Lefty Advice?

Hello. I am 41 years old and brand new to guitar. I recently went to my local music store to rent a left hand guitar (since I'm left handed) and try it out. The man said that since both hands are used in guitar I should try and learn right handed so that I will not be limited to lefty guitars in the future when looking to buy new or used ones. He said they have tons of right hand guitars but only a couple of lefty guitars. Having looked online at used sites I know that lefty guitars are a lot harder to come by...

Since I have zero experience I rented the right hand guitar, deciding to give the expert's advice the benefit of the doubt. My dilemna is that it feels awkward to play "the wrong" way and I'm not sure if I'm wasting my time denying my lefty roots.

Have any other lefty people had this experience? Did you stick with learning to play right handed, or did you go for a lefty guitar? Advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Andrewfloreano,

I understand the dilemma! I'm not lefty but I know a lot of left-handed players that are close friends and they've said the same thing. With that being said, I had a friend learn with a right-handed guitar and it is a little strange, he said, but after some practice he got it.

Learning with a right handed guitar, as a lefty, when you're a beginner is probably the easiest way to do this, since learning guitar in general is all new to your hands anyway.

I say give it a try and see how you like it. Otherwise, there's no reason for you to ignore playing left-handed guitars. There aren't as many on the market, but you'll be able to find the same selection, more or less.

I say, if you can't get the hang of a right-handed guitar, grab a lefty!

HI, Andrew

I'm 65 and started with GT about two and a half years ago. And I'm also left handed.

Worked my way through Lisa's GF I and II, then finger picking. Tried some blues and I'm now working through Mr Schlegel's Classical studies. I'm REALLY glad that I started learning on the right hand guitars. Both hands are doing different things, so I don't really see that being left or right handed ultimately makes a difference. My fingers still tend to do what they want on BOTH hands sometimes, and I have to slow it down and make them behave.

Eventually muscle memory takes over for both and I can make a reasonable facsimile of "music".

Whichever you ultimately choose, remember...it's supposed to be fun.

I initially tried to learn as a righty, when I first started. Like you, it just didn’t feel right. My learning immediately hit a wall once I tried to get pass the open chords to more complex lessons. I traded in my righty for a new lefty and have not looked back since.

That being said, it never hurts to try it as a right first. There are guitarists like Paul Simon, who as a lefty learned to play. I do think it is hard though for us lefty’s. Most folks at the guitar stores mean well but they are probably rightys themselves and don’t have to deal with the awkwardness of trying to learn the guitar with the wrong hand. Imagine if Jimi Hendrix or Paul McCartney followed that advice.

Unlike those guys who no options, there are more options for us. It’s a harder search but the guitars are there. Epiphone does offer a range from the low price range to higher end. My first lefty was a Epiphone Les Paul 100 and I worked my way up to Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro. A few friends have said it sounds comparable to a $3k Gibson. My next purchase will be the Left handed Fender American Pro Strat. So my long ended point is, that there are options. Even PRS, who never offered a lefty has two models out there in two different price ranges.

Good luck which ever way you go.