Guitar world

Left Handed Guitar E-Mails

Here are some more e-mails that I've recieved about playing left handed guitar upside down. There are plenty of people out there who prefer to play this way. If you are one of them, you are not alone and maybe these Q&A's can help.

From Michael,
Dear Sir--I recently bought my daughter an acoustic guitar for a right-handed person. This is the first time she has touched a guitar and is very excited about learning. Being left-handed what would you suggest in the beginning? Thank you,

My Answer:
The first thing to do is to buy an electronic guitar tuner. They can be as
cheap as $10. Learn how to use it so you can teach her how. If the guitar
isn't properly tuned she will have a hard time learning to play. On the
side bar of my web page, I have pictures and diagrams of basic guitar
chords played by a left handed person using a right handed guitar. You can
print them out if you want. These are only basic chords ABCDEFG. The
diagrams show which finger goes on each string of the chord. Look at the
numbers below the diagram. Have her practice the seven basic chords by
strumming up and down on the strings with a light gauge guitar pick.
Practice 30 minutes a day. If she practices too much she will get bored or
frustrated. The tips of her fingers will get sore at first but that will
go away.
When she is comfortable with strumming and changing chords she can learn
her first song. What kind of music does she like? Most girls her age like
Shania Twain, Hanna Montana, Reba McIntyre etc. Find an "easy to play"
songbook with guitar chords at the music store that has a song in it that
she knows really well. It can be by her favorite artist. She has an
advantage because she already knows how the song is supposed to go. She
should already know the basic chords , and if there are any...

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