I'm a lefty and play right-handed. I wouldn't have the instruments I own if I had to rely on left-handed ones. More importantly, it hasn't affected my playing negatively, rather the reverse, I believe.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Lefty beginner - learn left or right?
- Thread starter Runnerman
- Start date
Another lefty here that plays righty. Lots of already-described reasons to do so. Only thing that I would add, is hand him a bass (standard-righty) and if he seems like he wants to play it Hendrix-style, then maybe he'a a true lefty.
I’m a lefty who is generally ambidextrous. I learned to play guitar and bass righty.
Huge mistake. Seriously.
There’s a reason the pick/bow hand is the primary hand (that is, rightys use their right hand for it). The note is located with the fingerboard hand, yes... but the real articulation comes from the pluck or bow action.
The one thing I would do differently in my music career would be to have learned stringed instruments lefty. I’d have been a better player.
Lefty playing rightly
Just for S&G, I've picked up a few lefty basses off the rack. Feels weird but I can play it
Nothing more will be done if left-handed players continue to buy right-handed instruments because that's what everyone tells them is best. There's no demand.
I'm not left handed, but reading this thread I now understand why there are so few instruments for left-handed players. It's kind of a catch-22, isn't it?
Born a lefty, play bass and guitar right handed. I was told my options for instruments would be quite limited otherwise, and I'm very thankful I listened!
Yeah, that's em why there's no left handed saxes or trombones
Funny story, I was at a jazz camp in high school, and this one kid i was in a combo with was a left handed drummer, the first ten minutes of every rehearsal was dedicated to switching the drums around for him, and I assume the next drummer to use the room had to waste his group's limited time switching the drum set back. Holy shoot, farg that kid.
There are more basses and guitars available for right handed instruments. But your friend needs to try both IMHO.
Ask him to play air-guitar (...or air-bass) a la "Bill & Ted". Note the orientation and buy the bass in the correct configuration.
Riis
Riis
My daughter is a lefty and has latched onto right handed basses like it's no big deal. If it's a new skill, the hands don't know the difference as to what task they should be doing (as opposed to eating and writing, which we all learn early).
Years ago people, teachers etc used to attempt to force lefty's to learn how o do things righty as they thought it would be better for them in a right handed world. Thinking has changed and it is not considered to be a good thing nowadays. I'm a righty and am glad I learned how to play right handed, to me it takes more force to pluck than to fret and I always feel that if I had had to learn how to pluck a bass with my left hand I would have been a weaker player. I have no ways of knowing if that's true or not but just something I feel.
I started playing bass 55 years ago. I’m left handed in all that I do, but at the time, left-handed instruments were nearly non-existent, and much more expensive and special order if you wanted one. I learned, right handed, on a resale shop Kay electric bass, and have never regretted the decision. It felt natural and have always thought I had a slight advantage being a lefty fretting with my left hand.
I'm a lefty who plays bass and guitar right handed, and I'd recommend that your friend do the same for all the reasons already named: the tasks demanded of each hand are different but equally challenging. There is no "main" task that you need to assign to your dominant hand. The non-dominant hand will feel awkward at first at whatever task it is given, but with practice it will learn to coordinate with the other hand.
Lots of lefty bassists and guitarists play right and do it as well as any righty. Knopfler credits his facility with flowing lines full of hammer-ons and pull-offs to the fact that he's left-handed, with his strong hand on the fretboard.
Being severely limited in selection of instruments is not worth whatever initial false comfort it gives to use the dominant hand for picking or plucking.
That's my free advice and yeah, it's worth every penny
Lots of lefty bassists and guitarists play right and do it as well as any righty. Knopfler credits his facility with flowing lines full of hammer-ons and pull-offs to the fact that he's left-handed, with his strong hand on the fretboard.
Being severely limited in selection of instruments is not worth whatever initial false comfort it gives to use the dominant hand for picking or plucking.
That's my free advice and yeah, it's worth every penny
I'm a lefty. Always been since I was a kid. I write with my left hand, kick the ball with my left foot, eat soup with my left hand. But I play baseball like a righty and, most importantly, I play bass/guitar like a righty too. Since the first time I held a stringed instrument in my hands it just felt right. I just can't play like a lefty. I'm an odd dude.
I'm a lefty in that I write with my left hand, but just about everything else I do predominantly with my right hand. I shoot right handed in hockey, throw with my right, play bass/guitar right handed, etc. Just have your friend pick up a left and right handed instrument and ask him which feels better in his hands.
As a lefty, I was given simple but incredibly useful advice before purchasing my first bass - hold the bass. In my case, I naturally held it righty. The salesman sold me on right handed basses, and I’ve never had any specific issues. So my advice is to see how he naturally holds the bass and go from there.
