[geeks] Any left handed guitar players out there?

[gsm at mendelson.com]

On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 11:22:18PM -0400, der Mouse wrote:
>Some of the best guitarists on the planet are lefties playing
>"right-handed".  The hands play very different roles, but it's hard to
>call either subservient to the other, and indeed it arguably makes more
>sense for the dominant hand to be the one on the fretboard rather than
>the one strumming/picking.  So don't assume that just because your son
>is left-handed means he needs to play "left-handed".  (Of course, this
>doesn't apply if this isn't an assumption, if this has already been
>considered.)  As a non-guitarist, I find both positions to be
>approximately equally difficult in my imagination, fwtmbw.

Thanks. My son specificaly says he is left handed and wanted a left handed
guitar. He writes with his left hand, he plays tennis with his left hand
and he wanted a guitar to play left handed. 

Since one became available just after he asked, a quality instrument at
a price I could afford, we got it for him.

>Personally, if an instructor isn't just as capable of teaching someone
>to play left-handed as right-handed, I'd be looking for another
>instructor.  There really isn't much difference: the strings are strung
>in the other order, and (except for traditional acoustic guitars, which
>are basically symmetric) things like controls and body cutouts are on
>the other side, but the only significant difference, if you're used to
>neither, between playing left-handed and playing right-handed is how
>you map fingering diagrams to finger positions.

It has to do with finger dexterity too. I once tried to learn the guitar
myself and failed misserably because I don't have the dexterity with my
left hand (sinisterity?) to finger the frets. 

Looking my son's guitar and how he holds it, I can see now that if I had
a left handed guitar, I would have been able to play it. Well, probably not,
but far better than I had. 

Geoff.

-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
To help restaurants, as part of the "stimulus package", everyone must order 
dessert. As part of the socialized health plan, you are forbidden to eat it. :-)