FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Guitar Hand Left Taylor

Question:
I just got a Baby Taylor (standard woods, spruce/sapele) from a friend. Though I like it I find the 3/4 scale a bit too small but I thought that it has is just the right size for the 10 year old daughter of my girl friend, who might like to learn to play guitar. Unfortunately the little girl is left handed and the guitar is a standard right hand model. What is the best option in this scenario? Should - the girl learn to play with her right hand? - I or a luthier try to convert the guitar into a left hand model by changing bridge and saddle? - I get genuine a lefthand model for her?

Answer:
As a lefty who plays right-handed, I would encourage your friend's daughter to do the same. When I had my first guitar lesson, some 50+ years ago, the question of a left-handed guitar never even came up; my teacher expected that everyone would play right-handed. Since I was a complete beginner, I didn't have any prior left-handed guitar techniques to unlearn, and, if anything, I found the better dexterity and added strength of my left hand advantageous for fretting my cheap guitar's high action. As others have said, playing right-handed certainly increases the number of choices available when choosing a guitar.