Helping a lefty

Gato

Blues Newbie
I've been reviewing the promotional material for BBG, in the hope that it will work for a friend who is determined to play left handed; he has a left handed instrument but can't seem to find a live teacher who will work with a left handed student. Everything looked good up until I saw the Chord Diagrams lesson. :unsure: I think I probably could coach him through that, but I live 600 miles away.

It occurred to me that as a right handed player, I see chord diagrams and tab as though I'm looking at the fretboard. If I can convince him to look at the diagrams as though he is looking at the the back of the fretboard (kind of through the back of the neck) maybe that would work.

I think I can get him to work with right handed tab, but chord diagrams are a real concern. Short of having him hand write "flipped" chord diagrams, are there any other really great techniques to help a lefty? Anything from any of Griff's courses? Anything from another online resource? I used to teach guitar about 55 years ago, but never hand a left handed student... <laugh>

Thanks,
Dan
 

Zzzen Dog

Blues Junior
Ugh... as a leftie myself, I opted for learning right handed many years ago. Don't even think I could figure out how to play a left-handed guitar at this point.

However, as long as he can read tabliture and understand that he's got to convert what's happening from left to right, to right to left... he'll get it eventually. He's also going to have to flip all chord diagrams mentally.

My guess is that within a month or two he should be okay.
 

PapaBear

Guit Fiddlier
My youngest son is a lefty and I encouraged him to learn righty, which he did, two of my kids him and my daughter are left handed, but do music and sports right handed, lefties seem to be more easily ambidextrous than us righties, or at least my kids are.
 

IanBabey

Blues Newbie
As a lefty (I did try learning right handed years ago and it just wasn't meant to be!) I agree with Zzen Dog above, keep working at the tab and it will eventually come to him. It's just rote for me now and I don't give it a second thought. In terms of live instruction or video, from my perspective it's like "looking in a mirror", and I actually find this easier to grasp when I look at it that way.
 

Gato

Blues Newbie
Thanks to all of you. I know that learning to play right handed is the most common solution, but this guy can be, umm.. single-minded (yeah, that's it) and is determined to play left handed. Last week I had the chance to go through some of the BBG downloads with him. He's cool with tab and seems to understand how to work with the chord diagrams, so we'll see where it goes. Sent him home to subscribe to the BBG newsletter and start practicing 20 minutes a day. <laugh>
 

david moon

Attempting the Blues
This has always intrigued me- to play guitar you need to develop dexterity in both hands. Arguably, playing "right handed" puts more demands on the left hand for chords and solos.

I am somewhat ambidextrous, I write with my left hand and play guitar, throw, kick, bat right handed. Using tools, I will sometimes switch hands.
 

Gato

Blues Newbie
Understood. My friend writes right, shoots handguns left, etc, etc. And insists that he has to play guitar left handed. :) Every once in a while I'll try to play one of his guitars and I'm reminded of how much I struggled to play a clean chord right-handed, 59 years ago. <laugh> When things get slow around here, I'm sometimes tempted to try to teach myself to play left-handed, just for the brain exercise. o_O
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
I'm sometimes tempted to try to teach myself to play left-handed, just for the brain exercise.
I have often been tempted to teach myself to play golf left handed. Then I could carry a left handed iron and use it to get out of those tricky lies where you have no back swing playing righthanded. Then I think a little more and if I used that time to work on my righthanded swing maybe I wouldn't get in those tight pots in the first place:rolleyes:

cheers

Al.
 

Silicon Valley Tom

It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
I have often been tempted to teach myself to play golf left handed. Then I could carry a left handed iron and use it to get out of those tricky lies where you have no back swing playing righthanded. Then I think a little more and if I used that time to work on my righthanded swing maybe I wouldn't get in those tight pots in the first place:rolleyes:

cheers

Al.
I have a good friend, who is also a musician (classical piano) and loves golf! He plays often, with a group of friends. When I retired I suggested that I would take up golf, and he advised against it. He convinced me when he said: "Golf is a four letter word"! o_O

Tom
 

jmin

Student Of The Blues
I have often been tempted to teach myself to play golf left handed. Then I could carry a left handed iron and use it to get out of those tricky lies where you have no back swing playing righthanded. Then I think a little more and if I used that time to work on my righthanded swing maybe I wouldn't get in those tight pots in the first place:rolleyes:

cheers
Al.

I'm learning golf (along with guitar) as another frustrating retirement hobby. For those tricky lies, my friend showed me how to use my "foot club" to get the ball just where I want it (saves a lot of practice time!) :whistle:
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
I once read a comment from someone refering to the Maradonna "hand of god" incident. He said playing golf with his brother wasn't so much hand of god but toe of git:eek:

I guess his brother carried a foot wedge:rolleyes:

cheers

Al.
 
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