# Left-handed musicians



## Dan Ante

Are there any left handed musicians on TC, if you are one did you convert to playing right handed or did you have a left handed instrument made for you?


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## Heck148

I'm left-handed...I play the bassoon, which like all woodwind instruments, is a "left-handed instrument".

I believe that the earliest woodwind instrument players, and makers were left-handed - the left-hand plays the "top" of the instrument - that part of the pipe closest to the vibrating source. as such, the left hand is engaged in the production of virtually every note...the lower part [right-hand]] is not necessarily used in all note fingerings...to me, this indicates a preference for the strong/upper hand on the part of instrument makers


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## Dan Ante

Thanks for your reply Heck I had not realised a bassoon was left-handed, I play flute, which also has left hand at the top but is considered a right-handed instrument. now you can get left handed flutes which has the right hand on top.

http://www.viento-flutes.com/left-handed_concert_flute.php


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## Larkenfield

Since both hands are involved, I never considered being left-handed a problem when playing clarinet, flute, and alto saxophone. I doubt that the instrument makers felt that they needed to favor the left hand on top of the instrument. But it does mean fully developing the left hand as well as the right, even if one was naturally right handed. One adjusts to the demands of the instrument, though I think brain dominance comes into play-the dominance of the brain hemispheres-and both must be balanced between the creative side of music and the technical demands-and that would be a different for each musician that they would have to work out individually. There are specific technical difficulties related to both the left and right hand on any instrument. But I think that people who are naturally left-handed or right-handed do feel differently, and that's certainly been true in my life creatively and intuitively, though obviously right-handed people can be creative and intuitive themselves.

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58331757e4b058ce7aac163a


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## Dan Ante

Be interesting to see a left handed Piano.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Or a left handed Triangle


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## fluteman

Dan Ante said:


> Thanks for your reply Heck I had not realised a bassoon was left-handed, I play flute, which also has left hand at the top but is considered a right-handed instrument. now you can get left handed flutes which has the right hand on top.
> 
> http://www.viento-flutes.com/left-handed_concert_flute.php


Right. There have always been left-handed flutes, left-handed violins, and left handed guitars (not just a conventional guitar played upside down a la Jimi Hendrix) among other instruments. But they aren't common.


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## Heck148

Larkenfield said:


> Since both hands are involved, I never considered being left-handed a problem when playing clarinet, flute, and alto saxophone. I doubt that the instrument makers felt that they needed to favor the left hand on top of the instrument.


No, I think the instrument makers/players didn't "feel the need to favor" the left - they just naturally favored the left because they were left-handed!! 
They did what came naturally...
Throughout my career, whenever i encountered a technical difficulty, I would automatically look to the weakest finger [ring finger] of my weaker hand . At least 90% of the time, that's where the problem was....as I aged, I did special exercises for the weaker fingers [Digiflex hand exercisers, etc] to keep them strong and flexible..​


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## Heck148

Dan Ante said:


> Thanks for your reply Heck I had not realised a bassoon was left-handed, I play flute, which also has left hand at the top but is considered a right-handed instrument. now you can get left handed flutes which has the right hand on top.


If the right hand is on top, wouldn't it be a right-handed instrument?? the top is the dominant hand on a woodwind instrument...the top hand is involved with virtually every note..


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## Larkenfield

Heck148 said:


> No, I think the instrument makers/players didn't "feel the need to favor" the left - they just naturally favored the left because they were left-handed!!
> They did what came naturally...


Except perhaps the right-handed brass makers? 

The original choice of the left hand above the right for woodwinds may have been based upon the comfort related to "right brain dominant" physical characteristics that are observable in many dedicated musicians. The right hemisphere is associated with cognitive skills, such as creativity, emotion and intuitiveness. It also controls the left side of the body, so right-brained people are often left-handed. Right-brain dominant people are characterized as artistic, innovative and often random. I'll leave that up to others to conjecture or debate, but it was true for me.


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## Heck148

Larkenfield said:


> Except perhaps the right-handed brass makers?


different scene - originally, brass instruments were valveless - so neither hand appears dominant....with horns, however, the need to stop the bell, manipulate tones was crucial, and was done with the right hand....valves came later [c. 1840s], and are operated by the left...trumpet valves by right hand, same with trombone slide.



> The original choice of the left hand above the right for woodwinds may have been based upon the comfort related to "right brain dominant" physical characteristics that are observable in many dedicated musicians. The right hemisphere is associated with cognitive skills, such as creativity, emotion and intuitiveness. It also controls the left side of the body, so right-brained people are often left-handed.


I think that's what I'm saying...:tiphat:


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