Left Handed Guitar

Is It Difficult To Play The Left Handed Guitar?

Most musical instruments can be played with both hands, but the guitar is another story.  Guitars usually are meant for the right handed person to play and a left handed person may not be able to play it very effectively.

Although guitars can be built for either a right handed person or a left handed person, it is the dominant hand that decides how well the guitar can be played.  As a left handed person, your dominant hand it your left hand.  The dominant hand will pluck or strum the strings of the guitar.  The right hand or secondary hand will hold the strings against the neck of the guitar, initiating the desired chords.  Most of the musical chords is generated by the dominant hand, or in this case the left hand. 

There are some in the musical industry who believe that a left handed person should hold a guitar the same way a right handed person does. 

Constructing a left handed guitar takes a bit of rearranging of the strings, the bridge and the nut.  The thickest string of the guitar needs to be reversed what it normally is for the right handed guitar.  The bridge and the nut have to be turned upside down to fit the strings which will have been constructed in the reverse order. Some people insist that a left handed guitar costs more than a right handed one. 

Chord charts are another challenge for the left handed person.  There are many chord charts primarily printed for the left handed person.

With minimal modification to a guitar, a left handed person can learn to play the guitar as well as someone who is right handed.  Many famous left handed players have adjusted quite well and have been able to produce multi million gold records.  Being a “lefty” should not prove to be a handicap if your desire is to learn to play the left handed guitar.