Do I Need a Left-Handed Guitar? | Lefty Guitar Talk

Hello, everyone! International Left-Handers Day was 2 days ago, but who says we can't act like everyday is lefty day? Join me as I go through some tips for those who are wondering whether or not a left-handed person should learn to play the guitar left-handed as well.

Fellow lefties: Do you have any thoughts or similar experiences? Share them in the comments below!

Please like and subscribe, and let's connect:

[daveblais]

I’m 81 and play lefty, don’t let right handed players trying to talk you into playing right handed. Be who you are.

[calex]

Being left handed and playing left handed is great when watching most of the youtube content as it's by right handed folks so for a leftie it's like looking in the mirror and real easy to play along. Thanks 😀

[peccatumDei]

One aspect sometimes overlooked, is that righties tend to be more right hand dominant, than lefties are left hand dominant. I'm a lefty, and VERY left hand dominant. The only things I've trained myself to do right handed, is cut with scissors, and use a computer mouse. There is just no way, I could ever develop the dexterity in my right hand, for finger picking or strumming, so I buy left handed guitars and play left handed.

[harishb]

An another lefti guitar student here, while watching this video I can able to relate much things which I am facing while practicing Guitar.... Despite all obstacles being a lefti guitar is something cool😅

[robertlennox]

I’m a lefty guitarist too. I remember trying to play right handed when I was in year 8 in high school in the band - it was so uncomfortable that it hurt! Lucky enough to own some nice guitars too. Great informative video Alyssa, rock on!

[danielmuniz]

I’m about to buy my first guitar to start learning. I’ve never felt more stressed about buying something specifically for a lefty lol
Thank you for the help!

[rudyvlasak]

Hi Alyssa great video. I am a lefty in every way possible. I have been playing lefty guitar for over 40 years now and believe me finding a lefty guitar way back then was really tough. My first guitar(which I still own and play regularly) was one of two lefty’s in a sea of right handed guitars. One of the things that really irked me way back when about guitar teachers was that they would say that I should be playing right handed because my “left handedness” will only limit my guitar playing. Phooey on that. That sort of thinking just made me more determined to play the way i was meant to play. Left handed. I am so glad that i stuck to my guns and embraced my left handed dexterity and am proud to play that way. As you said we are a small community and it’s great to see someone else playing left handed. Yes there are more left handed guitars available now than ever before but even if I go to a guitar store they will either have the cheapest model and or the most expensive model in the store. There is almost never a decent middle of the road guitar in a left hand configuration. The internet does have some better choices though. I will end my little rant with a saying that I heard a long time ago. “We are all born right handed but only a gifted few can overcome that adversity “. Rock on.

[costasarantidis]

Fellow lefty here! Selection and quality have improved over the years. It was difficult to find decent affordable lefty guitars in the past, so a flipped righty was all we could work with. Learned to mod out of necessity but it was fun!

[Lefthandshake]

I had some guitar lessons as a kid and was taught right handed because "it's easier". I got along fine with it, but I always felt like I'd be more comfortable playing left handed. I stopped playing for years and then decided to buy a left handed guitar. Obviously it felt strange at first, but now I feel like I'm a much better player than I could have been when I played right handed.

[Aizen-sama]

i wasnt sure to buy a left handed guitar before this as i was scared that it may go to waste but now i am confident . Thnx

[DanaConquersBoutique]

I’m researching beginner guitars and wasn’t surprised that a lefty with the exact same specs was higher. I thought playing cello my whole life would help, it’s quite uncomfortable playing right handed guitar for me. Thank you for the info… very helpful!

[samoyizan]

I'm lefty just now learning how to play the guitar left handed style at the age of 38. I'm having a lot of challenge but your conversation really bring me a relief. thank you!

[yp]

Hey a lefty guitarist here! Actually you are right for the mirroring part, it makes learning easier despite all the other challenges faced.

[ricpalm]

I’m a left handed guitar player.. like you.. It’s really nice to know I’m not alone because it sure feels like it sometimes..I play lefty because I tried righty an it just wasn’t working at all so even though it is a real pain to find left handed resources an you better bring your own guitar if you plan on playing it was well worth it!

[galaxyprism]

Hi I’m a lefty. Don’t own a guitar yet, but this is still helpful when I do get one.

[mikedovsky]

Hello Allysia. This is a great post. It only took me 2 years to see it. I'm left handed. When I was 12 years old my parents sent me to guitar lessons. I started on a right handed guitar but after maybe a month or so, I told the teacher it didn't feel right. So he switched the strings around and that made all difference. Not only could I not play the notes easily but I could not strum with my right hand. Some people think that using one's left hand would be easy form chords but that's not the case. As far as reading chord diagrams, no problem I quickly learned how to mentally reverse them. When a video or book says use your left hand to form a chord, I just use my right hand. No big deal. Of course, notation is no issue. I never purchased a right handed guitar and had it changed to a lefty. I was either lucky to find a left-handed model in the store or I special ordered them. Taylor and Martin make left handed versions of almost all of their guitars. Gibson makes some of their models left-handed as well. I would say for me at least, I had no choice, it was play left handed or don't play guitar. BTW, I like your Jimi Hendrix shirt. I'm a big fan of his music.

[vincent]

if you're left-handed play lefty. If your dominant hand were made for fretting, guitars would be built the other way around. But they're not. And there is a reason for that. Dont fight it

[Mo.C]

Hi! Yes Lefty here and I got the same experiences you are telling girl. I started playing in "82 and there where so little left handed guitars back then. That my teacher flipped a right handed guitar so I could play left. Now a days there are a lot more lefty guitar available! 😁 Love your channel...keep up the good work!

[dougtube]

Hi … i’ve played guitar all my life right handed until a couple years ago when I was forced to stop Due to an overuse injury of my left hand. So one year ago I started training to play left-handed and luckily it feels much the same and the upside is that I can correct the wrong stuff that I was doing right handed.

[ericv]

I started playing left, and switched to right because all the guitars were right. This was in 1990. I sucked for decades, and recently decided in midlife to switch back to left. Already after two months, I can play everything I did right-handed, but better because my left-hand is much steadier and tighter at rhythm, and I can do double-picked thrash riffs without any fatigue! I'm not a collector, so I would rather get a good cheap leftie guitar that I can mod the way I want with high-end pickups, etc., so I couldn't care less about the selection available to right handers anyway.