Right handed playing a lefty guitar!

I'm one of many lefties that learnt to play right handed. Why? Because the shop had no left hookers and the salesman told me the left hand does the work. Whilst that's not true, I knew nothing so went the right handed root. Felt very strange to start with. 35 years later I don't regret it at all. Playing leftie would be a pain the ass. And you can't just grab a guitar and play, because the chances of it being left handed are virtually zero. I also think leftie players look weird.
Oddly though give me a cricket bat or baseball bat (for you former colonies) and I'll play right handed, but the first time I held a guitar I automatically went left.
 
Rik Emmett talked about this years ago in a Guitar Player interview.

IIRC he said his right hand is his dominant/writing hand but playing the guitar left-handed was natural for him. He was strongly advised to learn to play right-handed for mainly practical reasons.

He considered that a huge benefit ultimately, in that his hand with the most strength and dexterity was manipulating/bending/fretting the strings and getting 'the workout' vs the weaker hand which helped him progress a lot faster.

I knew a drummer who dabbled in guitar and played right-handed guitars left-handed; he would just flip it over and play "backwards" like Dick Dale. He used to mildly amaze me since he could play moderately difficult tunes and even solos.
 
Lots of righties, play lefties in baseball like Ichiro for certain advantages. Must be frustrating to learn in the beginning knowing you would be much better already if you just started with your dominant arm. But it paid off I guess.
 
I was going to mention Rik Emmet of Triumph, but @Stratoblaster beat me to it!

I have a son who is left handed, but right eye dominent. Plays a righty guitar, shoots archery and guns righty, bats righty, but throws and catches lefty, plays soccer lefty as well. I'm so confused! LOL!

I'm sure he plays guitar right handed because I have right handed guitars at home, but he actually learned guitar from his roommate in college (wasn't interested in playing while growing up - big sports enthusiast). We had discussed it, and I brought up Rik Emmet, and how much easier it is to find right-handed guitars, so he stuck with that.
 
Lefty here (left eye dominent - very uncoordinated right hand for precision movements) - For me going with my "natural side" is important. Example: Golf - I feel most comfortable playing right handed golf despite some over the top moves which do not show up in my left handed swing - tried playing left handed for a year but just could not get comfortable - same with guitar - going against my natural side just feels wrong despite any advantages.

Wish I could play right handed if only to have the option to go and play different guitars at the store - and I get tired of having to tune my brain to upsidedown/backward neck diagrams.

As far as flipping and restringing rh guitars - been there / done that with so many issues I can't tolerate (yes I know - Jimi did - but back then lh guitars were rare if they existed at all).
  • A flipped guitar no longer fits your body as the carve side of the guitar moves to the top.
  • Pickguard/fingerboard now on the wrong side.
  • switches are then in the way.
  • whammy bar is now all wrong.
  • nut needs to be replaced unless you want to try and play with the strings unflipped.
  • on a guitar with in-line tuners the string lengths get flipped which makes the guitar play weirdly.
 
I've often wondered about this subject as I played piano before guitar and my right hand is far more dextrous. All this time and it's entirely possible i could be a virtuoso with my right! Schrodinger's hands. I guess I'll never know
 
sprint said:
Example: Golf - I feel most comfortable playing right handed golf despite some over the top moves which do not show up in my left handed swing - tried playing left handed for a year but just could not get comfortable - same with guitar - going against my natural side just feels wrong despite any advantages.
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I'm right-handed but play hockey and golf left-handed...weird heh...
 
Mark Knopfler
Left-handed Dire Straits frontman reportedly opted to play the guitar in right-handed position because it gives him a possibility to play stronger vibratos.
 
I'm left-handed and play guitar right-handed. I bat and throw righty and write/operate tools lefty. I have always found fretting hand stuff a bit easier, I figured it was because I write with that hand but I don't know. The brain and body are weird.
 
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