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Left or right-handed


pnunes76

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Hi guys,

I'm decided to start learning playing bass. Among millions questions, I have a big one: everything I do in my life, I do it with my right hand, but to play a guitar I use the left hand. Should I learn with the right or left hand?

 

Thanks

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26 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

If you are capable of playing right handed then you it would be a good idea to learn this way for no other reason then there is a lot more choice of instruments for the right handed player.

 I've didn'ttried yet.

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Whatever feels the most comfortable is the way to go.

The first time i picked up a guitar ( at school ) i naturally went right handed, not knowing  why.  But it was a natural choice.  Thats what you should follow, your natural choice

Forget any others reasons

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3 minutes ago, fleabag said:

Whatever feels the most comfortable is the way to go.

The first time i picked up a guitar ( at school ) i naturally went right handed, not knowing  why.  But it was a natural choice.  Thats what you should follow, your natural choice

Forget any others reasons

Following your idea, my natural choice is lefty.

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lots of lefties play right handed because of the availability of guitars, they usually borrow one to start with and it's right handed, more unusual the other way round, I would say try and learn right handed, your predominant hand is your strongest, you may have problems playing fast down the line if you play left handed, and of course, right handed basses are cheaper and more readily available, btw, I'm a leftie that plays left handed

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Serious suggestion (no, really)... Play air guitar along to a lot of your favourite songs. Don't even think about it. Which hand is strumming? That's a quick way to know of you're left or right handed for bass/ guitar. If someone gives you a guitar to tickle how do you hold it?

I'm only left handed for a few things: writing and playing guitar, but completely right hand dominant for sports like golf and cricket. It's weird but I suggest you do what feels natural for guitar. There's no way I could play guitar right handed at all.

Then again if you can't decide go right handed. More choice of instruments and far less smashing headstocks with other guitarists on stage.

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I am a lefty and when I was about 10 playing air guitar I naturally went lefty. I was watching a TV program and there was a guy playing right handed so thought that I must be wrong and switched sides.  

I then went on to play righty when I got my first bass at 12 and haven't regretted it. I'm sure Mark King and Gary Moore are/were lefties playing righty.

The third option is to play a righty lefty without changing the strings over so that the E is on the bottom - there are a few players that do that as well.

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Like uk_lefty I'm right handed for some things and left-handed for others. The I first time picked up a guitar my natural inclination was to play left handed. Luckily the guitar I picked up was very obviously right handed and so that's the way I learnt. TBH I could have probably learnt either way, but ultimately I'm glad I persevered with playing right handed because the choice of easily available instruments is massively greater than it is for the left handed player.

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I honestly don't think my hands are coordinated correctly to strum/ pick with my right hand and fret with my left. 

When I bought my first bass I was certain I wanted to play a righty upside down, in my head it was more logical to have the E string the lowest down... But I had never played a stringed instrument before and therefore knew nothing. I respect people who have learned that way but I'm glad I didn't and I got a lefty as my first bass.

Also if you play left handed and can do a scouse accent you can get work in. Beatles tribute.

Edited by uk_lefty
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Although my natural inclination was to pick up the guitar left handed, I found that I was equally rubbish no matter which way round I tried to play it.

I must have wanted to be able to play the guitar so desperately, back then when I was 13, that I stuck with it for 9 months of barely being able to do anything even vaguely musical on it, and then suddenly almost overnight I found that I could competently strum my way through the chords to all my favourite songs.

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54 minutes ago, therealting said:

One of the best guitarists I know is a lefty who plays righty. He reasons that having his dexterous hand on the fretboard serves him better. He’s also a fierce picker!

I played in a band with a guy who played the same, but never sounded right. His left hand was good but rhythmically he was weak.

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I am a lefty who plays righty but often wonder if I should be the other way as I only just about cope the current way. I don’t play upright but when I have picked one up I have always put it into a left hand positition and cannot play righty on it.

With four years behind me and (only) four bass guitars I am too old to try left now.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm left handed but play the bass as a right hander.  I've mentioned it in other posts but it goes back to when I tried to learn to play the classical guitar and my teacher advised to learn right handed.  As I had never played a guitar before I had nothing to "un-learn" and playing right handed does not feel awkward.  I'm no master of the instrument but that is more down to lack of practice rather than my left handedness.  I find it very odd to even hold a guitar in a left handed position now.

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I’m a lefty. I play righty.

Back when I was a nipper I tried both lefty and righty. 

Lefty felt abhorrent and utterly bewildering - righty felt reasonably confusing but much more natural! 

Learned righty - there’s no way I’d have the coordination to play lefty. 

We are all weird and somewhat unique individuals.

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Some people can do both (I mean play lefty normally but play a right handed guitar fluently rotated.)

The best thing is to go with what you're comfortable with - the most popular basses are available lefty and the fact you'll have less choice will mean you don't buy loads of basses completely unnecessarily - something no one on this forum would ever dream of doing ...... 😂😂😂

You could also have one custom built to your spec should you get the urge to buy more. 

Edited by drTStingray
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23 hours ago, drTStingray said:

Some people can do both (I mean play lefty normally but play a right handed guitar fluently rotated.)

The best thing is to go with what you're comfortable with - the most popular basses are available lefty and the fact you'll have less choice will mean you don't buy loads of basses completely unnecessarily - something no one on this forum would ever dream of doing ...... 😂😂😂

You could also have one custom built to your spec should you get the urge to buy more. 

You convinced me to try playing with my right hand 👍

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Lefty playing righty! For me it is simple, naturally if I use 1 hand I am a lefty (ping pong, forehand tennis, throwing a ball) but if I use 2 (double handed backhand, cricket, BASS) right feels natural...... odd but true. Couldn’t hit a string lefty.

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On 13/06/2018 at 06:56, BreadBin said:

I know of at least 2 left handers that learned to play right handed, but wish they hadn't. 

But you also probably know many more who are leftie and play rightie but never ever mention it... coz it’s not a problem for them.

There’s no hard and fast rule. I’m in this camp. Completely left handed for everything except using a knife and fork, blowing my nose and playing bass. Never regretted it - and I wouldn’t have my no 1 and no 2 basses if I had given the relative rarity of leftie second hand Wals.

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