# Easier for a right-hander to play guitar "righty", or "lefty" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559 "2012-11-30T12:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![retsin2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@retsin2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/retsin2000)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/21 "2012-11-30T19:45:35Z")
Fwiw, I play in the flatpicking style, mostly bluegrass. Lots of fret work; right hand is busy but I’d say the left hand is busier. I’m right handed. I cannot even imagine trying to switch. It could be fun to try though. Played a couple times with a guy who was left handed and played a right handed guitar upside down, not that uncommon I guess. I have a hell of a time trying to follow him on a song I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/22 "2012-11-30T20:21:43Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/23 "2012-11-30T20:38:19Z")
Left-handed (but plays right) bass player here. When I started playing, I didn’t realize that instruments for lefties existed. Hey, Jimi played his guitar up-side down - If he couldn’t get one, who could? Later I tried to see if I could play left-handed and it was an utter failure. It just felt completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/24 "2012-11-30T20:39:21Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I have a very old memory of having read that when he first started to play the guitar he thought it felt very awkward until he got the idea to restring it. I just thought he knew there would be tribute bands some day, and he wanted to make the bass players lives a living hell. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/25 "2012-11-30T20:49:38Z")
I don’t think there has ever been any real attempt to figure out the easiest way to learn to play, by which I mean some kind of study seeing if you learn faster if you fret or strum with your dominant hand. It’s probably too hard to overcome tradition and equalize for things like talent. But I do think the traditional method makes sense: my thinking is that learning to fret the strings is pretty challenging whether you use your dominant hand or not, and using your dominant hand to strum might makes things a good deal easier when you are starting. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/26 "2012-11-30T21:04:32Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Ask Paul McCartney who has always strung his bass ackwards, I mean backwards, and played lefty. But Paul McCartney is left-handed. I have seen it claimed that he’s actually a righty who plays backwards, but it ain’t so. He writes with his left hand. It’s not unusual for a lefty to play right-handed, though. The '70s incarnation of King Crimson had two in the same band (Robert Fripp and John Wetton). ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/27 "2012-11-30T21:16:20Z")
> [@retsin2000](#): > > Played a couple times with a guy who was left handed and played a right handed guitar upside down, not that uncommon I guess. I have a hell of a time trying to follow him on a song I don’t know. One of my favorite musicians, [Dan Swano](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Swan%C3%B6), plays this way and he doesn’t even reverse the strings, and he’s a seriously talented and accomplished musician. So, this is always a possibility for someone who wants to play lefty but doesn’t want disadvantages of not being able to play a right-handed guitar or trade off with someone else. ---
**Author:** ![retsin2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@retsin2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/retsin2000)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/28 "2012-11-30T21:26:39Z")
Yeah, this guy didn’t restring his either which made it hard for me to follow him. The chord shapes just looked foreign. When I asked him why he didn’t restring his guitar lefty he said learning how to play upside down has allowed him to play other people’s guitars and vice versa. Hendrix played upside down but he restrung them lefty. It made those Fenders look funny but they played like a normal lefty. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/29 "2012-12-01T02:12:41Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > I offer this in return: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2Rg486wJ4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2Rg486wJ4) But even there, I think he’s playing right-handed. The left hand is mainly doing pattern repetition. The right hand is the one coming in and doing Lennon’s vocal line over that, with more…precision and consciousness, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/30 "2012-12-01T02:19:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I think this is an important distinction. Anything blues-based is going to require more righht hand work. Classical or Spanish guitar, not so much. [Example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyw-Lere8Kc) (Steve Harris playing bass, but same idea). He’s playing \*two-\*handed. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/31 "2012-12-01T02:57:34Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’ve always been pretty hopeless as potential musicians go (my fingers are dyslexic and even typing is pretty hard for me, with lots of mistakes), but I always play my “air guitar” lefty style (right hand on the fret, left hand strumming or plucking). Would that indeed be easier for me if I were to try playing an actual guitar, or not? Have you spent time playing a lefty guitar? Go to a Guitar Center or something and try one; see how it feels. I am righty, so this was never an issue. I know that handedness is a spectrum, with many lefty’s close to ambidextrous, where they swap which hand they use depending on the activity; while others are hard-lefty. If you are closer to ambi, then maybe using a righty guitar might work. The cardinal rule is to make choices that feel like they’d make you want to keep playing/play more, NOT what you think you should do. If playing lefty feels right and would be more likely to keep you playing, go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/32 "2012-12-01T03:20:09Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > When did you turn 65? 😛 In about 17 years. 🙂 I’m not a musician, but I used to be able to draw with both hands at the same time. But lack of practice has let that fade away. But I’m still fairly ambidextrous. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/33 "2012-12-01T04:15:25Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > Are you sure you are right handed? And not just trained to be a righty at a very young age. It does happen. I had several teachers try to change the way I wrote once I started school. Luckily my Mom went down there and put a stop to it. The teachers tried to tell her that it was for my own good and she was holding me back. This is me. I’m naturally left-handed, but learned to write right-handed. The nuns insisted. Good women, but perhaps a little behind the times in some ways. Now I’m a weird mix of right and left-handedness. I write with my right hand. I play hockey lefty. I play the guitar right-handed. I wear my watch on my right wrist, like a lefty. It’s just uncomfortable the other way. And other odd stuff. I used to be able to write and draw quite well with my left hand. I can still do it, but I’m very rusty. I play the guitar right-handed, I guess, because since I write right-handed, I started learning everything that came after than right-handed. I’m not an especially good guitar player, and I’m not sure I’d be any better if I had learned to play left-handed. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/34 "2012-12-01T06:01:28Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > In about 17 years. 🙂 I’m not a musician, but I used to be able to draw with both hands at the same time. But lack of practice has let that fade away. But I’m still fairly ambidextrous. 🙂 My dad, a 65 year old righty, went to catholic school. The nuns that taught had that attitude, as the person above me mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/35 "2012-12-01T06:22:22Z")
I went to public school and there was still a strong stigma against lefties. I never went to Kindergarten so I was already set in my ways by the time I started first grade a year late. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/36 "2012-12-01T08:31:37Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > I went to public school and there was still a strong stigma against lefties. I never went to Kindergarten so I was already set in my ways by the time I started first grade a year late. Interesting that it still persisted that much longer. In your area anyway. My dad said that his teachers were behind the times even then. I’m about 10 years younger than you and it was not an issue when I was in school. Of course, lefties probably are a little bit more privy to subtle discrimination. I do some things left handed, as does my mom. I like a left handed hockey stick, but I bat right. We took my lefty cousin out for birthday supper recently, and just for fun I ate the whole meal left handed. That wasn’t too hard; I felt comfortable eating like that, though in need of a little practice. I never dropped any food, nor stuck a fork up my nose. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/37 "2012-12-01T20:08:08Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > My dad, a 65 year old righty, went to catholic school. The nuns that taught had that attitude, as the person above me mentioned. I was schooled by nuns in Ohio 1965–1971 and IIRC left-handed students were accommodated to the extent that special scissors and desks were provided them, and nobody tried to turn them righty. Academically, though, I don’t think they were ever taught just how to write left-handed; they were left n.p.i. to figure out for themselves how to operate their pencils in a mirror-imaged way from the teach. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/38 "2012-12-02T04:35:56Z")
> [@retsin2000](#): > > Played a couple times with a guy who was left handed and played a right handed guitar upside down… > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > One of my favorite musicians, [Dan Swano](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Swan%C3%B6), plays this way and he doesn’t even reverse the strings… If he did reverse the strings, it wouldn’t be playing upside down. Playing upside down refers to having the treble strings at the top and the bass strings at the bottom. > [@retsin2000](#): > > Hendrix played upside down but he restrung them lefty. It made those Fenders look funny but they played like a normal lefty. He didn’t play upside down. Now, it’s true that the guitar BODY was upside down, but that’s a minor point. By having his bass strings at the top and treble strings at the bottom (achieved by reversing the strings), he was playing in the conventional right-side-up way. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/39 "2012-12-02T05:15:58Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Ask Paul McCartney who has always strung his bass ackwards, I mean backwards, and played lefty. > > I always thought it was curious how the more dextrous hand just gets to strum a pick, while the less dextrous hand gets to do all the fancy fretwork. Seems counterintuitive, but it does work that way. Once you get beyond the beginner stage, the strumming/picking hand usually has quite a bit more to do than just strum, but I agree with you that it does seem different from what you’d expect. When I took up the guitar I had played piano for years, mostly ragtime music. I never quite got comfortable playing without looking at my hands–but the odd thing was, it was the right hand I usually felt that I had to keep an eye on, as it were.. In ragtime, it’s usually the left hand that has to jump around all over the bass section of the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559/40 "2012-12-02T06:44:20Z")
> [@FuzzyOgre](#): > > I offer this in return: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2Rg486wJ4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2Rg486wJ4) That guy has mistaken his bass for a piano! Actually, that was kind of neato. > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > When I took up the guitar I had played piano for years, mostly ragtime music. I never quite got comfortable playing without looking at my hands–but the odd thing was, it was the right hand I usually felt that I had to keep an eye on, as it were.. In ragtime, it’s usually the left hand that has to jump around all over the bass section of the keyboard. BTDT! The third section of “Maple Leaf Rag” in particular is a doozy in the key of D-flat major. The wide leaps that have to be made by the left hand at full speed… I never knew how I managed to hit all the notes, but I did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easier-for-a-right-hander-to-play-guitar-righty-or-lefty/642559.md?page=3)