I’m left-handed and play a lefty guitar. I strongly disagree with the advice to play guitar right-handed without thoughtful condsideration of the options and the inclination of the individual involved.
The options are play righty guitar right-handed, play righty guitar left-handed, and play lefty guitar left-handed.
There’s a reason righty guitars are made as they are, and it’s not to give right-handers unneeded trouble as they learn to finger the frets. If that were a big deal, (almost) only lefty guitars would be made so that right-handers could have the advantage of using their dominant hand for fretting. While fretting is the first big challenge to a learning guitarist, strumming and picking eventually can require more nuance and sophistication. In classical guitar, picking technique is the thing those aspiring to greatness spend their time on, and this could apply to any genre of music once one gets past simple strumming. In a nutshell, playing “wrong-handed” will prevent most people from getting as good as they could be.
Some people have a very strong sense of handedness. I am one of them. Holding a guitar in the right-handed position felt extremely awkward to me, so much so that as soon as I tried it I rejected the idea. Other people are more naturally ambidextrous (not to be confused with the functional ambidexterity lefties are forced to acquire) and might do just as well either way.
I was probably about eight when I learned to play baseball, and I was taught to do it right-handed. I can catch really well with that glove on my left hand. I can’t throw for crap, and I never learned to throw with my left hand. There’s no doubt in my mind that if I had been taught as a child how to throw left-handed that I would be much better at it than I am. At the time though, I neither fully appreciated the options nor the difference it could make.
Your son may not be old enough yet to sense or express where he fits on the handedness scale, but I advise you to carefully try to assess whether or not he has a strong sense of it. If he does, playing right-handed may significantly limit both his ease of learning and his eventual achievement with the guitar. See how he holds a rifle. See how he holds his hands up for boxing. How does he prefer to hold the guitar (just how it feels, not how he sees others do it)? If he consistently wants his dominant hand close in, it may be a mistake for him to try to play right-handed.
There’s some good discussion of the matter here. Google on “left-handed” “right-handed guitar” (use the quote marks) for more perspectives.
Playing a righty guitar left-handed gets around the availability problem (more on that below), but presents some new ones in terms of fingering. This is what was done by Albert King, Elizabeth Cotton, and Jimi Hendrix. It’s not impossible by any means, but there’s precious little printed guidance on how to do it, and again, there’s a reason guitars are made the way they are. Doing this would be like a right-hander playing a leftie guitar right-handed. None of them choose to do that. 'Nuff said.
Left-handed guitars are harder to find, but in most locales it’s not that hard. In my experience, very few of them cost more than the equivalent rightie guitar, and when they do it’s a nominal difference ($10-20). And there’s always Southpaw Guitars , with a wide variety of insruments and excellent service. Not being able to borrow a guitar is a drawback, but occasionally not being able to lend one is a plus
.
To sum up, I find the prospect of some difficulty acquiring an instrument much less saddening that the prospect of being unable to reach full potential in using and enjoying said instrument.