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Ambidextrous Bass Player?

N

newbassdude

Apr 7, 2009
73
1
#1
So I am right handed. Always played bass right handed and wrote using my right hand.

However, a few months ago I was in class with nothing to do after finishing a test, and i began writing with my left hand. I decided that in my free time in classes I would practice using my left hand. Now, my left hand is *almost* as good was writing with my right. I was wondering, could i take this a step further and play left handed guitar?

I've been turning my right handed bass to a left handed position and playing like that, and although awkward, i feel like i can do it.

My question is if anyone has ever tried this with a good amount of success. If one can do it, then i was looking to get a cheap left handed guitar to play on before my hand starts getting memory movements for the backwards right handed bass

So any feedback is welcome! :)

EDIT 1: --I know the musician who plays Paul McCartney in the Fab Four tribute band is right handed, but he learned to play left handed for his part--

EDIT 2: --I have a friend who is left handed, but he players guitar right handed because he thinks he can play better with his stronger, faster hand actually on the frets--

~Thanks
 
#2
There is no problem with anyone learning to change a dominant habit, which being left ot right handed is according to how the brain functions the action. We have dominant sides for a reason so it is not unusual for those who wish to learn to change to do so. But why would you do this if there is not a problem or a loss of the dominant side abilities?:)
 
#3
This sort of happened to me over time by virtue of being a lefty. There are so many things that work better or are designed from a right handed perspective. It was easier for me to just do things the right handed way. I think this is a great exercise and if you can get even a little benefit from it then it is worth it. Cheers!
 
#4
Fergie Fulton said:
But why would you do this if there is not a problem or a loss of the dominant side abilities?:)
Click to expand...

I suppose there is no good reason other than curiosity and bordem :smug:

My old old teacher used to give us exercises to do before taking a test that helped to connect the left and right hemispheres of your brain which helped you to think quicker and put two and two together to equal five, if you know what I mean. I just feel that being ambidextrous would help this as well.
 
#6
most people are born left handed, we are taught right handed through society. your right hand usually finds the beat quicker and hold it better. too play "southpaw" ive noticed myslef i can play faster,drum my fingers easier, and slap easier. holding noted with my right is a different story
 
#8
seamus bass said:
most people are born left handed, we are taught right handed through society. your right hand usually finds the beat quicker and hold it better. too play "southpaw" ive noticed myslef i can play faster,drum my fingers easier, and slap easier. holding noted with my right is a different story
Click to expand...

We are all born with different abilities, but it is being put forward a baby knows its dominant side when born. A fetuse developing in the womb may face left or right, this gives access to one hand to hold close to the mouth, the classic fetoel position. Observations show that the hand predominatly used wiill determine dominance in brain development

There are so many ideas and theories being studied on such subjects, but the bottom line is not to go against your nature, do not force a child to be handed. Dyslexia is one thing being studied with such associations, as are are speech problems and other learning difficulties.
As for ambidexterity, this is usually the skill of left handed people operating in a right handed world, and 10% of new borns are left handed so it is not common.

We as humans have the dominant side controled by the opposite side of the brain, this is a defence mechanism as it is easy to protect, for right handed people, the left side of the head, and visa versa. Any serious damage to the right side of the body will not affect the brain funcion that controls it, so overall damage and injury can be limited. Other points include illness, desease, etc that could wipe out an entire race if they were all the same, this is why some viruses do not affect all.

Strange to think that scientists believe that if there was a virus that could infect and kill human in 24 hrs world wide,
%10-15 of the world population would survive....that falls in to the percentage that are supposed to be born left handed?????????????????
 
#9
I don't know man, my father recently told me the first few years of my life I preferred my left hand, but this being a dextercentric world(is that a word?), he began to systematically teach me to use my right hand, thinking I would ahve it easier when I grew up. Right now I feel righthanded, I never even suspected this until my dad just happened to mention it.

Now i have no idea if I was always a righty but somehow just preferred my left hand as a kid, or if my dad "turned" me so to speak. But I tend to think the latter, as kids do what comes natural to them. So I guess you could learn to play bass lefthanded and it would be an intriguing experiment. Let us know how it goes!
 
#11
St Drogo said:
I don't know man, my father recently told me the first few years of my life I preferred my left hand, but this being a dextercentric world(is that a word?), he began to systematically teach me to use my right hand, thinking I would ahve it easier when I grew up. Right now I feel righthanded, I never even suspected this until my dad just happened to mention it.

Now i have no idea if I was always a righty but somehow just preferred my left hand as a kid, or if my dad "turned" me so to speak. But I tend to think the latter, as kids do what comes natural to them. So I guess you could learn to play bass lefthanded and it would be an intriguing experiment. Let us know how it goes!
Click to expand...

That is a different situation. Up to about 3 years of age a child is still using both hands. But when the dominant side has been decided and settles on it should not be forced to change. Your situation like many will see a baby explore the world around them by visual fixation, touch and taste.
Since a babys world has no right or left handed applications it will not develop immeadiatly a dominant side, that takes time as the child grows and the enviroment it is in needs adapting to.

As an Adult making a concious desision to change dominant sides is not an issue, it becomes a skill. It is a development of choice, we use out left hands more than we think,from keyboard skills to using cutlery to eat, from tieing shoelaces to driving cars there are many little things we do. For example in the UK we drive on the left while in Europe they drive on the right. No real problems there, even driving a left hand drive car the stick is on the "wrongside" LOL if you know what i mean.
But we do all this and never really give it another thought, so to the OP, develop the skill if you wish, and i also would be interested in how you got on.:)
 
#14
When my step mom bought my first bass, she asked the guitar store clerk if it mattered that I was left handed. She was looking for a left handed bass, after all. The guy at the store told her it would be easier on me in the long run as a bass player if I went ahead and learned how to play right handed. Considering the fact that my dad had subliminally taught me how to do everything right handed (a subversive plot, I know), she figured it wouldn't be a big deal.

All that aside, I think its a great idea to learn to play both ways. Not necessarily for a flashy, "hey look at me I can play both!" kind of way, but more in terms of dexterity. I bet that if you took time to become proficient in your non-dominant hand playing configuration, the dexterity and independence of your fingers would be tremendous. I think that it could definitely help your regular (right-handed) playing.

P.S. I'm ambidextrous in other realms, so I thought much the same thing when I picked up my friends lefty jazz. I wasn't able to play Donna Lee or anything, but I could tell with some practice, it wouldn't be a nightmare to learn to play lefty. If I had the dough, I'd consider buying a lefty bass just to liberate my fingers from one another.
 
#15
*UPDATE*​

So I went online and bought an inexpensive left handed bass, (an SX to be specific), and I've been playing it for about three months.

As of now, fretting with my right hand feels pretty normal (compared to the awkwardness of when I first picked it up). However, strumming the actual string with my left hand isn't progressing as fast as my right hand did. I can feel it every day getting stronger, and I know the endurance will come in time. I pretty much am just using my thumb to strum, as it still feels kind of awkward to finger it (although sometimes i'll just pick it up and start to finger it and not even realize, and when i do realize it starts getting awkward again :hmm:)

At any rate, its very very possible to get good playing right handed and left handed. If you want to try it, just remember that you didn't get good playing your natural way over night. It still took time.

And on a side note, I found that its alot easier to practice with flatwound strings. I just haven't justified spending money on flatwound strings for my left handed bass, so I just play my right handed bass (which does have flatwounds) upside-down time from time.

More updates to come..
 
#17
*UPDATE*​

So I'm just going to make a quick update. Its been a while now, and I can pretty much play both right handed and left handed at the same skill level. Its pretty much the same. Its amazing :hyper:

the only thing right now is that, while playing lefthanded, my left hand gets tired more quickly than my right hand if i was playing righthanded. I'm VERY confident the endurance will come in time, tho.

Cheers!
 
#19
I'm a lefty who do a lot of stuff righty but not play the bass... so I tried to play righty but give up because well ... it was frustrating but I should stick to it ... one day I will buy what I want.

But it is hard to undo 11 years of intense training ...
 

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