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The guitar is one of the most
popular instruments in the world. It plays a large part in modern
popular music, and it has for decades. It also is popular for almost
every style of music, from jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass, country, to
rock, funk, metal, and rhythm and blues. However, even with the growth
in popularity of the instrument and the success of large chain stores
selling them, it's still challenging to find a good left handed guitar.
Left Handed Guitars
An easy explanation for the rarity of left handed guitars is that less
than ten percent of all people are left handed. However, this doesn't
tell the whole story. Even among left handed people who play guitar, not
all actually play a left handed instrument. Many left handed guitarists
just learn to play on right handed instruments, either because they
don't feel the need to play a left handed guitar or because they found
it much easier to find an instrument they liked in a right handed
version. Even Jimi Hendrix, the guitar legend and most recognizable left
handed player perhaps in history, played a right handed Fender
Stratocaster flipped over and restrung. These factors lead to limited
production of left handed guitars. Many lefties find that they can find
cheap beginner's instruments or expensive high end instruments, but
rarely anything in between.
Another complication of being a left handed guitarist is that
instructional materials are geared toward right handed players. Chords
and scales are drawn on right handed fretboards. Books and videos
describe picking the strings as "right hand technique" and fretting the
notes as "left hand technique," all while holding a right handed guitar.
This can be very confusing for the beginning guitarist. The most common
way to get around chord charts and diagrams being written in right
handed notation is to imagine looking in the mirror. Some guitarists
even play in front of a mirror to help them get accustomed to the
visual. It's a challenge that right handed players don't have to deal
with.
Fortunately, today there are places a guitarist can find a left
handed guitar without sacrificing what they want in an
instrument. There are specialty stores (like this one) that cater
specifically to the lefty guitarist. Online guitar shops have arisen in
recent years both domestically and overseas which offer a left handed
guitar selection similar to their right handed selection. Some even
carry vintage instruments from decades past. There are even left handed
instructional books and videos that avoid the confusion that comes with
a lot of right handed centric instructional materials. Some lefties,
however, believe these to be counterproductive in the long run. They
believe that since guitarists who want to eventually play in a band will
most likely have to deal with right handed musicians and the same issues
anyway, they should learn how to deal with them in the beginning. Still,
not everyone learns the same way, so it's good to have options.
In spite of the limitations, things are better than ever for left handed
guitar players. The selection is limited, but it's much bigger than in
years past. There are businesses that care enough about the left handed
player to cater to their needs. We are one of them. Hopefully you can
show your appreciation by doing business with us whenever possible.
Why are guitars such objects of attraction for so
many people?
Like other noteworthy musical instruments, the guitar’s impact has a
long history. The guitar started out with a rather dubious reputation in
the established mainstream. Medieval Europeans associated stringed
instruments with evil spirits. In the U.S. during the 1940’s and 50’s
most conventional press outlets commented critically of the rock and
rollers, and ridiculed playing the guitar as any kind of a talent,
proposing that it was a gadget that anyone could play. An atmosphere of
danger and excitement became associated with the guitar and a sensation
of exhilaration or dread was added with the use of the electric guitar
and amplifier, which provided a very remarkable and thunderous sound. In
the 1960's the guitar became one of the representative symbols of the
era of rebellion, propelling it into the mainstream of American music.
If you are at this website you probably love music and song. More
specifically guitar music and well how could one not. Guitars are cool.
They make great hobby and conversation pieces in many situations. Left
handed guitars were not always available. In the past many for the great
southpaws would either learn to learn to play right handed or play the
guitar upside down. It is only recently (relatively speaking) that
guitars for lefties were made available to the general public. Of course
these days there are tons of different left handed guitars to choose
from and you will find most them here on this site. A left handed player
always seems to catch the eye when they are in the band. Just kinda
jumps out at you and goes hand in hand with the whole bad boy or girl
image. But truth is most guitar enthusiasts are normal everyday folks
that just like music.
