I’ve recently discovered JustinGuitar and the community and I’m looking at getting back into guitar after a failed attempt 17 years ago (time flies)!
I originally “played” for a year or so and even had 1-1 lessons and nothing clicked for me. I remember my lessons being very one dimensional and often leaving only with new songs to try. I never felt I got the fundamentals down and haven’t any memory of doing anything like chord changing and I spent most of the time noodling around. It’s fair to say I made no real progress, got disheartened and dropped it and never picked it up again.
Many years ago I sold all my kit and never had the intention to try again thinking it was just one of those things I couldn’t do. I’ve recently found myself looking for a hobby I can devote myself to and I’m a massive music fan so why not give this another go?
I am left handed however oddly I use my right for various things. I’ve always played air guitar with left and originally tried to learn left handed but as I’ve explained I was absolutely terrible. I can’t help but wonder if perhaps I wasn’t meant to play with my left, as I always had trouble with chord shapes.
I’m still deliberating on whether to give learning right a go, after all, I’m going to be starting from scratch anyway, I’m expecting it to be difficult. I’ve not bought a guitar yet so I may end up trying a guitar in a shop for feel mainly. I suspect it won’t feel right but I don’t think holding a guitar will feel right in either hand.
Anyway, enough rambling on, I look forward to being a part of the community.
Before you buy a guitar (either righty or lefty) you may want to check out a few of Justin’s Grade 1 lessons & also in Grade 1 you can see Nitsuj (Justin spelled backwards) giving his own lessons a try left handed! Then, when you go into a music store & compare the feel of both left & right handed guitars, you may have just a bit more knowledge than you do right now…
I do remember wondering when first starting out why I wasn’t using my right (dominant) hand for the fretting… it just seemed that the more intricate & difficult stuff was being done by my left & my left is definitely more clumsy than my right. My son-in-law is left handed yet does many things as if he were right handed. He’s considering the guitar as a hobby & feels that he’ll want to play righty. Also, there are typically many more choices for instruments if you choose right…
Just a little food for thought!
Hope you can find the guitar that “speaks” to you & that you enjoy the journey this time around!
By the way, I would guess that well over half of the Community members are START - STOP - START - STOP - STARTers so you’re not alone in that department!
Good luck!
Tod from New Mexico USA
P.S. My other advice - when you buy your guitar, buy a stand or wall hanger. If the guitar is easy to pick up & play, you’re way more likely to randomly pick it up and strum some chords or play a scale while waiting for something (I play while the coffee’s brewing in the morning!).
I am left handed and when I started a year or so ago a lot of people said to learn right handed as my hands were not yet trained… nah-absolutely felt so wrong. Quickly sold the rh guitar and bought lefty —so much more natural for me. Just go with what feels best, it’s hard enough to learn as it is . Good luck
I have been watching the content and enjoying watching Justin learn the guitar left handed. So I’m hoping to be a bit more equipped when trying guitars than I was years ago.
I do recall it feeling more normal left handed, but I also just couldn’t pick it up for the life of me. So who knows.
When I was a kid I remember needing to use a mouse with my left hand and I trained that habit out quite quickly and it feels completely natural to use a mouse right handed now. So part of me wonders if ultimately either way just requires the time to develop.
I’d second Tom: whatever feels most comfortable. When you’re trying guitars have a go at picking and strumming the strings on both left and right handed to feel which seems to work better.
I’m left handed and can only play snooker and cricket as a leftie: however I have played a right handed guitar from the start and it feels right.
Hi Rick, welcome to the community forum. If the LH guitar feels more natural to you then I recommend giving it a go. Fretting chords is awkward for every beginner. You will be in good company with all the beginners here struggling with the first few chords and eventually mastering those chords. Read the comments for the lessons for the D and A chords in module 1 on the JG website and you will find others seeking and getting help with similar problems.
Hi Rick and welcome to the forum, I’m just wondering how many times that I’ve read a story such as yours, it’s typical of so many of us. Well `i too am retired now and similarly want to spend time with a challenge, and I love the idea of playing guitar, so I’m giving it a whirl too.
I used to live down the road from you in Ashton-In-Makerfield until I moved up to Cumbria recently.
This forum has a great structure to it and I would highly recommend you start at Grade 1, familiarise yourself with the basics, then slowly rise through the Grades.
Hope you sort out a comfortable guitar soon so Good Luck and have Fun.
Hi Rick and welcome. Not sure if it’s true but I once read that Paul McCartney was right handed but for some reason found it easier to play with his left. Hope you find whats right for you
Ah yes, not far indeed. That’s funny that you moved to Cumbria as I am from there originally but haven’t lived there in a long time. Lovely part of the world, no doubt you’ll enjoy retirement there!
Hi Rick. I’m a lefty who decided to play right handed when I started learning 2+ years ago. I’m happy with that decision and can say I’m an early intermediate level player now. While strumming fast consistently without hitting the wrong strings remains a challenge, I never wanted to be a “shredder” anyway. On the other (left) hand, I’m really pleased with my fretting ability and can’t imagine making fast chord changes with my right hand. One thing I did to improve my right hand dexterity is start using it more on everyday tasks (e.g. shaving, washing dishes, cooking) which seems to make a difference.
However, you might not want to listen to my advice because I’m a Liverpool fan.
Welcome to the community Rick. As a right handed player I find my finger dexterity to be similar between hands. Many years typing on a keyboard may be somewhat responsible for that. But I think the major muscles involved with strumming would be much harder with my left had. In the end I think holding both varieties at a store will help a lot in you decision. Good Luck!
Welcome Rick @rick111 to the community. After 17 years away I would encourage you to learn from the start. You will have forgotten much of what you were taught so it would be best to follow the method. Get the fundamentals right and it makes things later in your guitar learning process become that little bit easier - you won’t have to train yourself out of bad habits at least.
I’d support others here on the LH or RH thing and say to go with what feels right for you. Ask at the guitar shop what their exchange policy is if you take a RH guitar but after a couple of weeks want to swap for a lefty. If you bought used, rather than new for this first purchase, you’re more likely to get a better deal if you need to change after a month.
You might consider renting one for a period. This place is in Manchester. I don’t kow them, so this isn’t an endorsement, just an idea for you to consider.
I have indeed thought about renting and this could be a great idea. I’ve found some places that offer renting for 3 months at quite reasonable rates which I’m seriously considering now. I feel like 3 months of daily practice might be enough time for me to get a feel on whether I’m improving at a reasonable rate? I read on the FAQ that most people complete Grade 1 in 6-8 weeks, so this might be a good judge for me.
Either way I’m probably gonna pick a few up in the store and see what feels right. Thanks again.
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.
