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salmonella
Lokahi
240 Posts |
 Posted - 12/08/2009 : 06:31:13 AM
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In a fit of nothing else to do, I was thinking about left brain - right brain things and how so many graphic artist types are left handed-right brained. I remembered a comment I heard from someone who has owned a guitar store and school for 30 years or so about how it is better to learn on a right handed guitar simply because there are so few left handed ones.
So.... how come most guitars are right handed? Is this an historical convenience from a time when left handed people were burned for being evil?
Are musical artists not so right brained like their graphical cousins?
How many of you artists (this does not describe me) write left handed but play a right handed guitar?
Any ideas or thoughts on this are welcome. Just curious about it.
Dave
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2174 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2009 : 06:57:58 AM
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| Slipry1 is a southpaw. He started on piano and went to bass and banjo, then steel. He told me that playing music involves the whole brain and both hands. The only thing harder than buying a lefthanded 5-string banjo is selling one. Many give up on the guitar because they can't or won't get their left hand to work. Using both hands strengthens the cerebral cortex, improves memory, and balances out the tug of war between the two hemispheres. My bandleader plays buttonbox righthanded and writes lefthanded. One does what one must. |
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Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
530 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2009 : 07:11:11 AM
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Only about 10-15% of the population is left-handed. So right off the bat, left-handed guitars are a somewhat limited market. Then there is the factor of copying what you see. Since most of the players, friends, and teachers are right-handed, that is what you are most likely to encounter -- and then mimic.
A left hander has one distinct advantage when learning. Sit across from a right hander, and all you have to do is mirror the hand positions. A fellow right hander has to identify the chord or fingering, mentally translate that into their view, and then form it on their fretboard. That is a signficant extra step requiring extra computing power.
I have often wondered why the convention of "right handed" guitar means that you fret with the left hand. Fretting is a game of target practice, timing, and accuracy for the fingers. It makes a certain amount of sense to use your naturally stronger hand for the accuracy work. Yet right-handed guitar uses the weaker left hand for the delicate motions. For those without prior playing experience, asking them to hold the instrument right-handed will have them naturally put the neck in their right hand. Hmmmmm.
Ukulele is great for right or left handed players. A leftie merely has to swap the strings 1-4 for 4-1, and the instrument is now left handed. The saddle is not slanted for intonation reasons, and the internal bracing is symmetrical. The worst you might have to do is file a nut slot a bit wider to accomodate a thicker string.
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2009 : 2:31:23 PM
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Huh?
~slkho |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2174 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2009 : 4:37:59 PM
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| I know of a couple Hawaiians up here in the upper lefthand corner of the map that play guitar, bass and ukulele LEFThanded but strung RIGHThanded, like Bla Pahinui. |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2009 : 6:15:18 PM
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The fallacy is that one can play guitar left handed or right handed. It's normally played BOTH- handed. Both hands have to learn specific jobs, and neither can automatically do the other hands job, even after several years of playing. The specific muscle memory items must be learned, so it really doesn't make as much difference which hand is assigned which job. I do agree, it seems the dominant hand would be better on the fretboard than strumming or picking, but once you've spent a few weeks in earnest, regular practice, there's no point in starting over. The real stumbling block is diligence-having the time and desire to keep at it until the muscle memory is learned. What stops your learning process more than not taking the time to learn? I can play enough piano from guitar knowledge to pick out a few chords and melodies, but it's not smooth or particularly well done-the necessary time was never invested, despite Wanda's piano being in our music room all these years. The desire to play piano isn't strong enough to drive me to practice it. Marianne's fiddle sits here, while she's on the road, but I don't feel any real desire to play that, either. Desire will overcome as much lack of talent as you let it. Talent won't overcome much lack of desire at all. If I had talent to go with my desire to play guitar, I might be pretty good after all these years!
Unko Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2009 : 05:50:02 AM
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I agree with Earl, at least in part.
Say for instance 10% of people are left handed. This means 90% are right handed. Guitar manufacturers have therefore gone with the majority. They undoubtedly do make left hand instruments, but these involve retooling and left handed instruments are more expensive to buy. Also, because the vast amount of guitars are right handed, a high percentage of lefties will learn using a right handed guitar, either playing right handed themselves, using Earl’s ‘my strong hand will be doing the complicated stuff’ reasoning, or turing the thing upside down. So you see left handed players far less than the 10% that you would imagine, because some of them adapt to the instrument, rather than getting an instrument adapted to them.
I also agree with Paul in that the guitar is a two handed instrument. But at the risk of stating the obvious, unlike, say a piano, or a saxophone, the two hands do very different jobs.
Where I disagree with Earl and Paul (with great respect, guys, obviously) is that I think that it’s a mistake to consider the fretting hand as being the one doing the hardest job. Now the ol’ fretting hand moving around at great speed certainly looks impressive, but what I believe is that the other hand is actually doing the really important stuff, which is producing the actual sound.
It’s the same with violins, mandolins, banjos, cellos, erhu, saz, oud, dulcimer, lute, or any stringed instrument you care to think of. I believe that there has to be a reason why for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, right handers have used their weaker hand for the ‘moving up and down’, and their dominant hand for producing the notes.
Having said this, when it comes to guitars, there are pros and cons for each approach. There is no settled and definitive answer as to which approach is the best.
If a lefty can play a righty, then they can borrow other people’s guitars, they can try more models before they buy one, and they get lots more choice in terms of make and model.
And of course there are a number of notable guitarists who are left handed and play right handed. Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler, BB King, and Steve Morse spring to mind.
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sirduke58
`Olu`olu
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2009 : 10:56:00 AM
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I'm a natural lefty who learned from the beginning how to play right handed. Since I did that from the start I didn't have to take a step backward to"unlearn" anything, which would have been necessary if I had actually converted.
I would strongly recommend a lefty beginner to learn to play right handed. In standard tuning chord fretting are much more awkward and difficult lefty than righty.In slack key I'd have a hard time seeing how one could negotiate songs with intricate melody lines using primarily just the thumb.The alternating bass line would probably be easier though.
Note: One draw back to owning & playing a lefthanded guitar strung up like the mirror image of a righthanded instrument is that you won't be able to play conventionally strung guitars.So if you don't have yours, you won't be able to borrow someone else's guitar for any impromptu jam sessions.
I believe (although it could be a figment of my imagination) that because I use my dominant hand for fretting I have an advantage over most righties with speed & dexterity. However I am positive I am at a disadvantage when it comes to strumming.There are certain fast paced strumming techniques I cannot execute because my righthand lacks the coordination.I also can't execute the really fast arpeggios too although Peter Moon Jr & Shawn (s.m.80808)have no problem with it and they're both natural lefties.
Just my personal opinion nothing scientific but I think being lefty & playing righty is ideal.You have your dominant hand doing all the intricate frettings that change for every song and it interacts better with your conscious mind.Then your less coordinated hand connects and commits more easily to your subconscius through muscle memory. It's amazing how the brain(Particularly the sub-conscious)recognizes familiar chords and frettings and processes the pattern and sequences the strings have to be plucked.But then again doesn't the sub-conscious comprised of 88% of the brain?I never have to think about what strings I need to pluck when I'm playing. In fact, I have to really slow down & try hard to figure out which strings I'm plucking when someone asks |
Hoof Hearted?...Was it you Stu Pedaso? |
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Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
530 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2009 : 11:29:36 AM
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Lots of good points here. Yes, both hands have to do intricate things, most of which are completely new motions. So it is an open debate whether the "strong" or "weak" hand should be doing which thing, and which task is more demanding. Fingerpicking requires great touch, timing, and dexterity. Fretting requires flexibility and strength. Both require accuracy. And Trev is right -- without the strumming or fingerpicking hand, we don't get sound anyway. Maybe we have it all backwards.
Unless it really comes to you naturally one way or the other, it seems practical to play right handed, since you will have more choices in instruments to buy or to borrow. And it probably does help to have your strong hand doing the fretting work. But I always cringe at stories of left handers who were forced to write right handed in school. Yikes!
I have sometimes pondered what would happen if a hand injury forced me to switch and relearn. Obviously a huge amount of work would be involved, but would I end up better or worse playing left-handed? For example, I know a really good state champion level target shooter who had a stroke. He could no longer hold the pistol properly and steadily right handed, so he re-learned to shoot left handed. And a year later he ended up being a few percent better as a lefty. Maybe it was because he worked so hard at it, and had to examine every action along the way.
Hi Trev, good to hear from you again. We are looking forward to seeing you guys at AMC in FEB 2011. We won't be there for summer 2010.
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2009 : 1:36:24 PM
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After playing for 40 years, I attempted to play a guitar set up for "left handed" playing. It was just like day one, 1966 all over again. That's when I knew I had to get my carpal tunnel surgery. I didn't want to restart 40 years of practice and learning. Both hands were entirely clueless. Not that the rest of me isn't, but that's another talk story.
Unko Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 01:55:49 AM
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Duke has a very good point about borrowing someone else’s guitar – I’ve seen much spontaneous magic happen over the years when this happens. And if you play left handed the opportunities for this are greatly diminished. And the fact that there are so many very good lefty players who play right handed proves that it is evidently possible.
I think the best way must depend on the person and just how ‘lefty’ they are, and what works for them. Ultimately, it should be the individual’s decision on the path they should take.
My personal take is that I think the picking hand is as important to a guitar or mandolin player as the bowing hand is to a violin player, and it makes perfect sense for people to use their dominant hand to make the note. But as we see, although the most conventional, it’s certainly not the only approach.
Perhaps the answer to the original question lies in a self perpetuating circle. There are few left hand guitars, so a lot of lefties play right handed, so there is even less demand for left hand guitars, so they make even fewer, and so on, leaving us with considerably fewer than the 10% or so that we might otherwise expect.
Great to hear from you too, Earl! We too are planning to go to the Aloha camp in February 2011. So long as the air fares, hotel costs, and most of all the dollar exchange rate don’t go crazy in between now and then!
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 09:17:13 AM
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quote:
AND... even our pant's zippers force us to use the wrong hand. Arrrgggg!! (I bet most of you right-handers don't even give a moment's notice to things like that.)
Which brings to mind the eternal question: why do women's shirts & coats button from the opposite side as mens'? (Betcha hadn't noticed that one, either. I'm married to a left handed knitting designer...)
The other obvious question raised by this discussion is: why are there so few left handed pianos?
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`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 10:01:00 AM
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| Funny! Come to think of it, my piano is all Thumbs. Hmmmmmm. |
Wag More. Bark Less |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 10:54:06 AM
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We keep trying to figure out if our daughter will be a lefty. Just when we've decided that she's a lefty, she switches hands. And when it comes to food, she is truly ambidextrous. The girl loves her food. |
Andy |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2009 : 10:54:26 AM
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| Well, I'm left handed, as Thubs mentioned above. My first stringed instrument was an Islander uke that I got for my 14th birthday. I played it left handed, strung right handed. When I started seriously on strings, I got a banjo. Left handed banjos are rare and expensive. btw, Lefties are 12% of the population in the US (trust me - I'm left handed!), so 12% of guitars should be left handed - not many. My best friend and musical partner from 1959 until he passed in 2008, was SO left handed that he has 3 left handed children. So, when we were heading for a gig or a picking party, I'd figure that someone would have a guitar I could borrow, but here was Jon with his left handed guitar, banjo (he made the neck humself)and mandolin - totally overloaded. So, friends, what got me playing right handed was SLOTH (a dedaly sin, ya know). Seriously, it has always been easier for me to make chords, pull off and hammer on with my dominant hand. It DID take me a couple of years to get flat picking down - since I play piano, finger picking is not so bad for me (Think about it! A left handed piano!!!!) |
keaka |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2174 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2009 : 05:25:50 AM
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| I've seen lefthanded accodion players, piano kind and diatonic. Most just play the box righthanded. Again, for that instrument, the great challenge for most is to get the left hand (the band or backup part of the instrument) working well enough to have the right hand side sound good. |
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how come there are so few left handed guitars?
