should I teach her left or right handed??

[JimmyM]

i'm right handed but when i started playing i wanted to play lefty. but my brother wouldn't let me touch his guitar if i played lefty, and my parents backed him up and kept telling me i had to switch if i wanted to be any good. yeah, like they knew

on one hand, i'm glad they did because even though lefty basses are available, they're not nearly as common and they're almost always more expensive. plus, if you're a lefty, you can't just pick up someone else's bass and sit in with it. but i can't help thinking that maybe i could have been a better player if they let me play lefty because it was natural to me. being lefty never slowed hendrix down, or wayman tisdale, or elliot easton, or paul mccartney, or any number of lefties who became great players. too late now to worry about it, though.

if she were my daughter, i might tell her that manufacturers cater mostly to rightys, but i'd let her make her own decision. being a lefty is not a bad thing at all. righty teachers can easily teach leftys with a mirror, and if she feels more comfortable that way, she'll probably end up being the better for it. she'll certainly feel like playing more often than if she's forced to conform. while it's true that i've never seen a classical violinist or cellist who plays lefty, she IS wanting to play bass and not violin. i say let her try it.

 

[rtslinger]

As you have said she is already showing signs of being able to play lefty so, let her chose. If you make her do it right hand it may become to difficult and kill her interest of wanting to play bass. I too am a lefty who plays right handed but, I played two years lefty "Bass upside down strings and all" My instructed wanted me to change and I did for the sake of performing on a Double bass. Good Luck RTS

 

[Matthijs]

The possibility of being able to switch to double bass seems like a good argument for learning right handed. I myself am a lefty who plays righthanded too. That was never a problem, the better dexterity in my left hand maybe even helped with playing fretless and playing DB

Oh, and I do drum completely left handed. Can't hold a beat when playing righthanded.

 

[JimmyM]

all stringed instruments can be made to accept left handed stringing. i see no why reason why upright or even violin would be any different. just because it's not usually done doesn't mean it can't be done.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

why don't you ask her what she feels is best?
just because she is 6 doesn't mean she doesn't have an opinion.

 

[banikek]

I am a righty with two lefty sons (sounds like the subject for a movie). After talking with many lefty players they all suggested to start them playing righty. My oldest (14) now plays righty both guitar and bass, and is doing great. There are just so many more options open to them.

The example that was used to explain it to me (from a lefty) was; "Go camping. Someone brings an acoustic. 99.9% of time it will be a righty. It would be nice to be able to play it."

 

[delta7fred]

Another lefty who plays righty here.

When I started playing i never gave it any thought, in fact I didn't know they made lefty basses. They maybe didn't in 1966.

My daughter is lefty but plays guitar (and bass, flute, clarinet, piano, etc etc) righty.

I gave a kid a few very basic lessons, he was a lefty but started to play his brothers guitar righty and was comfortable with it. His batty mother insisted that he relearn lefty because someone she knew said it was best, and despite all my protests she won. I still see him occasionally and he usually comments what a pain it is never being able to play almost every other guitar or bass he sees.

I say righty!

 

[bassic_camel]

There are lots of reasons to go with teaching her righty, but give her a guitar and see which way she plays it. I'm a lefty, I play righty, but that's only because my great-grandmother's guitar was right handed. When I picked it up, I played it left handed naturally.
Some instruments (ie most instruments) don't really have a left-right differentiation, so it's not always a choice. I think that this should be. Like JimmyM said, most stringed instruments can be restrung.

 

[Setebos]

I'm lefty and play as righty. That's the way to go I think.
You can sit in any time using anyones bass, you have more options when you want to buy a bass. Dexterity wise.... the right hand on leftys is usually more coordinated and developed than the left hand on rightys so with work it should not give any problems for plucking.

 

[Chasarms]

all stringed instruments can be made to accept left handed stringing. i see no why reason why upright or even violin would be any different. just because it's not usually done doesn't mean it can't be done.

Yes, a left-handed double bass can be found. That's fine if her musical intrests are limited to various roots and/or jazz. (Although I imagine it may be a challenge to an instructor) But, I am all but certain an Orchestra would never accept a left-handed playing bassist.

 

[spigmu]

The example that was used to explain it to me (from a lefty) was; "Go camping. Someone brings an acoustic. 99.9% of time it will be a righty. It would be nice to be able to play it."

Ack! That's the worst reason! : ) Even though I play lefty restrung if there's a righty acoustic at a campfire I can still play the hell out of it. Always could. It's not as if we never get to pick up righty guitars! : )

 

[INtrotter]

Thanks all I will teach her righty and see what she thinks... If she flips it around we will just have to deal with it.. This is why I asked the question at this young age I feel it would be better to get her going as a righty instead of doing it like 2 years from now.....

 

[AcidFripp]

Thanks all I will teach her righty and see what she thinks... If she flips it around we will just have to deal with it.. This is why I asked the question at this young age I feel it would be better to get her going as a righty instead of doing it like 2 years from now.....

Don't deal with it. Let her deal with it, let her get used to playing righty and she'll be thankful to you later; greater selection of instruments in the future, everything is easier, etc.

 

[Mayers]

I'm a lefty who play lefty on bass, right on the upright... I say, you should learn on a right bass just because there is not a lot of bass for lefty.

I know a lot of lefty musicians who play righty and they all have the same issue with rythm because they don't use their dominant hand for rythm but it isn't something impossible to work on.

 

[Mayers]

Yes, a left-handed double bass can be found. That's fine if her musical intrests are limited to various roots and/or jazz. (Although I imagine it may be a challenge to an instructor) But, I am all but certain an Orchestra would never accept a left-handed playing bassist.

Yep it won't happen. The beauty of an orchestra is that everyone move in the same direction.

 

[spigmu]

It's a tough one to call, because it's hard to figure out in a non musician, especially someone so young. Her tending to hold it lefty doesn't really mean anything, because she's not relating doing anything to the strings, she's holding it like a prop, or a rifle. Not the same as her musicality.

One thing I feel strongly about: It's really dumb to base it on the greater availability of right handed instruments. You should base it on what she really is, and then the available instruments will be part of that destiny. Which is better: to become a mediocre classical bassist, because you're playing righty instead of lefty, or a great everything else bassist who won't get work in a classical orchestra because it just isn't done. If someone's not playing on their natural side I doubt they'll attain orchestra level facility, so it's a moot point. That's not the same as a person who writes lefty learning bass righty. I'm talking about a person who is a solidly musical lefty flipping the switch.

I'm soooooo glad my guitar teacher when I was 12 said to my parents "He's a lefty guitar player" and didn't change me over just so that I could play in an orchestra in the future, or have more choice in instruments.

It just doesn't make any sense. Go with who she is.

 

[walterw]

Righty who plays lefty here. Screwed up, I know.

I tried to play right handed for several months before finally giving up. Within a week of playing lefty, I was twice as good as I ever got before.

Yup, me too. I am completely righty in all of the standard stuff. But in stringed instruments, drums, anything musical, it's lefty.

i'm right handed but when i started playing i wanted to play lefty.

yesterday i would have said guys like you didn't exist, and here three of you post in the same thread!

i know lots of leftys who play righty (i are one) but didn't think the opposite existed outside of injury-induced necessity or michealangelo batto-style gimmicks.

i say encourage the girl to play righty first, but if it just doesn't wanna happen for her, flip it around and see what happens.

 

[walker rosewood]

Just don't let her learn upside down. i.e. take a RH bass and play it lefty without re-stringing it. I actually know a semi-pro bassist who does this, and he's amazing. It looks really weird though.

 

[walker rosewood]

there's also the problem that it's so freakin' hard to find lefty string sets. : )

 

[Johnny Crab]

Son's a lefty and learned(started) bass righty.
Senior year in High School he got 2nd place in the state of Texas for UIL jazz bass.
No problem AND a big help if one also goes to keyboards later, he does both well.

Plus the additional basses available.