A question for lefties (or guitar teachers)

[teh]

Here's a question for left handed players. Have any of you learned to play using a right handed guitar and if so, what were the challenges and were you successful?

My nine year old granddaughter has expressed an interest in learning to play the guitar. She is ambidextrous but writes with her left hand. Before I go looking for a left handed guitar, I want her to try learning on a right handed guitar. My theory is that since it takes two hands to play a guitar, learning to play a right handed model will give her more options now and in the future. If that doesn't work, I'll find her a left handed guitar or hold a seance to summon Elizabeth Cotten or Jimmy Hendrix.

I'm basically self taught on guitar and dulcimer but I did have a year of piano lessons when I was about her age. I currently keep a short scale, right handed Little Martin at her house to play when I'm visiting. This guitar is set up for light gauge strings and is easy to play. I'm here for two weeks and we're focusing on a couple of basics first: Tuning, timing and building up callouses on her fingers. If she masters these three concepts first, (playing in tune, playing in time and playing pain free), it will go a long way toward holding her interest in playing. Before I leave, I'll share some online videos and basic chords for her to use til I come back in March. Thanks.

[William2]

It would be great if your granddaughter could learn to play right-handed. And both hands have to do something. I tried right-handed but. I could always finger and chord the fretboard more easily using my right hand. My right hand just felt naturally stronger. The dealer we got my first guitar (Epiphone classical) flipped the nut and the rest is history LOL. I'm left-handed but I do certain things with my right hand. You do have more options in buying playing right-handed but I'm thing hand-made instruments. But for steel string guitars, the big three and Larrivee make their offering in lefty configurations. If you are part of a duo guitar ensemble, you can sit so you can be looking at your partner while playing. I've also read that lefties have a higher intellect LOL.

[jasonchamb]

I originally played right handed in my teens and twenties. Rhythm and intricate fingerpicking were difficult for me to do cleanly and in time. Fretting with my left was not so bad. I finally made the switch to lefty within the last year after more than a decade of really not playing at all. I'm finding it much easier to get a good tone, and to manage the picking than prior. Granted, I have the benefits of age and experience now that I didn't have then. I think a lot depends on how ambidextrous one is. For some it will be easy, for some, very difficult.

I'm only ever slightly annoyed by the lesser guitar options available to me. A few other color options or models would be nice, but unless you feel like you need the exact guitar your hero plays, it doesn't matter too much to me.

[B0WIE]

 As we have several lefties here, take their advice above mine. But, as an ambidextrous person, I strongly recommend having her learn right-handed. Yes, it gives her more options as far as guitars go, and that is even more meaningful when you consider that she might want to hang out with other musicians or migrate to other instruments. But, the much more important reason is that we are in an age when people are learning with tablature, and they do a lot of guitar learning on YouTube as well. I've found that some lefties (like my wife) tend to have a harder time when watching someone who is playing right handed. And, the tabs thing is self-explanatory.

 I tend to favor my left when I learn new things. When I first wanted to play guitar I naturally wanted to strum with my left. And, when I was boxing, I was naturally southpaw. But, I'm glad I was forced to go orthodox for both as it eventually made learning much easier. Especially guitar because I grew up in the era when tabs started becoming popular and traditional notation was going away.

[teh]

Thanks for the advice about teaching a new left hander since this is new territory for me. Even though she writes left handed, I'm going to take a shot at teaching her to play right handed first. If that doesn't work, we'll switch over to left handed.

I have another granddaughter (right handed) who is 14 and plays the flute and oboe in band. Last year she started to play electric bass but has not yet gravitated over to guitar yet.