It may sounds very silly, but it is a back to basis.

A right handed guitarist asks much more velocity to his left hand than to his right hand. It would make sense to do the opposite, but it is not the case.

I play myself bass guitar for years and I follow the same rule. I was teached to that. But why ?

I have a kind of answer, But it may concern more a bass guitar. Not matter the speed, the velocity you need on the neck (should you need ones, which is hardly always the case), the final point is the groove, ie the sound handle of the rhythm. And this is more a job for the right hand, if you are righ handed.

I was wondering the same, the first I got my guitar.I tried it the other way but not for more than 2 minutes.I think it has to do the with the groove you said.

You are dead right, Joker! Good question too. Once you have got past forming chords and scales, the right hand is doing all the main work - attacking the strings, all the funky stuff - it just feels right. Of course, once you hit a power chord, that hand is freed up to hand out a pick, take a drag of a fag, whack your 2nd guitarist, none of which feel right with your left hand.

They don't call Clapton "slowhand" for nothing! He mastered the technique of doing basically f... all with his right hand, at least thats what it looked like. His left hand was doing alot of the work. I'm finding it hard to explain and I'm no guitar genius, but if you can use your left hand to get the notes that you can't get with your right then you are probably sounding better than someone who is just doing everything with the right.

I hope someone who can explain it better will come in and phrase it better than me!

I think I've bust a button on my trousers....

Here's another guitar Q -
When the Stones play out in the rain, it seems like the guitars would become damaged. What happens to their guitars when soaked in rainwater?

I am lefthanded, but I play like all righthand players!

I would feel retarded doing it right handed....It would be very hard to get the rhythm right...

Borna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am lefthanded, but I play like all righthand
> players!

So does Mark Knopfler. He says he plays this way because he has greater hand strength and dexterity in his left hand. This is a good question!

You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone

Same thing with drumming. The right hand (almost) always takes the hi-hat, even though it requires you to cross-over. Why? --- just feels natural. On the other hand, there are a few right-handed drummers who play with the left hand on the hi-hat.

I'm left handed and turned the guitar round and restrung it.

I met Nils Lofgren and was surprised he was left handed but played guitar 'natural'. He said he didn't consider the guitar a left handed instrument. When I told him what I did, he said that Albert King didn't restring and looked quite smug so I told him Hendrix could play both and so could I. He walked off looking angry !

ChrisM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Borna Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I am lefthanded, but I play like all righthand
> > players!
>
> So does Mark Knopfler.

And Waddy Wachtel too. His guitar teacher forced him to play with the right hand, even if he was left handed - and he has done that ever since.

Albert King played left handed but uses a guitar strung for a right handed player. In effect the strings are upside down. When I saw him live I couldn't figure out why the notes were high when it looked like he was playing on the low strings. Then it dawned on me. Coco Montoya (ex-Bluesbreakers) also does the same.

A lot of technique is in the right hand, whether finger picking, flat picking or whatever. As your playing develops, you develop your own style and often don't notice the progress you make. Taming a loud electric guitar, for example, requires a lot of right hand string damping that becomes second nature after a while, as does a lot of the right hand technique. In a lot of ways, the left hand is just pushing the right buttons and it is the right hand that all the power and subtlety go into and it is this that gives each guitarist their individual "touch".

teleblaster nails it.
It is the same for all stringed instruments (whether bowed or plucked). Not sure with the harp.

Ditto that.
The picking hand is the most important.

terraplane Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Albert King played left handed but uses a guitar
> strung for a right handed player. In effect the
> strings are upside down. When I saw him live I
> couldn't figure out why the notes were high when
> it looked like he was playing on the low strings.
> Then it dawned on me. Coco Montoya
> (ex-Bluesbreakers) also does the same.


Is this true? I have never heard this!

<why don't the right handed guitarists play on the neck with their right hand ?>

When you hammer a nail in the wall, you use your right hand to hammer, and your left hand to adjust the nail. It's the best metaphore I could provide

My right has had a lot of rythm practice, ever since early puberty. Maybe the reason could be found there ;-)