6yo beginner guitarist - left or right handed?????

morelia

morelia

Inspired
My son is 6 and I am struggling to know what guitar to get for him. He is absolutely left handed. In everything he does. I spoke to a retail shop owner who said just buy right handed. He will learn it and be better off for it because of the easier access to guitars.

In the back of my mind I can't help thinking I am stifling his potential. I bought him a right handed guitar and I give him lessons. It looks awkward but I guess it should as he is just starting. Or is it more so than it should be? I don't know.

I don't want to do the wrong thing. I would love him to play guitar and he shows a lot of interest but I want it to be a completely natural experience for him. Please help.
 
First, we don't know if he will care about playing guitar later on, so the access to more guitars is not important.

What the most important is, that he will enjoy playing guitar right at the beginning!

Why not ask the little gentleman which one feels better, when he is holding it?
 
Bring him to a guitar store and try both out, he may be inexperienced but he should still be able to let you know which is more comfy for him. Furthermore I think we're at a point in time where lefty guitars are just as accessible as righty instruments so even if he ends up playing lefty its not gonna be a huge detriment to him
 
Is he a true southpaw? I'm a hybrid. I write right handed and throw left handed. All my guitars are right handed. Best thing to do is bring him in and let him just play around and watch what he does without pushing him in one direction or another. Kids want to please adults so you can't even hint at pushing in one direction or another.
 
I have a friend that I have known for over 40 years. He is left handed but was given a right handed 68 Fender Jazz bass when he was 12. He has been playing professionally since about 16. Back in the early 80s he was playing Jaco, Rush ,Yes ,and all the slap one could handle. I would have to say go with a right since it is cheaper and easier to find.
 
My guitarteacher was pure left handed who teached himself to play righthanded.
He pointed me at, besides righthanded guitars are more easy accessible, a big advantage that he can pickup any guitar at any place.
So at a friends house, a jamsession, wherever.

I can imagine. Otherwise he would have had many times "ahhh I want to play together so bad, but didn't bring my lefthanded with me"
 
I think you are stifling his potential for dozens of other reasons...
1. First, does he want to play guitar? or do you want him to play guitar?
At 4 years old, out of literally nowhere I said to my mom "I want piano lessons" no idea why


2. There's a difference between getting into playing music and playing guitar...
This is a little known fact about the guitar- it's a musical instrument.
I think remarkably many people are able to play a guitar without actually being aware of its musical ability AND unfortunately with little knowledge of outside music.

My point is, there's ways to get a young kid into a musical instrument besides guitar- and they'd be better off later for it.
Piano, orchestral instruments, etc. While many 6 year olds can play guitar and there's 8-10 year olds that can really play- the mental and physical requirements of it, make most kids quit.

I never recommend anyone under 13 begin guitar.

3. The most detrimental thing you could do- is teach your own son guitar.
People do not learn properly from people they have relationships with or close family members.
I know it sounds crazy, but if you're serious about wanting him to do well- get him a private instructor, for weekly lessons.
Even if you are a better guitarist than the teacher, he will still learn better from someone else.
You can add on to things, help him practice or offer different explanations of things and advice to compliment what he's learning once in a while, but- don't teach your kid guitar.

4. Starting him later IS NOT setting him back...
I've tested this theory...
Let's say two kids play trumpet- and they're the same age
One started at 8, and one started at 14. By the time they're 15-- they'll be at the same level.

The exception to that theory is if the get intense private lessons at a young age. Then the 8 year old could get to high school at 14 and be at the same level as the 18 year old seniors. BUT that is fairly rare. (Maybe 1 in 300-500)

So- taking my advice wouldn't set him that far that much. A year of practice at 14 will get him where 6 years will get an 8 year old. (And I say 8 instead of 6, because getting a 6 year old to stick with it is incredibly rare)

I've tough hundreds of people (I hate teaching)
I've studied with DOZENS and DOZENS of people
and got into music/piano at an early age, when I was 4 or 5.
I could read music before I could read english or any language.

Sooo I've seen good things and bad things with teaching young kids music.

You won't listen to me, but he's too young.
 
Jeries said:
I think you are stifling his potential for dozens of other reasons...
.....
You won't listen to me, but he's too young.
Click to expand...

IMHO this is a bit harsh, but I can only explain here my own experience with 4 kids. One did guitar courses at his own demand from 6-8 years till he had a bad accident with his right index finger. He stopped but one year ago (18 now) picked it up again. His youngest brother is 13 and learning with myself since one month (this is much said, 1 hour every 2 weeks and for the rest he's going so bloody faster with anything he can find on the web). My daughter (21) had flute lessons in kindergarten and primary school and started to play harp 5 years ago. One year ago she got her first handmade instrument, the 3rd son picked up an acoustic guitar at 18.

Myself I got in a drum section of a local brassband at 7 years old, got to trombone for 2 years at 14, started acoustic guitar at 17 and electrical at 19 and never left it since 30 years.

There are no fixed rules, not any, regarding age or who should do the learning when it's about playing an instrument. Just let things go as is, he sais he wants to play guitar and is left handed; go to the guitar shop and let him find an affordable 3/4 scale acoustic guitar at a price that won't leave you with regrets if he abandons ship after 3 months (because this can happen, at any starting age).

Have a nice day,
 
Thanks for all the information.

I can't answer everyone but, he is a true lefty, not right handed in anything that I've noticed.

Yes, he wants to play the guitar. He is a very musical child. Has been beat boxing without being exposed to it (that I know of) since about 2 or 3. Makes up n impromptu songs daily. I didn't want to put any pressure on him so it is all at his own request and pace. I appreciate the tip about not teaching him. My only concern is that as a member of a non musical family I started playing guitar at 5 out of shear love of the instrument as a music making tool, and gave up by 6 because of teachers. I realise I can intervene if this goes wrong but just saying.

I'm surprised about the advice to ask him but, yes, obviously I have asked him which way feels better.

Where we live left handed guitars are rare. But I suspect that is the way to go. It's almost impossible to find a scaled down guitar in store and no chance it would be left handed. So we are talking about him trying a full size lefty which could still be awkward.

Another issue is that he is pretty keen to impress me and I think he wants to show he can play right handed because he knows my guitars are right handed. We've had plenty of discussions where I have tried to figure out what his preference is but I'm still unsure. Honestly I think he would feel more comfortable with a lefty (I catch him sometimes holding the righty in lefty position) and he plays a ukulele lefty style.

The questions I have are probably too difficult to answer as everyone is an individual. If he starts out on a righty can he change to a lefty later? Will it affect his development as a player?

Think I'll just do the obvious and check out some guitars in store one day.

Anyone here play an upside down strat? Is it uncomfortable in any way to play?
 
>> He is absolutely left handed
isn't it so that guitar playing involves practically equal skills with both hands?
Re-stringing the guitar makes maybe the first three days easier, but becomes a considerable roadblock in the future when the chance to play someone else's guitar drops down to 0.0 %.
IMHO. I'm no guitar teacher but I've seen the real-life implications first-hand from a left-handed drummer.
 
Agreed, I don't believe he is too young. Too young to be pressured into practice but not too young to have a guitar to tinker with when he feels like it. My desire to play has been the same since I was 5. Only bad teaching temporarily derailed that train.
 
offrhodes said:
>> He is absolutely left handed
isn't it so that guitar playing involves practically equal skills with both hands?
Re-stringing the guitar makes maybe the first three days easier, but becomes a considerable roadblock in the future when the chance to play someone else's guitar drops down to 0.0 %.
IMHO. I'm no guitar teacher but I've seen the real-life implications first-hand from a left-handed drummer.
Click to expand...
Yep, that's the sort of thing that's ripping through my mind. I'm right handed and way more dexterous with my right hand. I feel like the fretting hand needs to be the most skilled and yet it seems the strumming and picking hand determines which way most people play. I know I can do some basic fretting with my right hand but my left is absolutely hopeless at strumming in time let alone any sort of arpeggio or scale. No chance of that.
 
It's a tough enough one to decide I'd say.

I personally think it's ok to be left handed and left alone to develop skills using your dominant side.

But - what about the piano? There's no left handed keyboards and both left handed and right handed people can play equally well - so should the guitar be seen in the same way?

Double cut guitars like an SG copy are maybe more comfortable to reverse string

Interesting graphic below - what direction is the women spinning below .... clockwise or anti-clockwise?

spinning-lady.gif



Try it with both eyes open and then try it with just left eye or right eye ...... freaked me out a bit as I got strange (maybe) results when using individual eyes .... and was wondering if that was some genetic trait because in my family my father claimed to be naturally left handed as a child and was forced to become right handed and also one of my older sisters claimed the same and was treated likewise.

My father was musical (piano) but my sister doesn't have any musical skills (she was sent to piano lessons as a child and absolutely nothing worked). My other older sister and myself are right handed and we can play musical instruments
 
I've met 3 guitar players that were lefty that learned righty. They are also the most talented/impressive I've met.

The fretting hand requires more control and coordination (but picking hand is equally important). I think it would give an advantage in more than choice of guitars, even though it may initially be harder to learn imo.
 
morelia said:
Thanks for all the information.

I can't answer everyone but, he is a true lefty, not right handed in anything that I've noticed.

Yes, he wants to play the guitar. He is a very musical child. Has been beat boxing without being exposed to it (that I know of) since about 2 or 3. Makes up n impromptu songs daily. I didn't want to put any pressure on him so it is all at his own request and pace. I appreciate the tip about not teaching him. My only concern is that as a member of a non musical family I started playing guitar at 5 out of shear love of the instrument as a music making tool, and gave up by 6 because of teachers. I realise I can intervene if this goes wrong but just saying.

I'm surprised about the advice to ask him but, yes, obviously I have asked him which way feels better.

Where we live left handed guitars are rare. But I suspect that is the way to go. It's almost impossible to find a scaled down guitar in store and no chance it would be left handed. So we are talking about him trying a full size lefty which could still be awkward.

Another issue is that he is pretty keen to impress me and I think he wants to show he can play right handed because he knows my guitars are right handed. We've had plenty of discussions where I have tried to figure out what his preference is but I'm still unsure. Honestly I think he would feel more comfortable with a lefty (I catch him sometimes holding the righty in lefty position) and he plays a ukulele lefty style.

The questions I have are probably too difficult to answer as everyone is an individual. If he starts out on a righty can he change to a lefty later? Will it affect his development as a player?

Think I'll just do the obvious and check out some guitars in store one day.

Anyone here play an upside down strat? Is it uncomfortable in any way to play?
Click to expand...

My nephew when he was 7 wanted to learn to play guitar and like your son he is a true lefty as well. My sister asked me what she should do and i told her to buy him a right handed instrument due to the availability of them, he excelled at it and became quite good. Sadly he stopped taking lessons around 12-13 and pretty much abandoned the guitar when he discovered sports, Im hoping he will pick it back up again one day.
 
I am left-handed and both of my parents are right-handed. I was taught things as right-handed and some things like throwing and swinging a bat or golf club stuck. Other things like eating and writing I gravitated to left-handed. They also bought my first guitar, right handed, at age 10 and things seemed to have worked out fine. I think it's actually an advantage since playing right-handed the left hand is the fretting hand, more natural dexterity.
 
The way I see it when you start to play guitar you're basically a blank. Any instrument for that matter. I may be right handed but if they had given me a left handed guitar and told me this is the way I should play it I would have done it. Humans are flexible that way, remember Jeff Healey? It would even seem logical to me because the fretting hand seems the most important and with a lefty guitar my right hand would have been the fretting hand. Teaching him right handed guitar seems like the kind of thing that he could pick up and which would give him big benefits (I heard that Gary Moore was a lefty who played right handed and it gave him a stronger vibrato).
Luckily with guitars there's a reasonable selection of lefty guitars and who cares on stage how you play guitar? A lefty drummer who insists on reversing his drumkit on the other hand is a friggin' nightmare from a soundengineer's POV. They turn what should have been easy changeovers between bands into a logistical nightmare. I truly hate lefty drummers with reversed kits.
 
Thanks everyone. Some really helpful replies. I think I'll leave the right handed guitar with him for now and see how it pans out of the next few years. Really appreciate all the info.
 
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