Jamesk86 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Thats right, I have decided after 7 years playing left handed I am going to force myself to play right handed! Mainly becasue I am sick of hunting for decent left handed basses and not finding anything!! This if going to be a long and painful transition! hahahaha oh dear lord!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) From a technique point of view, that'll be like starting from scratch. I hope your frustration tolerance is up for it BTW.... I have often wondered about the whole lefty thing. Both your left and right hands are doing complex activities so why is any easier to play a left hand bass if you are left handed? Edited March 18, 2009 by thepurpleblob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='Jamesk86' post='438131' date='Mar 18 2009, 11:24 AM'][u][b]I'M A LEFTY AND PROUD![/b][/u][/quote] Eh? Good choice ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenofthedepths Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='thepurpleblob' post='438132' date='Mar 18 2009, 11:25 AM']From a technique point of view, that'll be like starting from scratch. I hope your frustration tolerance is up for it BTW.... I have often wondered about the whole lefty thing. Both your left and right hands are doing complex activities so why is any easier to play a left hand bass if you are left handed?[/quote] It's because the dominant hand is stronger and plucking requires more controlled strength than fretting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisba Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I tried switching from left hand to right for playing golf, as cheap LH clubs were hard to come by. Gave up trying pretty quick though. Play bass and write right handed though. I took up golf leftwards because I always played Cricket that way round. Don't know why, but there is a photo of me doing it aged about 4. Quite common really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 You're looking at not only establishing a different regime of muscle memory but also facing the prospect of rewiring your brain. I'm a lefty-plays-righty and I've tried to play left handed and it feels worse than starting from scratch. Its like you have to get comfortable with your muscles before even beginning to learn, inspite of my left handed dominance. Playing bass is the only thing I do right handed. HOWEVER. The best session drummers can play ambidextrously, so there's no reason why not if you immerse yourself completely in the task for maybe 6 months to a year perhaps? In an ideal world I'd play fretless right handed and slap left handed so my left hand is doing the most important things in both cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 It is not impossible. I play lefty properly, mirror imaged. I can play upside down lefty generally, and I can play righty a bit but not as much. It is just how I started, I tried both for a while in the 70s, then did lefty upside down for a couple of years, and switched to proper lefty when I wanted to learn to thumb slap the bass. Years later, Jimmy Haslip proved that you could slap an upside down lefty bass. Many a Macca character in a Beatles tribute band - the serious ones anyway - have not only learnt to play lefty, but to play and sing lefty from RH. Nothing's impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARGH Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Save time,save effort,save your sanity.... Save money and buy custom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Are you really doing this because you can't find enough decent lefty basses to buy? Sure lefties are harder to find but I think it just makes you more picky when you do find something. If its that much of a problem then start saving those pennies and get a custom bass. They aren't that much more than topend factory builds and you'll definitely keep it a lifetime. Or is it the fact that you keep smashing headstocks on stage with your righty guitarist!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='ARGH' post='438183' date='Mar 18 2009, 12:22 PM']Save time,save effort,save your sanity.... Save money and buy custom![/quote] Totally, Imagine how many hours you are about to sink into getting back to square 1 (where you are now)... Now, imagine investing that time into improving your existing technique? G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I'd have thought that it wouldn't be that hard, as when playing simple piano lines either hand can be melodic while the other stays fixed. it'll probably take a long time to master though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesk86 Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 haha such a mixed response!! I just think it will be fun to start from scratch again to be honest! at least this time round I will have the theory nad know how already behind me!! I've just got to re work the paws!! There have been too many times when i've walked into a guitar shop and only been shown left handed fender jazz basses, Ibanez GSR-200L's and extreme rare bass's like Wals or customer shop Warwicks! I have no idea why I started to play left handed I guess becasue I write with my left hand I assumed it was the correct thing to do!! I'm going ot pick up a Fender jazz to start on next week and take it from there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywalker Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I play golf and cricket (batting) left handed, eat and write right handed, play drums left handed, bowl (cricket) right handed, play bass right handed, and kick with both feet but slightly predominantley left footed, and when firing a steam loco I can fire from the right side of the cab cos I shovel coal left handed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Depends what kind of playing you do. I've always maintained that if you are playing reasonably busy melodic basslines you really want your dominant (and thus usually more dextrous) hand doing the fretting part rather than the plucking part, hence it's not surprising that a lot of lefties (like me) play right handed. I doubt I could play anything on a leftie bass. I guess if you are a serious slapper or doing complex plucking stuff then it might be better doing that with the left hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I think you select your lefty/rightyness at a sublimal level. Like many here I play cricket/gold righty. I hold my knife and fork righty. Yet I never considered playing bass righty. I've thought about this before and i attribute it back to those prepubescent days of playing air-guitar in my bedroom. I played air-guitar lefty - no rhyme nor reason for it. I was a lefty air-guitarist and it stuck from there. To really make the point, my first bass was righty (borrowed from the bands old bassist who wanted to play lead guitar) and he taught me the basics righthanded. Yet I still flipped it over and played 'the wrong way'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I don't think it'll be as hard as everyone thinks - I've messed around on left handed basses now and again and although weird its not as bad as starting from scratch. I personally believe that left handed guitars and basses should not exist - how many left handed violins, pianos, saxophones etc are out there? Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) Its truly not that important which way you play. My son is a lefty, writes lefty, does everything lefty, except music. He played violin righty, he plays DB righty, and he plays EB righty. I have a guitarist friend who is righty but can play with equal ability righty or lefty or upside down righty (as a lefty). He just got really into the whole idea of being able to play ambidextrously to see how far he could take it. Its pretty neat, I've seen him play half a solo righty, spin the guitar over and play the other half lefty (upside down righty); he used to be seamless at that and as fine a piece of showboating as I have ever seen it was too! He reckoned it took him 6t months to get comfy and a year to get the musculature all the way there. Dont know if he still does this though... Edited March 18, 2009 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William James Easton Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='438318' date='Mar 18 2009, 02:59 PM']how many left handed violins, pianos, saxophones etc are out there? Alex[/quote] 4? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Good luck with this. Sounds like a whole lot a hassle for not a lot of point though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golchen Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I always thought that the human race had it the wrong way around??? Right handed musicians have their left hand doing all the hard work fretting etc???? Where's the logic in that? The guys name escapes me, but there's a famous acoustic player who lost the ability to play right handed, but he re-taught himself to play all his material lefty instead! Amazing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I wouldn't recommend it to be honest. I tried to convert after a year and a half and quickly got fed up as i lost all drive to play. Whilst its difficult to find lefty basses, it does stop you from spending a lot of money! Saying that, dibs on the thumb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 why not just play a righty upside down like hendrix did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='LWTAIT' post='438510' date='Mar 18 2009, 05:51 PM']why not just play a righty upside down like hendrix did?[/quote] Hendrix didn't have a damn great long neck attempting to nosedive - that upper horn is really rather useful. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='438603' date='Mar 18 2009, 08:01 PM']Hendrix didn't have a damn great long neck attempting to nosedive - that upper horn is really rather useful. Alex[/quote] You could play a righty reverse Gibson Thunderbird lefty and then you'd have an upper horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenofthedepths Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='438617' date='Mar 18 2009, 08:09 PM']You could play a righty reverse Gibson Thunderbird lefty and then you'd have an upper horn.[/quote] What's the neck dive like on an upside down Thunderbird?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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