Johnny Hiland Band

Nearly 90% of the world’s population is right handed. This means that they use right hand for practically everything. But, what about the left handed people? In the music industry, there are a few people play guitar left hand. Jimi Hendrix, for instance, was left handed. Is this really all that surprising? Other left handed artists switch the strings for their own benefit.

How do lefties learn how to play a custom made, right handed guitar?
Just as long as aren’t quitting, and are among the left handed people who try really hard to play your own way, you can benefit from reading this. There are a couple of things you can actually do: firstly, you can switch the strings, or you can choose to play the guitar upside down. Sounds outrageous, doesn’t it? It’s still a fact and very much effective.

Some articles state it’s way difficult to learn left handed guitar with it upside down, while others believe that nothing is impossible as long as you put your heart into it. The idea of rotating a guitar and playing it backwards can be both accepted and used.
Using basic chords, a left hand player can place his or her fingers on the same set of strings, only it has to be turned around but with the same, basic strings. Regardless of how accustomed people are to playing right handed, some left handed guitarists have introduced new methods.

To start with, you must equip yourself with a good guitar guide or instruction manual. Taking left handed guitar lessons with an upside down guitar does not necessarily mean changing the way fingering should be done. The placement of your fingers will still remain the same, with the only difference relying on the finger you use on the fret.

Typically, when playing a right handed guitar with a right hand, the C would represent the 4th finger must be positioned at the 3rd fret dipping on the 5th string. Then, your 3rd finger must lie on the 2nd fret pressing on the 4th string. Last, your index finger should be on the 1st fret down on the 2nd string.

With learning how to play guitar left hand, the playing should be done in an inverted way. Note that your last string will be on top and the fret would still remain the same. Things can be difficult if you’ve no guitar to practice playing with. Be sure to follow what the diagram shows, and that you don’t make the mistake of strumming the “forbidden” strings in each chord.

This kind of technique is challenging, indeed. So, begin with those chords that only require 2 or 3 of your fingers for right now. Basic chords, such as C, A, G, E, & D, are examples. Once you get the hang of these, try working on harder ones. If you find that you have a hard time coping with this technique to play guitar left hand, you may have to settle with more conventional ways of playing. That is, actually playing right handed even though you are left handed.

Copyright Liam Gibson (Stage Guitarist)