Lefty or righty? (advice needed)

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:40 am

An advice needed...
The thing is, Mousie (8) is a lefty, but she started pickin' on my righty guitar, since a) it's not easy to get a good lefty, especially here; b) actually, i never thought it might cause problems. I was a natural lefty, had to "switch hands" in my childhood for some reasons (some say it's no good, it affects child's psyche, not that i AIN'T nuts, but i think the "hands switch" is not the only reason).
But some days ago, a friend of mine told me that i have to get her a lefty ASAP, or there might be troubles...
Is it true? Should i prevent her from playing the righty and get a lefty ASAP? Or it isn't such a big problem?
PS: I am serious.
Best regards,
SC.

sublimate · Post by **sublimate** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:41 pm

Nah, better to stick with the righty - there's so much more selection - as long as she's comfortable with it.

I don't see the advantage of a lefty, both your hands are doing something - who's to say which should be your dominant hand.

When was the last time you saw a left-handed piano?

winston · Post by **winston** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:51 pm

Sheena. I was a natural lefty. I was forced to write with my right hand in school. More importantly I could not get a left handed guitar when I was young.

You have heard some of my recorded material. Switching to righty has not (IMO) affected my playing at all. Now when I pick up a left handed guitar I don't even know where to start. LOL

BTW I still do many things left handed. My brain is just wired that way.

Do what you think is best for Mousie.

jps · Post by **jps** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:35 pm

"When was the last time you saw a left-handed piano?"

Or camera?

There is a Nashville bassist named Keith Horne, who is a righty but plays lefty. He said that since his right hand was dominant he thought it should do most of the work, hence, the fretting. Not only that, he strings it upside down!

scott_s · Post by **scott_s** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:24 pm

I say, keep a lefty and a righty around and let her decide what feels best.

BTW, I don't know where you live, but this site has a couple good guitars: http://www.southpawguitars.com/

jps · Post by **jps** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:27 pm

"BTW, I don't know where you live"

Russia!

jps · Post by **jps** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:28 pm

Sheena,

Do you know the song "Mother Russia" by Renaissance?

scott_s · Post by **scott_s** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:49 pm

Hmm, lemme re-think that then.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:53 pm

I'd go with right-handed, Sheena. As others have said, there will be more options in the future.

And I don't think at age 8, Mousie's going to get all mixed up and confused.

So tell me - is this cathedral left or right handed?

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:57 pm

I'm a lefty who plays lefty. Based upon the advice of friends and family, I started playing right-handed. However, it just didn't work.

The left hand was fine on the fret board, but for the life of me, I could not keep rhythm picking or strumming with my right hand. My skills significantly improved, playing became much more fun, and I have never looked back after switching to play left-handed.

The first left-handed guitar that I bought was my 360 MG LH (which was ordered). Since then, I've been able to add a 1997 MG LH and a 360/12 CW FG LH to my inventory of Rickenbackers (both of which were found in different stores).

fireglo · Post by **fireglo** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:58 pm

I'm left handed, but I play right handed. To me, the hardest part was cording. So, using my dominate hand for cords made more sense to me. I've never had a problem with my right hand strumming either.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:16 am

Thanks a lot for your help, guys!
Victor, the argument of both hands doin' something was the first one i used - however, since my friend is a "young father" (his twins are pushin' 2 and a newborn daughter), he just knows better (typical for "youth", as some people say

)
Brian, yeah i see what you mean. A thing that's called by some "all-children-should-be-the-same" politics. Sometimes they even "fixed" the left hand (tied to the body) so that the kid wouldn't be tempted to use it (not that i experienced it, my story was a bit different). However, the main problem here, as they see, is not that this "switch" can affect playing (or writing) abilities. That's more about the psychologists who proved that this switch can affect child's mentality and eyesight - like, the kid becomes nervous and his eyesight deteriorates, because it isn't natural ("try to walk upside down and you'll see what i mean" or something like that). The good thing is, however, i can now write with both hands... equally badly

"Do what you think is best for Mousie" - huh... some think i cannot know what's best for her... anyway, since she has no problem with a righty, i cannot but agree

and to me, it's better to let her go with what she has, instead of taking the guitar away from her until i manage to get a "right" (lefty) one...
Scott: Yes, i agree it's the best way. I'll try to find one, and let's see...
Jeffrey: i know some guys here who play the same way...

Never heard the song, but i know the Mother well...

Aitch, i cannot answer your question... i don't even see hands here...

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:37 am

Sheena: Sorry if my post was somewhat cryptic. In some parts of the world Catholics are referred to as "left-handers". I was wondering whether the Dmitrov cathedral shown is Catholic, Orthodox or something else.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:51 am

Oh... now i see... Orthodox, i bet - Dmitrov is a small town, so it's hard to find a Catholic cathedral there...

steve_hershberger · Post by **steve_hershberger** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:46 am

I'm left handed, but play right handed. Always felt more natural to me. So I suggest that you let Mousie learn whichever way that feels most natural to her and go from there.

I'll also mention that I'll play baseball right handed (throw and bat); kick a ball with my left foot; and operated a wah-wah pedal (when I had one) with my right foot.

I also write and eat (with the fork) left handed, but I use the knife with my right hand.

My first wife is left handed (plays guitar righty) and so is/does our daughter.

To me, whatever feels correct is the right way. No pun intended.