New left-handed guitar players are bombarded with an enormous amount of advice when it comes to learning guitar. Ironically, it often comes from right-handed players who have no idea what it means to be left-handed.
I’m a lefty, learning and playing left-handed guitar. The best advice that I can give a left-handed person thinking about learning guitar is to learn to strum with your dominant hand. The dominant hand controls the picking and strumming which is how the guitar makes sound. For lefties, that dominant hand is your left hand. Sometimes, people are cross-dominant (good with the left hand at certain things, but not others) or ambidextrous (equally good with both hands). To learn more, watch the Rick Beato YouTube video on this in the Resources link below.
How Do I Make Sure Playing Lefty Is Right for Me?
One fast and easy way to find out is to play air guitar. If you find yourself strumming with your left hand, you should play lefty.
Another more scientific, neurologist approved way, is to do the test in the Phil McKnight YouTube video. Phil is a popular guitar gear YouTuber who used to own and run a guitar store. The technique in his video was taught to him by a neurologist / customer at his store. He’s used it with success for many years.
Dumb Things Right-Handed Guitarists Tell Lefties
No One Created a Right-Handed Piano or [Name instrument]: Right-Handed plays will argue that other instruments don’t come in left-handed versions, so left-handed guitars are wrong. They argue that a lefty should just play right-handed.
Playing Guitar Uses Two Hands, So It Doesn’t Matter. Play Righty: Right-handed players will argue that guitar requires equal dexterity with both hands, so it doesn’t really matter which hand you use for strumming. They tell you that since there are more right-handed guitars, you should just play right-handed. The problem here is that it’s not true.
Your Fretting Hand is Better if Lefties Play Right-Handed: Right-handed players will argue that when left-handed players play right-handed, their stronger left hand is fretting the strings, which makes mastering fretting easier. This ignores the fact that your weaker right hand is doing the strumming, which makes mastering and controlling your music harder. Righties suggesting this can never really answer why they didn’t take their own advice and fret with their dominant right hand.
Advantages of Playing Lefty
Better Play: Playing with your dominant left hand is more comfortable for lefties. It leads to greater confidence and lowers a beginners frustration level. Ultimately, it leads to better, more confident play. Learning guitar is a process filled with many hours of practice and mistakes. No one should have to start that process with a hand they are not comfortable leading with.
Disadvantages of Playing Lefty
More Right-Handed Guitars: This one is true. Right-handed guitars are more commonly available than left-handed instruments. Lefties will find that their guitar choices are more limited.
Can’t Share Guitars with Friends: Playing lefty does mean that you find it much harder to share or try out guitars with your guitar friends. It can leave you feeling different and left out. However, it also means that your right-handed guitar friends have very little motivation to try your guitar(s) or touch your stuff, which can be a benefit of being and playing lefty.
Righty Worked of Older Lefties?
Many left-handed people, especially older players, were forced to learn guitar right-handed. They argue that if it worked for them, it would work for any lefty. While it may be true that they were able to learn guitar right-handed, that’s probably not true of a lot of other lefties who got frustrated and quit.
Today, left-handed guitars are readily available online. It’s no longer necessary to make do with a right-handed instrument. Why add an additional level of difficulty to the guitar learning process? I found it so frustrating when I was forced to learn how to write right-handed as a child. I see no benefit in adding that level of frustration to my guitar practice. I’m doing this for fun and I’m doing this for me. How I learn shouldn’t matter to anyone else but me.