Learning guitar

[Sythe]

Ok i know i should have asked this earlier on but I'm left handed. I've been told just to learn how to play the right handed way. Any counter arguments?

[Cadsuane]

Ok i know i should have asked this earlier on but I'm left handed. I've been told just to learn how to play the right handed way. Any counter arguments?

Some people say there are advantages to learning with your dominant hand on the fret board, especially if you're a lead player. Other people point out that left handed instruments are rare and also more expensive than an equivalent right handed instrument. I can't really think of a counter argument since one way or another your hands will do whatever you teach them given enough time.

[Daydreamer]

I'm left handed and play my guitars right handed. I am still terrible at it, but I will say it's entirely because I have no sense of rhythm, and not finger placement or anything. My hand transitions for finger picking are just fine I just fine I suck at keeping a beat on chords.

Sometimes I think if I had started out lefty then my strumming would be better however my counterargument to myself is that I don't think my right hand would be as good at fretting. Heck honestly it seems like it'd make more sense to have your dominant hand on the fret board and not picking/strumming since that's where the most movement is.

[Zalius]

yo. a teacher would be great. if you can get one do it, but if you cant, no sweat. yt will be your friend. first things first, get your fingers calibrated. this means doing repetitive exercises in rotations, but you can make em fun.

the first 6 months is based on how much time you put on the fretboard. at first your fingers wont be able to take playing for too long, especially if you're holding chords. past that point, everything else you will be doing will be for stamina, accuracy, clarity, tonality, and timing(includes speed).

the other half is learning basic theory. if you already know it, great, but if not, start with the chromatic scale. it's the alphabet for musical notes for most of the genres you most likely listen to. after that, most of what you will use will include the major & minor pentatonic scale, and the 7 modes of the major scale.

here are some tools that will make your life much easier:
http://justinguitar.com/
http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/
http://www.webmetronome.com/


real talk, takes patience to learn. the majority of what you'll be doing, no matter what, will be practicing. the more you play and further you progress, the more youll be able to enjoy practice, but there are always the same things to work on (positioning, efficiency, timing).

creating music that you identify with is an awesome experience. good luck.

[Sythe]

hey thanks for the justinguitar. I'm using it now and this seems to be really what i was looking for. My wrist and fingers hurt like hell now tho >_<

[Pikarya]

Lots of agility training, hand stretching, also callusing the finger tips will help (you should get this naturally by playing daily.)

Check your local music store, they usually have these (other brands I'm sure).

http://i52.tinypic.com/qz4qd5.jpg

Good luck, and dont stress if you don't build speed quickly. It takes time, but once you get it. You'll have a holy shit moment and feel good.

[snowtoday]

Lots of agility training, hand stretching, also callusing the finger tips will help (you should get this naturally by playing daily.)

Check your local music store, they usually have these (other brands I'm sure).

Good luck, and dont stress if you don't build speed quickly. It takes time, but once you get it. You'll have a holy shit moment and feel good.

yup, just take it easy u'll make it soon.

[Soupbowl]

Learn scales, learn to read music and learn music theory. I have never taken a single lesson and I did all of those things. You can be the guy that can read tab and play power chords or be the guy the knows wtf he is doing and why it works.

[Zalius]

hey thanks for the justinguitar. I'm using it now and this seems to be really what i was looking for. My wrist and fingers hurt like hell now tho >_<

oh, bout that. learn to love it. pain is a big guide for practice and a great way to know when you're learning and active vs. when you're fiddling. there's like a threshold where it feels good and bad at the same time, like stretching almost, its a different feeling, hard to explain.

on the finger grip thing, 2nded. have one, love it. it will shave a LOT of time off of your learning curve if you're using it right. finger endurance has a profooooooooooounnnnnnnnnnd effect on how fast you can learn. if you can handle 10 mins a day, in a month you'll have 300 minutes. If you can get that up to 15, which isn't that big of a stretch, you get an extra 150 mins in the same amount of time. this is a huge deal man. it also makes your hands buff like hulk.

gets pretty tough some days.

[Rabidelly]

Just wanted to also say thanks for the guitar links, Zalius ^^ I really haven't seen anything that comprehensive and free in my searches.

As far as the finger stretch-thingy, is that helpful with wrist/supporting muscles too? That, I think, is what my big problem right now is. After a few days I get a pretty sharp pain that builds up and spreads from the base of my palm under my thumb to about halfway down my forearm. I stop when that happens and wait for the pain to go away before I practice again. However, I haven't had any real bothersome pain in my fingertips....lucky I'm diabetic and have to test on them all day I guess XD

[Tagus]

Ok i know i should have asked this earlier on but I'm left handed. I've been told just to learn how to play the right handed way. Any counter arguments?

Sorry for the late reply, but I would argue against it. I'm also left-handed and was convinced to learn to play the guitar right-handed for a variety of reasons, and always regretted my choice to switch. It never felt natural. Sure, it's much harder to find a decent left-handed guitar, and most instructional videos and/or instructors are right-handed which will require you to conceptually reverse everything that you see and essentially make the learning process harder by necessity, but it just never felt quite right playing right-handed to me. Even years later I still catch myself playing along with songs in my mind (granted, this is dumb and I feel dumb for admitting I do this unconsciously, but once music gets in your head it's tough to not do that shit), and I'll stop and actually notice that I'm doing it, but doing it left-handed after years of playing right-handed. It was almost like, I feel like I never reached my full potential as a player because I was trying to play an instrument that always felt everything should be opposite. It's tough to describe. I'd DEFINITELY suggest that if you have played any guitar at all, to keep going with the method that you started with. Don't switch after you learned some shit, cause you'll be fucked and never truly unlearn it.

Plus... left handed guitar players are the fucking balls. Just sayin'.

[Sythe]

God damn you Tagus your making me re-think this...

[Tagus]

It's a tough decision. Playing right-handed is definitely the well-traveled road, and there's no reason you couldn't do it quite well. Learning guitar is more about practice and repetition than divine inspiration... and sometimes, like in Hendrix's case, having a big fucking thumb that could cover the neck of the guitar. But... if I had it to do over again, I'd choose the left, no question. It also might have something to do with the fact that I was a piano player first & foremost, and the piano is set up in a way where the right hand controls the melodies in the same way a left handed guitar would put the right hand on the fretboard, so who knows. Maybe I was just screwed from the beginning. Good luck in whatever you decide! It's alot of fun to play, that's for sure.

[Daydreamer]

You could just play left handed on a right handed guitar like this guy - http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1945262