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 ARCHIVED TOPIC: Left Handed Instruction Resources


Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.mandohangout.com/archive/41079

rvjimzhr - Posted - 03/31/2015:  10:27:33

HELP!  A girlfriend just bought a mandolin and we're having difficulty finding instruction books, videos, etc for left-handed players.  All we find is simple basic left handed chord charts.  Anyone know where to find what we are looking for?



Thanks!   Jim

Glennly - Posted - 03/31/2015:  14:10:06

Hi.  I am a lefty.  I am unaware of any specific instructional materials for lefties; however,I don't think lefty-oriented materials are all that important.  After all, the instrument is the same -- it's just a mirror image, which I think makes it easier, actually, when watching videos of righty players.  Sheet music and tablature don't change.  The only thing that you really have to do is get used to the fact that, when the books refer to the right hand, what they really mean is the left, and vice versa.



I'd even stick with righty chord charts, as you just learn to get used to which are the top and bottom strings.  If you rely on reading lefty charts, then, if you are in a place where you only have access to righty charts, you'll be sure to be confused.



 



Just my two cents..  

Texasbanjo - Posted - 04/01/2015:  07:03:40

Unless it's a left handed mandolin (like left handed banjos), just learn to play right handed.  Both hands have to do something and the left hand is actually doing more than the right hand.  The left hand is fretting, doing slides, fingering scales, etc.



I'm a lefty and I play banjo, mandolin and guitar right handed.  If you're learning something new, it really shouldn't matter because both hands and your brain have to get used to something different. 

Glennly - Posted - 04/01/2015:  10:59:53

Based on my own experience, I respectfully disagree with Texasbanjo.  When I first started guitar,I started playing righty.  When my teacher found out I was left-handed, he insisted I switch, and it made a world of difference.  Although one might intuitively feel that the fretting hand is required to do more complex stuff, I find that the dominant hand (in our case, the left) is better suited to picking.



 



The big downside to playing lefty is that you can't just pick up someone else's instrument and play.  I'll never get to feels what a Lloyd Loar F-5 plays like.

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