Lefty guitars... why?

[SkuttleFunk]

I would expose him to both configurations, and then allow him to decide which configuration felt more natural with the caveat that the option of switching orientations is always available to them should they want to  sometime in the future. this way he can choose either configuration without any pressure

all the best,

R

 

[AprioriMark]

I guess this means I need to get to building a lefty Warmoth... and then make a righty twin!

-Mark

 

[Superlizard]

If you were in my shoes, would you teach him right or left handed, knowing what you know now?

Well, can I say my life as a lefty guitarist has been as easy as a righty?  No.

But then again, ain't no thang - it's not like anything I've learned/adapted to as a lefty has been difficult.

I would say ultimately to allow him to decide; is he more comfortable playing left or right?  And go with that.

 

[AGWAN]

Also can I just say...

Not only am I left handed.

BUT I BROKE THE RING AND PINKY FINGERS of my left hand, years ago... which made Fretting my Righty guitar a huge pain is the ass.

so hand injuries.

there is also that.

 

[AprioriMark]

Thanks, guys.  I think I'll find a way to let him decide without too much pressure.  He's not allowed in my guitar room or bedroom now anyway, so there's not a ton of influence to be a righty.

Who knows, maybe he'll be a drummer anyway.

-Mark

 

[AGWAN]

maybe he'll be a drummer
-Mark

BLASPHEMER!!!  :icon_biggrin:

 

[line6man]

Thanks, guys.  I think I'll find a way to let him decide without too much pressure.  He's not allowed in my guitar room or bedroom now anyway, so there's not a ton of influence to be a righty.

Who knows, maybe he'll be a drummer anyway.

-Mark

Well, if he wants to be able to play your guitars when he's older, and you want to be able to play his, you both need to be playing right handed guitars.

 

[Superlizard]

They don't make lefty pianos (ok, they probably do, but no one cares).

Saw this too and had to comment:  they don't make lefty pianos because the piano (and synth) is an ambidextrous instrument.

They do, however, make left handed tennis rackets*.

(*disclaimer: no, not really.  But people fall for that one all the time.)

 

[line6man]

They don't make lefty pianos (ok, they probably do, but no one cares).

Saw this too and had to comment:  they don't make lefty pianos because the piano (and synth) is an ambidextrous instrument.

They do, however, make left handed tennis rackets*.

(*disclaimer: no, not really.  But people fall for that one all the time.)

No, I've heard of lefty pianos.
The high strings are on the left, and the low strings are on the right.
Probably not too common though. :dontknow:

 

[JimBeed]

Well my friend ben is a lefty but due to the very very bad selection of lefties when he learnt he had to learn right handed, and through alot of practice and perseverance, (And this well of untapped skill he seems to have) he has got very good at playing righty guitars. but that is over many years of his right hand getting enough muscle strenght and such to be on par to his dominant hand.
However i know this maybe not cost effective, but also with warmoth you are sitting on a wealth of lefty possiblities are you not?
However to be honest i dont think theres anything wrong with him learning in his natural orientation, sure for a start the guitars might be a bit crappy, but come a later on birthday, you can hit him with a lovely warmoth lefty?

 

[DangerousR6]

Both hands are used equally (arguable the non-dominant hand more), so what does it matter if he learns "backwards?"

They are used equally, but remember one hand leads (pick hand) and the other follows.

You people aren't using your "right" brains.... :icon_biggrin:

 

[Superlizard]

They are used equally, but remember one hand leads (pick hand) and the other follows.

You people aren't using your "right" brains.... :icon_biggrin:

I'm offended at your racist comments!!! *

(*disclaimer for those who take things too seriously on the board:  no, I'm not actually offended - it's a joke)

:icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor: :icon_jokercolor:

 

[jalane]

"Lefty rage" is also what a left-handed person feels when they walk into a guitar store and
see the same boring gloss black paint job on the only cheap-ass left-handed guitar in the store.

 

[Big V]

Let him have a sit-down with both types of guitar, maybe start with letting him play on the righty-guitar, let him compare, then he'll choose which one fits him the best.
I'm considering buying me a lefty, just to learn to be ambidextrous, you never know when accidents happen :icon_thumright:

 

[imminentG]

Man, I have been waiting for a dilemma like this to pop off just so I can share some real insight.:blob7:
I'M a lefty guitarist. My brother is a lefty bassist. My older brother is a lefty guitarist whom we picked it up from.
We knew what we were getting into from the moment we picked up our guitars. The guitar world is just ridiculous with the way they treat our kind.
I never had a real nice guitar, and nobody ever taught us ANYTHING except on our own volition.

It's the funniest thing, I ask to play people's guitars and never mention my hand orientation.
If I get complimented at all (which, REALISTICLY speaking, is 9 out of ten times) I just look up and remind people that I've been playing their own guitar better than them UPSIDE DOWN.
Honestly, the difficulty of being a lefty in the guitar world is SECRETLY AND TRULY based on how difficult it is for you to be a guitarist in general.
Playing upside down/backwards makes a few simple things undoable, but it EASILY renders some of the tougher things a cakewalk. It also helps you visualize things better, in my opinion, because eventually you begin to read scale and chord diagrams ambidexterously.

I liked the fact that somebody brought up the fact that nobody will touch your lefty- it's true AND I LOVE IT :guitaristgif:

Honestly, Mark, if your son wants it bad enough his hand orientation is largely negligible and completely irrelevant. It is MORE than enough that, as a father, you would encourage him.
My father did not do incredibly much to encourage us to play (though he WAS a guitarist, himself), and sometimes I imagine that, were he still around, we might be playing together today had things gone even just a little bit differently.:sad1:

My vote is let him be a lefty, the guitar world will come around to it eventually, largely with the help of such companies like Warmoth and Carvin.
Plus, it can't hurt his skill. It'll only be a roadblock if you make it one.

 

[jalane]

I hope you won't mind indulging me in a long and somewhat pointless story.  If so, you don't have to read it. 

This is how i came to be a lefty guitarist: when i was in 5th grade, my uncle gave me cheap tele knock-off (it was a righty) for me to learn on.  He simply handed it to me and said "Try it out for a few months and see what you think of playing guitar".  I had no idea what a right-handed or left-handed guitar was, and i had no idea what hand you were supposed to pick with and which you were supposed to fret with.  So i (pretty arbitrarily) chose to pick with my left hand and fret with my right.  Seriously.  And i enjoyed it.  Even though i was playing an upside down guitar (i had no idea it was upside down) that couldn't stay in tune (which didn't matter much, since i had no idea what notes to tune the strings to) I had a decent ear and could pick out melodies to my favorite songs on it.

About 6 months later i saw my uncle again, and he said "Show me what you got", and then looked in horror as i picked his guitar up, turned it upside down and started playing.  He was literally mad, and told me i had to learn to play the "correct" way.  So i spent the next couple months trying to learn right-handed, but i just couldn't get it.  I called my uncle and told him he could have his guitar back because guitar playing wasn't for me.  Apparently that's what it took for him to realize that i was a lefty guitar player whether he liked it or not.  So a couple weeks later he took me to the guitar store and traded in his POS righty tele knockoff for a POS lefty strat knockoff.  Even though it wasn't much, i always thought it was a cool gesture, and i still have the guitar to this day (15 ish years later).

 

[Patrick]

They don't make lefty pianos (ok, they probably do, but no one cares).

Saw this too and had to comment:  they don't make lefty pianos because the piano (and synth) is an ambidextrous instrument.

They do, however, make left handed tennis rackets*.

(*disclaimer: no, not really.  But people fall for that one all the time.)

i once convinced a guy he was swinging a left-handed baseball bat

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

Some things can be learned easier than others.

I can only play a guitar righty, but when I injured my shoulder I learned to play badminton left handed no problem.  Sometimes I'll play with racquets in both hands just for fun.

But thats badminton,  playing guitar I think is harder.

 

[jimbo]

When it comes time for your kid to decide what to play.. hand him an acoustic w/o a cutout.  See which way he naturally picks it up and starts to play it. That is the easiest way to determine lefty/righty.    When I first started playing I had a right-handed  acoustic and after a while of going through a music book I thought the author was insane. Turns out I was reading everything correctly, but using a right handed guitar upside down unknowingly. I can pick up a right handed guitar and play through things with a little effort, but playing a true left-handed guitar is much more comfortable and efficient.

-James.

 

[SkuttleFunk]

and should your son decide to play lefty, keep in mind that it can be strung conventional lefty or (with a new nut) strung 'righty' (low E down on the floor side like would happen if you simply flip a righty guitar upside down). I have several lefty playing friends who play their instruments strung righty

all the best,

R