Choosing your first guitar can be exciting, but it also comes with important decisions. One of the initial choices you’ll face is whether to play a right-handed or left-handed guitar. While it might seem straightforward, especially if you are right-hand dominant, understanding the nuances of “Right Handed Guitar” is crucial for your learning journey. Most guitars available are right-handed, and for good reason. Let’s delve into what makes a right handed guitar, who should play one, and why it might be the best choice for you, even if you’re not strictly right-handed.
Understanding the Right Handed Guitar
A right-handed guitar is designed to be played with your left hand fretting the strings on the neck and your right hand strumming or picking the strings near the soundhole or pickups. This configuration is by far the most common, and when you picture a guitar, you’re likely visualizing a right-handed model. The construction of a right-handed guitar, from the bracing inside the body to the way the nut and bridge are cut, is optimized for this playing orientation.
Right and left-handed guitar players
Left: a left-handed guitar player. Right: right-handed guitar player.
The dominance of right-handed guitars in the market is not arbitrary. Historically, instrument making and teaching methodologies have largely catered to the right-handed majority. This has led to a self-perpetuating cycle where more right-handed guitars are produced, more learning resources are tailored for them, and consequently, more beginners start on right-handed guitars.
Who Should Play a Right Handed Guitar?
For individuals who are right-hand dominant, opting for a right-handed guitar is generally the most intuitive choice. If you naturally write, throw a ball, or use utensils with your right hand, your fine motor skills and dexterity are likely more developed in your right hand. Since the picking or strumming hand is often considered the dominant hand in guitar playing – especially as you advance – a right-handed guitar can leverage this natural dexterity.
However, the question becomes more nuanced for those who are left-handed or ambidextrous. While left-handed guitars exist, they are less common, often more expensive, and can limit your access to guitars in music stores or from fellow players. Interestingly, many left-handed guitarists have successfully learned and excelled on right-handed guitars. Think of iconic players like Mark Knopfler, Albert King, and Gary Moore – all naturally left-handed but playing right-handed guitars.
For those unsure of their hand dominance or who consider themselves ambidextrous, starting with a right-handed guitar is often recommended. The primary reason is practicality. The sheer availability of right-handed guitars, combined with the wealth of learning resources designed for them, makes the learning curve smoother for most beginners.
The Roles of Each Hand on a Right Handed Guitar
Understanding why the picking hand is considered dominant, particularly in the long run, is crucial in deciding if a right-handed guitar is suitable for you. Let’s break down the responsibilities of each hand when playing a right-handed guitar:
Fret Hand (Left Hand) Responsibilities
Initially, as a beginner, you might feel that your fret hand is doing most of the work. It’s responsible for:
- Forming Chords: Pressing down on the strings at specific frets to create chords. This requires finger strength, precision, and coordination.
- Playing Scales and Melodies: Moving across the fretboard to play sequences of notes, scales, and melodies. This demands accuracy and finger independence.
- Performing Techniques: Executing techniques like bends, hammer-ons, and pull-offs to add expression to your playing.
- Quick Transitions: Switching efficiently between different chords and notes, which is vital for smooth musical phrases.
- Stretches: Reaching across multiple frets to play certain chords and melodic patterns.
Picking Hand (Right Hand) Responsibilities
While the fret hand is undeniably busy, the picking hand’s role becomes increasingly complex and nuanced as you progress. For a right-handed guitar player, the right hand is responsible for:
- Precise Note Plucking: Accurately striking individual strings to play single notes and arpeggios. This demands accuracy in targeting specific strings.
- Rhythmic Strumming: Creating rhythmic patterns by strumming across multiple strings. This requires a good sense of rhythm and control over strumming patterns.
- Complex Picking Patterns: Executing intricate picking patterns involving alternate picking (up and down strokes), economy picking, and sweep picking.
- Maintaining Timing and Groove: Keeping accurate time and establishing the rhythmic feel of the music. This is fundamental to musicality.
- Playing “Blind”: Often, guitarists need to focus on their fret hand visually, especially when changing chords or navigating the fretboard. This means the picking hand often operates with less direct visual feedback, requiring muscle memory and precision.
As you advance beyond basic chords and melodies, the complexity of picking hand techniques escalates significantly. Developing a strong and versatile picking hand is crucial for playing various genres and achieving technical proficiency. This is why many guitarists and instructors emphasize the importance of the picking hand as the “dominant” hand in the long run.
Testing a Right Handed Guitar for Comfort
If you are still unsure whether a right-handed guitar feels natural to you, there’s a simple test you can perform:
- Hold a Right Handed Guitar: Find a right-handed guitar, either at a music store or borrowed from a friend. You don’t even need to know how to play yet.
- Mimic Fret Hand Actions: Place your left hand on the neck as if you were going to play. Try moving your fingers as if you were forming chords or playing a scale. See how comfortable this feels.
- Mimic Picking Hand Actions: Use your right hand to strum across the strings or try to pick individual strings. Focus on how natural the strumming or picking motion feels.
- Simple Scales and Chords (If Possible): If you have any prior musical experience, try playing a very simple scale or a basic chord like E minor or C major on the right-handed guitar. Assess the coordination between your hands.
- Rhythmic Scratching: Even without knowing chords, block the strings with your left hand (muting them) and try to scratch out a rhythm on the strings with your right hand. This will give you a sense of how your strumming hand feels rhythmically.
Try this test multiple times over a few days. Does it feel awkward or relatively natural? While initial discomfort is normal when learning something new, pay attention to whether the right-handed orientation feels fundamentally wrong or just unfamiliar.
Advantages of Starting with a Right Handed Guitar
Choosing a right-handed guitar offers several practical advantages, especially for beginners:
- Availability and Variety: Right-handed guitars are overwhelmingly more available than left-handed guitars. You’ll find a wider selection of models, brands, and price points in music stores and online.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Due to mass production and higher demand, right-handed guitars are generally more affordable than comparable left-handed models.
- Learning Resources: The vast majority of guitar lessons, books, online tutorials, and instructional materials are designed for right-handed guitar players. This abundance of resources can make learning easier and more accessible.
- Community and Collaboration: If you play a right-handed guitar, you can easily pick up and play a friend’s guitar, and vice versa. Jamming with other musicians and learning from fellow guitarists becomes more seamless.
- Resale Value: Right-handed guitars generally have better resale value due to their wider market appeal.
What About Left-Handedness? Considering a Right Handed Guitar
If you are left-handed, you might naturally gravitate towards a left-handed guitar. However, before making a decision, consider the experiences of many left-handed guitarists who have thrived on right-handed instruments. Learning guitar, in general, requires developing new motor skills in both hands, regardless of your natural hand dominance. For many left-handed individuals, training their right hand to pick and strum while their left hand frets proves to be just as effective as the reverse.
While there’s no definitive “right” or “wrong” answer, the practical advantages of starting with a right-handed guitar often outweigh the perceived benefits of a left-handed guitar, especially for beginners. If you are truly undecided and don’t have a strong preference after testing both orientations, opting for a right-handed guitar is a pragmatic choice that will likely simplify your learning journey and provide greater accessibility to instruments and resources.
Conclusion: The Right Handed Guitar and Your Guitar Journey
Ultimately, the most crucial factor in learning guitar is consistent practice and dedication, regardless of whether you choose a right-handed or left-handed instrument. While this guide focuses on “right handed guitar,” the principles of hand coordination and musicality apply to all guitarists.
If you are a beginner and unsure, leaning towards a right-handed guitar is often a sensible decision due to its widespread availability, affordability, and abundance of learning resources. However, the most important thing is to choose the guitar that feels most comfortable and inspiring to you. Experiment, test both orientations if possible, and most importantly, start playing and enjoying the journey of learning guitar. The world of guitar playing awaits, and whether you choose a right-handed guitar or not, the path to musical expression is open to you.
