kebob Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I have a roomful of nice guitars (see my sig). I figured one day, I'll hand them all down to junior, my one and only. At 9 years old, he dressed up as a punk-rocker for Halloween this year, and he was wearing his little toy guitar as a lefty! -- it then dawned on me . He hasn't quite been hit by the guitar bug yet (and I don't know if he will), but I think I might have to try to reverse the course of nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riptide Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I have a roomful of nice guitars (see my sig). I figured one day, I'll hand them all down to junior, my one and only. At 9 years old, he dressed up as a punk-rocker for Halloween this year, and he was wearing his little toy guitar as a lefty! -- it then dawned on me . He hasn't quite been hit by the guitar bug yet (and I don't know if he will), but I think I might have to try to reverse the course of nature. I know a lot of lefties that play right handed instruments... I honestly think that in a way guitar is harder on your fretting hand anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Remember McCartney made the last third of the Fab period on an up side down D-28 - that includes the wonderful acoustic stuff on The White Album ,-) No, seriously I see the dilemma. Then again I'm not sure you can judge your sons final direction yet. He might even be a mix, , , , like me. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 If you've been bringing him up as seeing music not as a spectator sport, and if you've been encouraging him to bang along with your playing, then you'll have a pretty good chance of seeing music being a part of his life. I hope this is the case for you and your son. Even if he has to take 2 steps backwards, have him learn to play non-lefty. Then he can play/try any guitar in the room. Even if not, it's not the end of the world to have that very special guitar switched over. My first semi-real guitar was switched from a lefty for a fairly modest sum. If you really wanted to do it right, I suppose re-bracing just one guitar would be a bargain, when one considers it's sentimental value. Speaking of the priceless intangibles in life, someone shared this gem a while back (watch for the little tike's impeccable timing at t=:05): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cYCubol7a0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 If you've been bringing him up as seeing music not as a spectator sport, and if you've been encouraging him to bang along with your playing, then you'll have a pretty good chance of seeing music being a part of his life. I hope this is the case for you and your son. Even if he has to take 2 steps backwards, have him learn to play non-lefty. Then he can play/try any guitar in the room. Even if not, it's not the end of the world to have that very special guitar switched over. My first semi-real guitar was switched from a lefty for a fairly modest sum. If you really wanted to do it right, I suppose re-bracing just one guitar would be a bargain, when one considers it's sentimental value. Speaking of the priceless intangibles in life, someone shared this gem a while back (watch for the little tike's impeccable timing at t=:05): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cYCubol7a0 That was fabulous, absolutely fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 spent the day with my 3 & 4 yr. old great nieces today, that video hit the heart this evening! and, kebob, good luck at a reversal try. I hope you can just keep it fun for your son! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 My Dad was born leftie. Got himself a terrible burn on his left arm when he was pre-school age and wanted to see what was in the pot on the stove. Did everything rightie after that for well over 80 years. Claimed he was lousy at doing anything with either hand. That's not quite true since he shot quite well either side, although it appears to me he had a right master eye. <grin> Be thankful Junior is one or the other, I think. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblue212 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I'm a leftie and I play guitar right handed. There is hope... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I am left handed and play right handed. I started out as a bass player at 13 (I am now 58) and I held the guitar right handed but then a buddy said I should reverse the strings and hold the guitar like a left handed player is supposed to. I did so and it took about 10 minutes to realize that hey, my dominate hand is my left hand and for a bass player that is the hand that does all the work. The right hand just plucks the strings. So I changed it back right handed and never knew the difference and went on and learned how to play the bass guitar. So of course when I transitioned to the guitar there was nothing to be concerned about. Then fast forward to 1982 and I find myself in US Army helicopter flight training. Guess what, the control sticks are made to fit the right hand (same as fighter jets). I had no trouble adapting and went on to have a successful career as a military pilot. One last item. Like I said I am totally left handed but when I started using a computer mouse I automatically started using my right hand and it too has worked out. I can't use a mouse in my left hand to save my life, I am all over the computer screen. So, the morale of the story is, if you do not know how to do something that requires a choice between the right hand or left hand you can adapt to whichever one you decide to use. If Junior is a lefty and has never played the guitar, once he starts learning right handed it will not be an issue; he doesn't know what he doesn't know. He won't know the difference. Teach him right handed and all will be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riptide Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I am left handed and play right handed. I started out as a bass player at 13 (I am now 58) and I held the guitar right handed but then a buddy said I should reverse the strings and hold the guitar like a left handed player is supposed to. I did so and it took about 10 minutes to realize that hey, my dominate hand is my left hand and for a bass player that is the hand that does all the work. The right hand just plucks the strings. So I changed it back right handed and never knew the difference and went on and learned how to play the bass guitar. So of course when I transitioned to the guitar there was nothing to be concerned about. Then fast forward to 1982 and I find myself in US Army helicopter flight training. Guess what, the control sticks are made to fit the right hand (same as fighter jets). I had no trouble adapting and went on to have a successful career as a military pilot. One last item. Like I said I am totally left handed but when I started using a computer mouse I automatically started using my right hand and it too has worked out. I can't use a mouse in my left hand to save my life, I am all over the computer screen. So, the morale of the story is, if you do not know how to do something that requires a choice between the right hand or left hand you can adapt to whichever one you decide to use. If Junior is a lefty and has never played the guitar, once he starts learning right handed it will not be an issue; he doesn't know what he doesn't know. He won't know the difference. Teach him right handed and all will be just fine. Thanks for serving! My brother was a Marine heli pilot :) When I was younger I use to try to make myself ambidextrous... yeah that never worked :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phelonious Ponk Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Thanks for serving! My brother was a Marine heli pilot :) When I was younger I use to try to make myself ambidextrous... yeah that never worked :lol: Knowing what I know today, if I were a leftie starting out, I'd play right handed. It's not like the stuff we do with our left hand is particularly easy, and playing rightie opens up a world of new and used guitars Southpaws can't consider. Your son has even more reason to fret with the left hand, pick with the right hand and wonder what's particularly "right-handed" about that. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Thank you fellows for the thank yous! Phelonious really summed it up best and his comments should put this one to bed. Good on you Phelonious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I have a roomful of nice guitars (see my sig). I figured one day, I'll hand them all down to junior, my one and only. At 9 years old, he dressed up as a punk-rocker for Halloween this year, and he was wearing his little toy guitar as a lefty! -- it then dawned on me . He hasn't quite been hit by the guitar bug yet (and I don't know if he will), but I think I might have to try to reverse the course of nature. K, if your son ever wants to pick up a guitar and decides to play lefty ... a few of us here on the forum are lefty players and I would be glad to help him out if he likes gibsons. Here's probably the only 1930's SJ 200 replica in existance : =) JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provny Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Knowing what I know today, if I were a leftie starting out, I'd play right handed. It's not like the stuff we do with our left hand is particularly easy, and playing rightie opens up a world of new and used guitars Southpaws can't consider. Your son has even more reason to fret with the left hand, pick with the right hand and wonder what's particularly "right-handed" about that. P I have to respectfully disagree. I'm a lefty who plays better left handed, and I don't subscribe to the tyranny of right-handed-ness. It's almost always right handed people saying it shouldn't be a big deal for a lefty to learn to play right handed. Why then don't those right handed people learn to play left handed so they can show their left-handed brethren how easy it is to play guitar the opposite way from the way they are naturally inclined to play guitar? Playing righty might "open up" new worlds in terms of availability of guitars, but might close worlds of motivation to play the guitar, or to otherwise express themselves fully. There's all kinds of people who play guitar, or who would like to, including leftys who can only play lefty, leftys who can play right handed as well or better than lefty, etc. Why not just see what works best for the particular individual, and let them play the way they are naturally inclined to play? If a right-handed guitar is flipped so that it can be played lefty, it can look pretty cool, and it should work fine. If the intonation is less than perfect (and some would debate whether it would even be noticable), it's still arguable that the benefits of a lefty being able to play the guitar lefty would far outweigh the downside. And as people will notice the flipped guitar, I'm sure the lefty kid with the right handed guitar has been passed down to would be happy to explain to people that the guitar was passed down to them by a dear father or other relative,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Don't give up hope! I'm a natural lefty.... I don't own a lefty guitar and funnily enough didnt like those I've tried, always played right handed.... On the plus side, I do enjoy the fact that most people can't use my computer/mouse etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I have to respectfully disagree. I'm a lefty who plays better left handed, and I don't subscribe to the tyranny of right-handed-ness. It's almost always right handed people saying it shouldn't be a big deal for a lefty to learn to play right handed. Why then don't those right handed people learn to play left handed so they can show their left-handed brethren how easy it is to play guitar the opposite way from the way they are naturally inclined to play guitar? Playing righty might "open up" new worlds in terms of availability of guitars, but might close worlds of motivation to play the guitar, or to otherwise express themselves fully. There's all kinds of people who play guitar, or who would like to, including leftys who can only play lefty, leftys who can play right handed as well or better than lefty, etc. Why not just see what works best for the particular individual, and let them play the way they are naturally inclined to play? If a right-handed guitar is flipped so that it can be played lefty, it can look pretty cool, and it should work fine. If the intonation is less than perfect (and some would debate whether it would even be noticable), it's still arguable that the benefits of a lefty being able to play the guitar lefty would far outweigh the downside. And as people will notice the flipped guitar, I'm sure the lefty kid with the right handed guitar has been passed down to would be happy to explain to people that the guitar was passed down to them by a dear father or other relative,. + 1 who knows what people would think of paul mccartney if he were right handed maybe he would have been such a great songwriter ... if K's son decides to play lefty he will always have very good lefty references in Rock And Roll JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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