I have always been a RH guitar player.

After sustaining and injury to my left hand with some temporary nerve trauma to ring and pinkie, I was faced with weeks of no guitar playing....

Instead I flipped one of my souped-up Squier Bullets and have started playing LH. The feel of a Strat upside down is quite awkward and not one I care to continue for long. (yea I know about Hendrix and all of that)

However, learning again has been great fun and I plan to continue.

I have been scouting out a LH strat in all the local shops. Let me tell you its a different world for lefty guitarists. Try finding a LH strat. Even the biggest shop my only have 2 or 3. People kind of look at you funny and will walk up and ask you if you play left handed.

Any way its been an education.

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I remember when we were free!

This subject has been spoken of many times but I am always very interested. I am a natural lefty but was discouraged as a kid, about playing guitar as a lefty. Consequently I learned the opposite of what I probably should have. Maybe that would explain away some of my apparent clumsiness. I think you have inspired me to give it a try with my little acoustic,it's the easiest to handle.
----Danny,

Danny,

I have come to the conclusion that the whole guitar world is backwards. Being right handed, my right hand is much more fluid and capable than my left hand. I think I will eventually become a much better "left handed player" than right handed. The job of fretting is, to me harder, than picking. I think my RH will excell in fretting.

However, it's same old untalented brain and ears so it may be a wash.

Right handed people should fret with the RH and pick with the LH, in my humble opinion, (I have no intention to start a "tone wood" type war about this here on the forum.)

Any way its been fun so far. I am thinking about buying a LH Squier to start with. I just don't like the feel of an upside down strat.
What makes it easier is I already know the chord forms and some scales, and a bit older this go around so I have more patience.

Give it a go, its a lot of fun.

OL

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I remember when we were free!

An update. My left hand is getting better, the nerves are starting to heal. I can play (fret) some but feel it painfully later in the day or next morning.

I decided that my adventure in learning to play "left handed" would not end when my hand healed. It's been so much fun starting over again, so Saturday I bought a new Left Hand MIM Standard. Black and maple. Its a 2011 model, and I like it so much more than my 2007 RH MIM Standard. The neck finish is superior and the finish and feel are just like me MIA's. I like the gloss finish head and fretboard, over the pale washed out satin finish of my 2007. Nice job Fender!

The adventure continues

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I remember when we were free!

Hi Oneal,Ernie Isley taught himself to play left handed too even though he was quite good at playing right and now he is equally comfortable playing either way.I'm glad to hear that your hand is on the mend.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

hahahaha you will finally understand the suffering that us lefties go through

bugger about having to change sides though. and you know how hard it is to find a decent leftie guitar

I'm naturally LH as well. I kind of want to learn, but I've tried holding a guitar LH and it strains my arm for some reason. Also, my right fingers are much clumsier than my left ones. I can't even drum on a desk with them because they mess up the beat.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Thanks Guits,
I think that is my goal with this. It has been so much fun so far, and my new LH Mexican Strat is so sweet. The maple neck is some-what reminiscent of what people call "birds-eye maple" with all kinds of neat little brown swirls and golden eyes in the wood. The prettiest neck I own! all on a stock MIM standard, right off the shelf!

Hope your pain specialist has done right for you!



Buxon,

I think you can overcome this given time.

My left fingers are clumsier than my right, this is natrual for a right handed person, yet I learned to play RH and my left hand, previous to my injury can run up and down the neck pretty well.

I take it your guitars are RH.

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I remember when we were free!