord playing your normal way. Be prepared to look like you're in a wrist lock being busted!



By the way, my mother is ambidextrous and can write left handed, swap hands, pickup the telephone (umm because she only likes using her left ear....) and continue writing right handed while talking.... but she is a nutter....

[rob777vdy]

if your left handed,well your left handed.its like telling a right handed musician to play left handed.theres no way i could play left handed.hendrix was left handed,wonder how many people told him to play right handed hahaha,nuff said

[teokiatuan]

this thread is older than me

i'm a right hander,

but i'd still use right if i were a leftie simply because there aren't many leftie guitars around

[Lefty Robb]

Originally Posted by teokiatuan

simply because there aren't many Lefty guitars around

not if you know where to look...

[DJR]

is it just me or is the headstock logos and signature upside down on that ebmm JP?

[Lefty Robb]

it is because there are no pictures of them yet, they just started to offer them.

[Act of God]

Originally Posted by Lefty Robb

it is because there are no pictures of them yet, they just started to offer them.

If you EVER sell that DY let me know, and check ur PM's!

[Indylawguitar]

I'm a lefty and I was forced to play right-handed because the guitar my parents bought me when I was 12 was right handed. I don't think it has hindered me at all.

I once bought a cheap lefty guitar after I had been playing for about 10 years with grand thoughts of building perfect technique from the ground up; but I couldn't play it at all. After about a week I gave up and went back to playing the guitar the "right way". :-)

[LuredMaul]

I play a right handed guitar left handed

[Pursuit]

OP: "Ohhh my poor horse! It died so many years ago, but these people just won't stop bashing it!?!"

Yeah well that's what makes this thread so cool.

I'm a righty. I play righty.

I don't fit in on this thread. I'll be going now.

[JackButlerGOT]

I am a lefty who plays right.. it just worked out that way.. no real fore thought went into it.. I DO however.. now.. feel like its to my advantage in that my more accurate hand in on the neck/fingerboard.. the only caveat is that I have ALWAYS felt that my alternate picking is my weakness.
My economy picking and sweeping are just fine though.

[Fredjo]

Originally Posted by dreamyreality

Right brain (left hand) is associated with creativity. - think Shawn's picking hand.
Left brain (right hand) is better at being organized and follow orders. - think Shawn's fretting hand.
A

The fact is the right hemisphere gives signals to the left side of your body and the left one to your right side = forget about what I say, I overlooked that you've said it right yourself

[wjs1820]

I dug up this horse to smack it one last time. As a lefty learning righty, I've found that my fretting hand, obviously stronger and more coordinated, forces my right hand out of time. To combat against this, I actually have had to force myself to let my right hand lead the dance. I think it's important to realize that for you teachers that lefty's need to re-learn how to feel rhythm.

[Armann]

I'm a lefty but I play guitar right handed, I'm glad I did...