# Handedness?



## Tony Done

Hi folks, I'm new here; I'm not a classical aficionado, but I play the guitar (acoustic folk and blues, electric slide/lapsteel) and have an interest in handedness. Hopefully, some of you here can offer opinions on this, or point me to other resources or reference material with good data.

As I understand it, violin, for example, is only played as a right-handed instrument in orchestras, yet natural left-handers are well represented among orchestral violinists. - They have learned to play right-handed. From what I have read, degree of handedness, be it left or right varies from very strong to ambidextrous, plus mixed-handedness. So the question is this - can strong left handers learn to play right handed? This question often comes up in guitar fora in relation to questions about how a left-hander should learn to play. It often ends up in a flame war with a lot of heat and not much light; I'm hoping I will do better here. 

I wasn't sure where to put this query, if it is in the wrong place perhaos one of the mods would be kind enough to move it.

Thanks.


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## senza sordino

I write with my left hand, I play the violin with my right hand. I also throw objects right handed. I have never seen an orchestral violin player play left handed, I have seen left handed folk fiddlers.


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## Tony Done

^^^It sounds as if you are mixed-handed if you throw with one and write with the other. As far as orchestras are concerned, violins, maybe all instruments (?) are one-directional.

The question really is a statistical one. Are strongly left-handed violinists (or any orchestral players for that matter) under-represented in orchestras compared with the population at large?


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## SixFootScowl

Tony Done said:


> As far as orchestras are concerned, violins, maybe all instruments (?) are one-directional.


 Perhaps orchestra, but they do have left handed guitars, though some have simply adapted to using a right handed guitar in a left handed manner. I have to step outside classical for an example, but Jimi Hendrix used a right handed guitar and played it left handed and the strings were upside down (so the bass strings are at the bottom instead of at the top), but he learned to play it that way and it apparently did not hinder him. The advantage is if he didn't have a guitar with him he could easily pick up someone else's guitar and play.


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## Tony Done

True, but Jimi still used his weak hand for fretting and his strong hand for picking. - I think this is an evolutionary thing, division of labour - the weak hand holds, the strong hand manipulates.

However, what I am asking is whether strongly lefty-handed people can learn to play right handed with a high degree of competence, as irequired for, say, orchestral violin.


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