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

Tagged As: Left Handed Guitar Chord

Question:
After 4 months of lessons and practice and still struggling with changing chords, the question comes up: Why do right-handers make chords with their left hand when the right hand is supposedly more dexterous? This question is not entirely philosophical, since arthritis in my left hand may force me to switch sides or quit playing some day.

Answer:
I have been learning fingerstyle, so it seems like the coordination is needed on the strings for fingerstyle. You can hold a chord for a measure, while dancing up and down the strings with your right hand. I've been playing a year and I am still slow on many chord changes. The left hand also produces the vibrato, is involved in muting, must be coordinated in attack on fast passages, and many other aspects of playing too numerous to mention. I have never seen a violin bowed from the left, nor have I seen a left handed keyboard, saxophone or bagpipe. However they hand you the guitar when you start, that's how you'll play.