Why just learn right-handed is (usually) bad advice

BREAKING: Internet full of bad advice

If you spend much time browsing guitar internet forums you realize the same questions are asked over and over again. And the answers to those questions get repeated over and over again. One of those question is, "I’m left-handed should I just learn on a right-handed guitar?"

Just play righty you will be better because your dominant hand is fretting Learn right-handed because it’s harder to find left-handed guitars in stores If you play righty you can just pick up any guitar you see There are no left-handed pianos or violins Just flip a right-handed guitar upside down and learn like Jimi

I am going to go through these common answers and explain why I agree or disagree with the reasoning.

Just play righty you will be better because your dominant hand is fretting

This is my favorite piece of bad advice. If this was true every right-handed player would be buying a left-handed guitar. To a beginner having the dominant hand on the fret board seems like an obvious plus. However most of the complexity of playing is maintained by the strumming hand (rhythm, picking, string skipping, electronics adjustments). The fretting hand does not need to do as much.

Learn right-handed because it’s harder to find left-handed guitars in stores

This is a valid point. I have been to large and small stores and the left-handed selection is always bad. Even online used left-handed guitar options are much more limited. You may not be able to try any guitar before you buy. Often times artists signature series guitars are not offered in lefty (e.g. St. Vincent Music Man, PRS Silver Sky are available only in right-handed). However there are great left-handed guitars being made and available in the second hand market.

This is also a valid point. I don’t play with any other left-handed players. So if we are playing I have to bring my own guitar. The counterpoint to this is nobody will pick up a left-handed guitar because they can’t play it.

There are no left-handed pianos or violins

Is this true? I don’t know. I didn’t even bother looking it up because it is irrelevant. Left-handed guitars exist. So you should consider them as an option. Drummers set up their kits differently if they play lefty. Skateboarders skate switch. Baseball players use left-handed gloves.

Just flip a right-handed guitar upside down and learn like Jimi

Jimi Hendrix had a much harder time finding left-handed guitars in his day. His solution was to flip over a right-handed guitar and string it lefty. There are a few more modifications required to do this such as replacing the nut. There are downsides to this style suck as the controls being in a very inconvenient location. Some non Stratocaster shaped guitars will be much more uncomfortable to play upside down or while sitting.

My Experience

I tried initially with a right-handed guitar and had little success. Years later I decided to try with a left-handed guitar and found it much more natural to play. However, I consider myself very left-handed.

In Conclusion

Do what you want. There are pros and cons to both ways. If you are someone who is does everything left-handed you may want to try guitar left-handed first. If writing your name or throwing a baseball feels natural with either hand, maybe you are more likely to be able to pick up a right or left-handed guitar and be fine. You can get very good used guitars on Craigslist or Reverb in both left-handed or right-handed models. I recommend finding a used MIM (Made in Mexico) Stratocaster on Craigslist or Reverb. You can find then between $200-$400 depending on model and location.