Lefties why didn't you start playing a righty?

[One Drop]

If the original poster would have considered the possibility of the validity of some of the arguments and points raised this threadprobably would have remained more civil.

A few very interesting points have been raised:

For some, dominance of one hand is much stronger than others.

Dominance is related to brain function, so there is more involved in which hand is better used to pluck or to fret than the ease physical action itself, which;

might not be obviously harder for the fretting hand than the plucking or picking hand

These are all important points that would help determine the validity of the poster's original statements to the effect that:

we are a blank slate and there is no dominant handedness

a complete novice will necessarily learn equally well whichever way he plays, lefty or righty

Because of this, everyone should learn righty at the outset because they will have an easier time finding instruments.

Now, if I've misrepresented any of his arguments I'd love to be corrected.

Equally, if anyone can point to a post by the OP that adresses any of the points raised, please show them to me as I'm interested if he has considered them.

It's simply not fair to state a proposition and then to insult or ignore those replies that question the said proposition or to simply negate someone's personal experience because one hasn't acknowledged the principle they were designed to illustrate.

Yes, this is a very interesting idea, but it needs to be approached carefully, because it implies a value judgement, namely that because of their ubiquity, right hand basses should become the norm, and that all prospective bassists can learn equally well and achieve their full potential no matter which way they start playing.

If these points that were brought up are continually ignored, then of course the thread will descend to the personal and to invective, out of frustration.

 

[Jazzint]

Why not?

 

[lefty007]

One Drop for president!

 

[synaesthesia]

One Drop for president!

nah, ..lefty philosopher king in the swiss alps, maybe.

 

[JanusZarate]

nah, ..lefty philosopher king, maybe.

We could certainly use another teamster, especially one knowledgeable in Southpaw philosophy.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Not to debate "which hand does what" but I am a life-long guitar/bass/Dobro/steel player, instruments that assign totally different functions to each hand.

When I try to play the piano, I am baffled by the fact that both hands are doing substantially the same thing.

I have known keyboard players with the opposite problem: when they try to play a string instrument, they don't get using each hand differently.

Surely I'm not alone?

 

[Painless]

This has been an interesting thread!

I am one of the few people that was born with no dominant side to their brain, neither left or right handed, it was a real discouraging thing to grow up with. In my younger years, I would write with one hand for a couple of days then switch to the other... then back again... it took me until I was about 8 years old to settle down to using my right hand for writing. Playing football (soccer to the americans) was a great source of amusement to my friends, I would run up to the ball that was passed to me... get confused about which foot to kick it with and trip over it in the process.

I eventually decided to make a point of 'training' myself to use my right hand for anything that required a choice, although I can still do a lot of things either handed equally as well.

I've played guitar for about 6 years and bass for nearly 2 and have always played right handed basses. I've never tried to play a lefty, but then I made the choice to try and stick with right handed stuff.

Ok, enough of the above babbling, I guess the point would be that it's definately all about choice, comfort and what feels right to you. Right?

 

[Saetia]

Maybe people that could have more easily learned left-handed forced themselves to learn right-handed in cost of extra effort because they had no other choice (instruments not available, pressure from people like you ;p, etc).

My brother, who is much older than me, was told in school that 'writing with your left hand is not natural, writing is for the right hand'. If not for my mother intervening saying 'He will write with whatever hand he damn well pleases' he would probably be writing with his right hand right now at the cost of extra effort, learning against the grain.

Hell, even Jimi Hendrix supposedly could play a mean guitar right handed that would put the average righty players to shame. He just did it a lot better lefty...

I was just going to mention something similar. My step-father is left handed and in school when he was younger he would get his hand slapped with a ruler if he wrote with his left hand. Leftys were almost looked down upon, because it was different. Now these days his hand writing is absolutely horrible because he never got to fully develope the skill because he was constantly made to write with his right.

Another side note, kind of off topic, my step father as I said is a lefty but we shoot trap, have for over a decade now and he shoots righty. I will explain though, he is right eye dominant which make sense to have his dominant eye peering down the barrel and the other eye open for depth perception.

I do believe that there are underlying factors in which way a person will play a musical instrument. Just because someone is a righty or a lefty alone isn't the only reason to play and instrument of that nature, although for most it will most likely be. Other musicians who play opposite their hand may have started because it felt more natural that way or had a higher aptitude for dexterity.

I dunno.

My thoughts

Peace

-Benny

 

[john turner]

I disagree or at least need some research to change my mind.

Here is an interesting question>>> Is the more "natural" way in the initial stages of learning an instrument the most effective way to play that instrument?

I am not convinced that righties should use the dominant hand for plucking on a bass (vice-versa for lefties). Any research out there to prove an advantage to learning the traditional way? Sure, it feels more natural the first time we pick up a guitar because we want to use our dominant hand to make the first complex motion...making a sound! But this is short lived. Soon we learn that the weaker hand has a tougher job. Should this initial response determine how we play this instrument for the rest of our careers (using our weaker hand to do the more complex job).

If you believe the plucking hand is a more complex job, then my questions will be pointless.

Off the top of my head I can only think of a few stringed instruments where plucking may require the dexterity of a dominant hand.

Classical Guitar -complex finger picking (this was the first guitar, which may explain why we still play this traditional way)
Banjo - " "

IMO the bass requires much more dexterity from the weaker hand. Violin is the same. How can moving a bow back in forth require more dexterity than precise finger placements on the finger board????

i think the issue with the dominant hand being the sound producing hand is one of dynamic control - the ability to produce accurate soft notes and accurate loud notes requires a level of muscle control more suited to the dominant hand than the subordinate one.

while the fretting hand does require great dexterity, it is more of a "Digital" dexterity, in that it is an on/off type of control, where subtle changes in finger pressure are not necessarily as common as they are on the plucking hand.

i don't have research to back this up, other than playing for 22 years. just seems intuitive to me. -shrug- ymmv

 

[john turner]

If these points that were brought up are continually ignored, then of course the thread will descend to the personal and to invective, out of frustration.

agreed. that is why i said these kinds of threads serve a purpose. those individuals doing the ignoring do their fellow forum members a service in that they show themselves to be closedminded, and worthy of being considered for the ignore list themselves.

 

[spade2you]

Having dabbled briefly with classical guitar, I would probably argue that the plucking and fretting were both equally difficult. The difference between a classical musican and today's musician is very great. I am NOT a classical musician by any standards and I bow down to all classically trained musicians.

It would be interesting to see documentation on lefties back in the day, but I'd suspect that instructors have always been very strict. Essentially do what they tell you or you're not cut out for it. The long and short of it is that you are expected to play music exactly how it's written with the exact form that your instructor told you to use and dinged you when you strayed from classical form. If y'all think I'm cruel and insensitive.....take some classical lessons.

Regardless, necessity is a powerful engine. I have a friend who is a cop who is a righty and shoots righty. To pass the academy, all cadets were required to be able to defend themselves and shoot with their weak side and meet a certain shooting score. It's amazing what you're willing to do when you don't have any other alternative.

This isn't to say that change is a bad thing. Obviously we have the option of getting any assortment of electronics, scale lengths, string configuration, woods, and left or RH config.

 

[Fassa Albrecht]

I'd like to also point out that I, although I am right-handed, I can actually play left-handed too if needed.
But the point is that with an instrument like a piano it doesn't matter which hand you are because the two hands are engaged in the same task, one doing bass notes, one the higher notes. With bass, the hands are required to do two completely different things, one fretting, one plucking/slapping/holding a pick. With a left handed person, the way a righty bass is strung is equivalent to having to do it backwards. The index finger is relegated to the G string and the weaker finger is having to play the E string.
So why should a left handed person be forced to play a certain way just because it suits a majority?? There is no difference musically between the two.

 

[bigbottomline]

Bingo.

An instructor who strongly encourages a new student to play an instrument in a way that feels uncomfortable is doing a disservice to his/her student. The student may learn it righty, but they may get frustrated and quit.

And for what? So later that student can buy a new Jazz bass from the GC showroom instead of ordering one? Pfft.

I don't see the point of this discussion at all. If a student wants to learn on a lefty instrument, it's that students choice to make. A good instructor would try to help that student find the best instrument to fit his needs, not try to talk him out of his decision.

 

[spade2you]

And for what? So later that student can buy a new Jazz bass from the GC showroom instead of ordering one? Pfft.

Business is still business. Most dealers prefer to sell what they have in stock. It's a quick transaction that is done much quicker.

 

[bigbottomline]

Throwing a baseball's a relatively simple activity, i think less than 5 muscles are involved...

Guitaring and bassing, however, are much more complicated actions...

You don't know what you're typing about.

 

[bigbottomline]

There must be a reason why the dominant hand is in charge of the string plucking/strumming and the weaker hand is in charge of the the more dexteritous job. Anybody know??? I would like to have a reason for playing the way I do, not just because "that's the way it's always been boy".

Why assume that the dominant hand is more dexteritous?

 

[bigbottomline]

Business is still business. Most dealers prefer to sell what they have in stock. It's a quick transaction that is done much quicker.

That has nothing to do with my point.

My point is that players should choose to play in a way that's comfortable to them. If I was an instructor, my students' comfort (and enjoyment) would be a higher priorty than instrument selection. Especially these days, when lefty basses are becoming more common, easier to find, and most makers don't charge more for lefties.

I have 9 basses (Fender, MM Pedulla, Lakland, Guild) , and have probably owned 20 or so throughtout the years. I'm not suffering.

 

[rickon]

I certainly don't advocate a lefty being forced to play righty. However I don't really think comfort is an issue. Otherwise everyone would be taught to just not use that pinky 'cause it's too uncomfortable at first. And there are other examples that follow this line of reasoning. Like don't play bar chords et al.

 

[RunngDog]

the poster's original statements to the effect that . . . we are a blank slate and there is no dominant handedness . . . Now, if I've misrepresented any of his arguments I'd love to be corrected.

As far as I can tell, the original poster never made any such statement as this, and in fact has repeatedly acknowledged the reality of dominant handedness. His point from the first post onward is that:

• 
  Playing a bass is a complex, two-handed activity that isn't really comparable to single-handed activities like throwing, catching, or writing (where most people will naturally gravitate toward the dominant hand);

• It isn't self-evident that either the fretting hand or the plucking hand is "doing the hard stuff" in bass playing, such that the dominant hand would "naturally" be used for one or the other function;

• If in fact both hands are performing equally complex functions in playing the bass, then it should be possible to train all novice bass players to play in the same way, regardless of their dominant handedness. And it shouldn't really matter whether that same way is "righty" or "lefty" according to current definitions.

 

[RunngDog]

these instruments were designed to be played a certain way, with the dominant hand performing one job and the subordinate hand doing the other, just as a fork or spoon or pencil was designed to be used by the dominant hand.

One could make exactly the same claim for the design of cars -- that the driver's seat is on the left side so that the dominant right hand can be used for shifting gears. Certainly seems logical -- until you go over to England and find millions of right-handed drivers who have no problem at all shifting with their left hands.

Heck, over there they even eat with the fork in their left hands -- don't those limey fools understand that forks were "designed to be used by the dominant hand"???