How can I find a teacher who will teach me left-handed? DO I just phone all the teachers in the book and ask, andhave them laugh at me? (I emailed one teacher near me who had a web-site, and never got a response) I agree with above, I can`t imagine learning right handed, it would take all the pleasure out of it,and I don;t see how I could ever get good at it reight-handed, but I have always wanted to learn. My goal is country/bluegrass, not classical.

I think this is going to be the problem. I wonder if there is such a thing as a folk fiddle teacher? If so I wouldn`t know where to start looking.

Liz

I`m attending a weekly class at the London Fiddle School.

We have about 15-20 players, and nobody`s attemting to play a left-handed instrument. The numbers would suggest that one or two people in the class would be left-handed.

If you`ve never played before, it would be cheaper to play right handed.

the numbers are influenced by that very attitude

it doesnt mean it`s right.

i am a left handed multi-instrumentalist and teacher. i can tell you that if you want to feel and play your best, use a lefty if you`re left handed.

left handed instruments are easily available on the net as i have mentioned earlier. they are not noticeably more expensive.
$50 at the start - to have a proper experience of the instrument

instead of saving $50 for an uncomfortable awkward experience that will never allow you to fulfill your potential

that is a completely false economy

The money is not the point at all, in fact, there are plenty of lefty violins available on line for about the same price as "regular" ones. Why start out handicapped? The issue is, how do I find a teacher?

I`m right handed and it wouldn`t matter to me if I was going to start to play a lefty violin. I play the Cello more than my Violin. Sometimes I put my Cello in my right and pluck with my left hand comsidering it`s made for a right handed person.

You could be ambidexterous, Sean. However, most people have a preferred arm. One that they`ve always been better at handling tools with such as a hammer or scissors. Most of those people prefer to use their "off" hand only for holding stuff (such as groceries) while doing the dexterous activity with there more dexterous hand, such as opening the car door.

The off hand gets stronger and the preferred hand gets more agile (or at least more used to handling things.)

Given this, why would one handicap oneself by playing an instrument where you`re not able to learn at his or her full potential? Why stack the cards against yourself at an already awkward stage? A few hundred dollars?

Here`s a good analogy: What if you were a hobbyist runner who was on the brink of turning pro and you were planning on training to place in the Boston Marathon over the next 6 months. However, there was one problem. You have extremely high arches (i.e. hard feet prone to shin splints) and you`ve only been training on soft surfaces (grass, soft track and/or sand.) The Boston Marathon is all paved. So, do you go out and buy the two pairs of $120 dollar shoes that are specifically cushioned for high arched runners or do you stick with the $45 dollar ones that you`ve been using that give you painfull shin splints on road runs and risk injuring yourself, or worse, quitting in disgust?

You sound like an accomplished musician. Would you trade all of your experience, skill and knowledge you`ve gained from playing music for $200? $500? $1000? What`s your price? Chances are that it`s higher than the price difference between and righty and lefty cello.

it seems to me that the left hand does an awful lot more work than the right hand, so i would have thought left handed players would be at an advantage on a right handed instrument, not a disadvantage. In other words, I can`t really see why the violin is the way round it is anyway.

well if it`s an advantage, why dont you rush out and get a lefty violin?

reason is - it`s not an advantage
if it was, that`s how violins would be made.

the preferred arm should operate the bow or on guitar, needs to pick/strum

that`s where the greater control is required. - if it wasnt, i assure you - that the violin would be played the opposite way around

Why don`t I get one? Because I learned right handed of course!

But there is someone on maestronet right now who has a left handed child, a six year old, already able to do vibrato. The sister is eight and right handed and can`t. The parent certainly seems to think left handed players have an advantage. And I know a left handed player who graduated from a conservatoire (there may well be others that i know: I don`t ask everyone which hand is dominant!)

I don`t feel strongly about it: if you are an adult beginner and you want to play left handed, then why not? That there are practical difficulties is obvious from the length of this thread. I do think parents of left handed children should think twice before suggesting their child learns left handed, at least until such time as there are orchestras which will accept left handed players. Perhaps encouraging youth orchestras to do this is where the emphasis needs to be in order for anything much to change.

Liz

Well, they`re welcome in my bluegrass circle! Fiddlers are only judged on how well they play, not on whether or not they`ll bump their bandmate. In folk circles, especially celtic and bluegrass bands, fiddlers are in high demand.

Traditional bluegrass is played around a single condensor mic where the picker playing a solo will move up to the front and the others will coordinate around him or her. When it`s time for someone elses solo, they move up and the others shuffle. Watch the Del McCory band to see the technique perfected.

I couldn`t imagine a folk/bluegrass teacher turning away a student for playing the fiddle left handed. They may look at you funny, at first, but if you`re forthright with them, they won`t turn down your dollars.

And if you dispise folk music, what about jazz? Stefan Grappelli was a master jazz violinist.

I don`t despise either, absolutely not. it just seems to me that to decide for a child at the age of perhaps 6 or 7 that he is never going to be able to play in an orchestra (unless someone starts one that accepts left handed players) is a bit off. The adult beginner is a different matter entirely.


Liz

I wonder, if you had a lefty violin, wouldn`t you inter-collide with the other persons bow if the other person had a normal violin during an up bow beat, then BAM!? Peoples chairs aren`t always far away from each other, especially the Violin and Viola players that`s what I mean if you had a righty&lefty violin player next to each other, that their bows could hit each others.

an orchestra not selecting a left handed violinist based on their left handedness......

does anyone have examples of refusals ??

or are the numbers simply equivalent to the numbers of people at orchestra age and level - playing lefty instruments.

this means people who began playing lefties as early as say 1988-1992.

this number is going to be quite small.

perhaps in 10 yrs there will be a marked difference.

Well, I`m just thinking of orchestras (I mean of the good amateur variety) and their insistence on the same bowing for everyone. It would be an interesting survey for someone, to write to all the amateur orchestras and ask what their attitude would be.

I suspect at best the answer would be "only if we have an odd number in the section and then only if the left handed player sits on his own at the back".

it seems to me there could be a good case for someone somewhere to start a left handed orchestra.


Liz