left or right handed guitar

I'm right handed but have lost both my pointing finger and my index finge on my right hand. . Should I go with a left or right handed guitar?

Although it'll be challenging initially, if it was me (I'm right handed) and I was learning initially with that encumbrance, I'd go with a left handed guitar and learn to play left handed. The missing digits won't be as critical on the picking/strummng hand as they will be to fretting chords, and particularly playing licks/notes.

Although he discarded the notion of changing and continued playing left handed (he was left handed) with his missing fingertips after the accident because he had already been playing guitar for three years which felt like a lifetime at the youthful age he then was, in his autobiography Tony Iommi said that in hindsight, he would have changed to relearn right handed had he known the difficulties he would subsequently encounter. Without foresight of course, of knowing the historical turn of events which was to occur regardless when their massive hit "Paranoid" presented Black Sabbath to the awareness of the world stage, which may not have had he taken time to relearn right handed.

Thank you very much for your response. After a few lessons I was getting a bit depressed and you have given what I needed to press on. Thanks again

Originally Posted by: rbenshoff

Thank you very much for your response. After a few lessons I was getting a bit depressed and you have given what I needed to press on. Thanks again

One thing to remind yourself of while you struggle playing left handed is that those of us who are starting out with a full complement of fingers and playing our natural righty side struggle tremendously at first too. Read all of the threads where folks ask how the hell are we supposed to make our fingers stretch that way; why am I always picking the wrong string; why do I accidentally mute the e string; etc. I am not going to try to play leftie, but I am not sure it would be much harder to start out that way. Left or right, you will be training both hands and your brain to do things that will feel pretty unnatural at first.

Good luck![br][br]

Dave...

Thank you very much Dave. Your response will definitely put in the right state of mind. Thanks again

There is a teacher online "Justin Guitar" who is right handed, however I'm sure that he mentioned in a video that he is learning to play left handed. He might be able to provide some insight into playing the other way round.

Dave makes a great point. When I started I would have to manually position my fingers with my other hand to achieve some chord shapes and now I have no problems doing them. Just goes to show how repetitive training and dogged determination gets you there. Good luck with your guitar journey mate 👍

I don't know the actual statistical percentages, but many left handers starting from scratch without encumbrance of injury choose to learn to play guitar right handed for the reason of a massively wider choice of instrument availability as was. Even today, left hand instrument choice can be severely limiting.

e.g. Yamaha don't make a single left handed model in their Revstar range. Of the Pacifica range, only the 112J (2nd tier segment with ceramic pickups) is available in a left handed version, and up until recently, in only a single colour. No top tier 612VIIs in a lefty. Their acoustic and electric beginner Gigmaker packs are exclusively right handed as are their entry level through about tertiary tier acoustics. It's rough IMO, and I have empathy for lefties, but how it is with market forces. I can see why lefties might decide to learn right handed.

Speaking with those who have taken up the off handed challenge and can now play, they don't report learning off handed impeded them.