Are you a musician who wants to learn how to play guitar left handed? If so, you’re in luck. This article will teach you how to play guitar left-handed with ease, regardless of your skill level. So whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, keep reading for some valuable tips.
Left vs Right Hand: What’s The Difference?
While playing the guitar, the left and right hands play quite distinct roles; thus, it is important to pick the proper instrument for your style of playing. It is customary in guitar playing for your hands to be designated as the fretting hand as well as the picking hand. Typically, your dominant hand will be the one you use for picking (so the left hand for a left-handed person).
You’ll need the fretting hand to operate the guitar fretboard. This involves things like finger chords and specific notes, as well as things like executing slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs, among other things.
Meanwhile, the picking hand is used to pick and play the chords with either a guitar pick or just with one’s fingertips. In addition to strumming chords and palm muting, the picking hand has more responsibilities.
If you are a left-handed guitarist and are trying to figure out how to play, there are three options available for you. You must make this decision as soon as you start learning how to play since it might be difficult to convert to a new technique of playing and retrain your playing style once you have learned the basics.
Your options include:
- Using a right-handed guitar like right-handed musicians
- Using a right-handed guitar and turning it the other way
- Buying a left-handed guitar
How To Play Guitar Left Handed?
When you initially begin learning to play left-handed guitar, playing with a left-handed guitar can make it easier for you to understand chords and develop quickness and flexibility with your fretboard technique as you progress through the learning process.
Right-handed musicians use their left hand to finger notes on the fretboard. Left-handed people would naturally thrive if they just trained themselves to use a right-handed guitar. Nevertheless, as you progress and gain more experience as a guitarist, you’ll notice that your picking hand becomes increasingly dominating in your performance.
In contrast to your non-dominant hand on the fretboard, the dominant hand is just where style comes into play. Therefore, your picking hand is what adds more depth to the guitar playing than your non-dominant hand on the fretboard.
A left-handed guitar is just no different than a right-handed guitar when it comes to handling it. The head of your guitar will be held in your right hand, and you will strum your guitar with your left hand in this case.
Beyond this basic modification, the same fundamental principles are applicable to left-handed guitarists similarly they do to their right-handed counterparts.
Here are a few tips you can use while playing the guitar using your left hand.
Take It Easy!
Relax your muscles, shoulders, arms, and fingers by closing your eyes. To play properly, it’s important to keep your joints open and supple while maintaining an appropriate posture throughout the game.
Keep Your Guitar’s Neck In Your Hands
Your right hand should be able to maintain a comfortable — and not too hard — hold on the neck of your instrument. This will allow for the frets to be more easily accessible with your left hand as you move up and down the guitar neck.
Place Your Index And Middle Fingers Exactly Behind The Fretboard
Learning how to play guitar left-handed requires you to use your right hand to finger notes on the fretboard as you progress through the lessons. It is best to place your finger just beneath the fret in order to get the purest tone.
When Strumming, Keep Your Left Hand Relaxed
If you hold your guitar flat against your body, the right hand may rest on the pickguard while you are strumming or pressing the strings when playing musical notes or arpeggios, depending on how you hold your guitar.
If you’re used to playing left-handed guitar, a lot of material will come naturally to you. The more you practice and play, the more natural it will become for you to maintain good posture and use proper fretting and strumming methods.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to play guitar left-handed can be daunting, but it’s not impossible. The most important thing is to find a method that suits you best and go for it! Be patient with yourself and don’t give up. Remember: practice makes perfect!
