55 yr old entry level guitar player here. As winter sets in Ohio, I decided to take on a hobby to pass the cold months, so I decided its not too late to learn guitar. Did some research then ran to the nearest guitar center and picked up a Yamaha FSX800C, then shortly after found the Justin Guitar App. Have been enjoying learning for about a month now. I am naturally left handed, but found holding a right handed guitar was not that bad, so learning right handed to make life easier in right handed guitar world. Very happy to be a part of this community.
Hi Craig ,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun
It was probably a lot easier to move to a warmer temperate climate
And if things get a bit out of hand (there are a few here ) it might still be cheaper
But above all, moving instead of learning guitar is a lot less fun, making music warms the mind
Hi Craig, and welcome to this fun and useful community. I too am a lefty playing right handed, been at it for 2 1/2 years. If you type “left handed playing right” in the search box at the top, you will find several good threads on that topic. People I know are surprised that I’m not playing a lefty guitar, but it has come to feel pretty comfortable to me now. Of course, strumming consistently at a fast pace is pretty much impossible, but I never set out to be a shredder. If I can keep up with Bob Dylan, I’m happy.
Hi Craig, welcome to the Community! We’re glad to have you here. I feel for you lefties - my stepson is left-handed - but from what I read you’re fortunate to be able to wrangle a guitar as a righty. Hope to see you around!
Welcome to the Justin Community. I am also left handed like you. I took up guitar by following Justin’s course about 1.5 years ago, also playing a right-handed guitar. Being left handed hasn’t been problematic for me. Judging by the struggles people report on this community, I would say I’m about average, and so I don’t think that picking up a right handed guitar from day 1 has been a negative. Like you say, it certainly has its advantages when it comes to choice of guitars.
I hope you enjoy the course and that you participate in this great community - there’s a lot of great exchanges between people here and everyone is very supportive and friendly.
Best, Ian
p.s. I can confirm what @mfeeney0110 said as a lefty regarding strumming speed.
I’m also a member of the “lefty that plays righty” club. I played ukulele for a few months before picking up guitar and I also played righty on that. I feel it was the right choice for me and I haven’t looked back.
Enjoy the community! There is a lot of really great advice and encouragement here
Another lefty playing right here as well. I wonder if it was correct. But ever since Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure it has always felt natural to pick it up that way. So there it is.
Super stoked you found the community. You will find lots of support and have a ton of fun learning. Welcome aboard.
Hi. 62 yr old from Southern Ireland. Very much the same story apart from i’m learning for about 9 months now. I appear to be at a frustrating point in the journey. Technique being a pain in the rear end. Strumming is a constant battle
I hope you have lots of fun as a guitarist (yes, you can call yourself a guitarist now! ) learning with Justin’s wonderful system! There are a lot of challenges in the Journey, but so, so much fun to be had along the way!
Most importantly, keep it FUN!
Tod from New Mexico
P.S. The high at my house today is 32 degrees F/ 0 degrees C. It was 4 degrees out this morning on my patio… good guitar weather here too!!!
Hi Craig, welcome to the community forum. I think initially when you are learning to play chords and make the changes quickly, fretting with your dominant hand is probably an advantage. I know that I have to spend a lot of time working on my left hand finger mobility and getting my fingers to go to the right spots on the fretboard. You might have to work harder later though for fingerpicking with the other hand. So I guess it all evens out. Have fun learning guitar in the cold days ahead.
Hello Craig.
Welcome to JustinGuitar and this fantastic community. Please take your time to look around and get to know the wider space. https://community.justinguitar.com/categories
We are a supportive and encouraging group of students and guitarists from across the world. Essentially, we are all here for music and to improve as players. We truly are a ‘community’. Members help and support one another and a friendly, positive attitude underpins this. We hope that all - young or old, experienced or new players - adopt and foster the pay-it-forward ethos that Justin personifies and embedded all those years ago when he started the website and forum.
Also, please make sure to read the community etiquette announcement for some important information and guidance.
Richard | JustinGuitar Approved Teacher & Moderator & Official Guide |
