Left Hand Guitar
The Left Hand Guitar
Most musical instruments are made for right handed people and as for a right handed guitarist there are different types of guitars to choose from. but when it comes to left handed person who wants to learn how to play guitar not only finds it difficult to buy a left handed guitar, but also to locate a guitar teacher who teaches left handed guitar lessons. Many of the teachers flatly refuse to teach a left handed pupil and those who teach insist that the pupil use the right hand instead. Does that mean that left handed are always going to be at a disadvantage? Paul McCartney is a well-known guitarist and perhaps and one of the most important members of ‘the Beatles’ is a lefty, and so is the legendary solo guitarist and performer, Jimi Hendrix. Both of them mastered the art of playing the left handed guitars.
Many left handed are ambidextrous and can adjust and learn to play right handed guitars using the right hand. Using a simple ‘clapping’ test it is easy to identify and which hand a child will most prefer to use to play the guitar. And while clapping if a child holds his right hand steady and claps with his left, and then it is beneficial to let him play a left handed guitar. If the child uses both hands to clap even though he is left handed he can learn to play a right handed guitar. Making this distinction is important as there are very few manufacturers who make left handed guitars. If your child is left handed then a left handed guitar is a necessity for him. A thumb rule is to observe how a child holds the guitar. If the guitar is held in the style of a left handed guitarist then buy him a left handed guitar. It is also possible to convert a right handed guitar — to a guitar that can be played using the left hand.
There are four ways in which a left handed aspiring guitarist can play a guitar. The guitarist can play a right handed guitar with the right hand or can use the left hand to pick the strings of the right handed guitar which is held upside down. The guitar player can use either a left handed guitar or a right handed guitar and modified to be played using the left hand.
The correct order of strings for a left handed player is to have the ‘low E’ string on the top. Guitarists such as Paul McCartney play left handed guitars with the strings placed in the correct order. Guitarists using this style can either use a genuine left handed guitar or a right handed altered guitar that has the low strings on the top. Guitarists such as Bob Geldof use the left hand to pick the strings of the guitar which has the ‘low E’ string at the bottom.
Guitarists take the help of musical notations or guitar tablature also called ‘guitar tabs’ in which strings and frets of guitars are represented in the form of a table. Guitar tabs help guitarists play all kinds of music on the guitar. Left handed guitar tabs help in learning chords and melodies using the left handed guitar.
Nowadays, there is lot of support given to left handed guitar playing. Many guitarists feel that teaching left handed children to play the guitar using their prominent hand for it will help them realize their talent. There are many sources that offer lessons for left handed guitar playing among them the Internet is most preferred. Some websites also provide free online guitar lessons for left handed individuals. These lessons are also available in the form of CD’s and DVD’s. However, being taught by a teacher is the right way of learning to play a right handed or left handed guitar.
