List of musicians who play left-handed

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Jimi Hendrix playing a right-handed guitar altered for left-handed playing (a Fender Stratocaster).

This is a list of notable musicians who play their instruments left-handed. (This does not include left-handed people who play right-handed, such as Duane Allman, Ritchie Blackmore, Mike Bloomfield, Rik Emmett, Robert Fripp, Matt Sharp, Noel Gallagher, Danny Gatton, Duff McKagan, Mike Starr, Janick Gers, Tom Araya, Dave Lombardo, Mark Knopfler, B.B. King, Gary Moore, Steve Morse, Joe Perry, Chris Rea, Paul Simon and Ringo Starr.)

Contents

[edit] Guitarists

Paul McCartney playing a true left-handed guitar (a Gibson Les Paul).

Left-handed people play guitar or electric bass in one of four ways: (1) play a right-handed guitar right-handed, (2) play a true left-handed instrument, (3) play a right-handed instrument that has been altered to play left-handed, i.e. with the bass strings on top), or (4) turn a right-handed guitar upside down, pick with the left hand, but leave the strings as they were – which makes them reversed from the normal order for a left-handed player. (The fingering is the same for methods 2 and 3.) Any style of picking with the left hand (flatpicking or fingerstyle guitar) is considered playing left-handed.

  • Tony Iommi's guitar, a custom-made Gibson SG

  • Left-handed Stratocaster

  • Jimi Hendrix's Les Paul Custom - a right-handed guitar with the strings reversed for playing left-handed

  • A left-handed Martin D-28. The internal and external construction is the mirror image of a right-handed guitar.

[edit] Left-handed with standard tunings

Guitarists in this category pick with their left hand and have the strings in the conventional order for a left-handed player (i.e. the low string on the top). They either have true left-handed guitars or have right-handed guitars altered so the strings are correct for a left-handed player. Some guitarists in this category (e.g. Paul McCartney) play both genuine left-handed instruments and right-handed instruments altered for left-handed playing.

Changing the strings on a right-handed guitar involves several things. The nut of the guitar has to be changed to accommodate the string widths. The bridge needs to be changed to make the lower strings longer than the top strings for correct intonation. On almost all acoustic guitars the bracing is non-symmetrical. On electric guitars altered this way, the controls will be backwards.

[edit] Notable players

Tony Iommi playing a true left-handed guitar (a Jaydee Custom S.G.).
Jonathan Butler at the Newport Beach Jazz Festival, 2011.
[edit] Notes
  • Jimi Hendrix was naturally left-handed but his father tried to force him to play right-handed because he believed playing left handed was a sign of the devil. Hendrix took right-handed guitars and restrung them for playing left-handed (Cross 2005:55). Hendrix did continue to write right-handed.

[edit] Left-handed with strings backwards

These are players who play left-handed, but with the strings as on an unaltered right-handed guitar, thus the strings are backwards for a left-handed player (e.g. Bob Geldof). Some players in this category (e.g. Dick Dale and Albert King) had custom instruments that were basically a left-handed guitar with the strings as on a right-handed guitar, since they had learned to play that way.

[edit] Notable players

Dick Dale playing a customized left-handed guitar with the strings backwards.
Bob Geldof playing a right-handed guitar upside down (a Gibson).

[edit] Unclassified left-handed players

Many of The Muppets also play instruments left handed such as Kermit the Frog (banjo), Janice (guitar), and Floyd Pepper (bass guitar). This is because most of the puppeteers are right handed and control the puppets with their right hands, leaving their left hands for strumming.

[edit] Bass guitarists

Paul McCartney playing a left-handed Rickenbacker bass

[edit] Drummers

[edit] Notes

  • Ringo Starr is naturally left-handed but was taught to write right-handed. His drums are set up for right-handed playing, but he leads with his left hand.
  • Christopher Guanlao of Silversun Pickups is left-handed but plays a right-handed set primarily in "open style" (opposite to cross handed) and has his ride cymbal to his left.
  • Josh Eppard of Terrible Things and formerly of Coheed and Cambria also drums open-handed (left-handed on a right-handed kit) but writes right-handed.

[edit] Violinists

Note: it is very unusual for anyone to play the violin "left-handed"; the vast majority of violinists whether they write with their left or right hand play the violin "right handed".

[edit] Ukulele

[edit] Trumpet

[edit] Trombone

[edit] Banjo

[edit] Mandolin

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Butler
  2. ^ http://www.etab.ac-caen.fr/clg-cerisy/calogero%20photo.jpg
  3. ^ Confirmed in person by Ed to D P Knowles on Jan 29th 2010 in the Circus Tavern - Manchester
  4. ^ Sanchis, Ima. "La veo en blanco y negro pero la oigo en colores", La Contra de La Vanguardia, 10 July 2010.
  5. ^ Steve Hewitt

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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