What Percentage Of Guitar Players Are Left-handed?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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When it comes to playing guitar, only

10 percent

of guitarists play left-handed. Much like everything else in the world, guitar is typically overwhelmingly dominated by right-handed people. But that’s not a reason why you can’t learn to play guitar left-handed.

Who are some left-handed guitarist?

  • Jimi Hendrix. Surely we don’t need to elaborate on this one. …
  • Tony Iommi. …
  • Paul McCartney. …
  • Kurt Cobain. …
  • Albert King. …
  • Courtney Barnett. …
  • Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. …
  • Dick Dale.

Who plays guitar left-handed?

The most well-known of the left-handed guitarists has to be

Jimi Hendrix

. Jimi was naturally left-handed but his father, Al, initially tried to force the young James to play right-handed. Al Hendrix reportedly believed playing left-handed was a sign of the devil.

Is it OK to play guitar left-handed?

You’ll be learning to play the way most people learn, however you will have a strong fretting hand to handle barre chords and intricate riffs and solos.

Learning to play left-handed will always bind you to a left-handed guitar

. You won’t be able to play any guitar you come across.

Are left-handed guitar players rare?

Statistically,

between 10-15% of the world’s population are left-handed

. This is a fairly significant minority when you think about it… Therefore in order to remain cost-effective, the production of left handed guitars is not exactly a priority to a lot of guitar companies.

Was Kurt Cobain a left-handed guitarist?

Kurt Cobain

The Nirvana frontman

was a natural left-hander but was taught to write with his right hand

. After years of having problems finding left-handed guitars, Fender made him special Mustangs once the band had become famous.

Did paul McCartney play a left-handed guitar?

Sir Lefty. Sir Paul McCartney is a virtuoso on almost any instrument.

He plays most of them with his left hand

— including his legendary Höfner 500/1 bass.

Do lefties live shorter lives?

Left-handed

people tend to live significantly shorter lives than right-handers

, perhaps because they face more perils in a world dominated by the right-handed, according to new research. Right-handed men lived 10 years longer than left-handed men, the report said. …

Did Hendrix string his guitar backwards?

It is TRUE. Unable to find a left-handed guitar,

Hendrix reversed the string order of a right-handed guitar

which he played upside down.

Do lefties think differently?

However, results from a 2009 study by Stanford University concluded that

left-handed people may indeed think different to those who are right handed

, or at least, they see the world a little differently.

Does a left-handed person need a left-handed guitar?


You don’t even necessarily need a left-handed guitar

, as you can flip a right-handed guitar over and use it as a left-handed guitar. Just be aware that some guitars are designed asymmetrically, so if you play it upside down it might feel a little strange.

Can you turn a right-handed guitar into a left?

In most cases

a right handed instrument can be easily converted to a left handed instrument

. In fact, on a classical guitar, the conversion may be as simple as restringing it. … On a mandolin, or archtop guitar, the instrument would require a new lefty compensated bridge along with the new nut.

Are left-handed guitars more expensive?

The cost

The left-handed guitar, you find,

will always be more expensive than the right-handed counterpart

. When you consider the population of left-handed people (10%) and the fact that many learn to play on a standard guitar, you begin to get a picture of what the market is like for lefties.

Was Jimi Hendrix left-handed or right-handed?

According to Christman, who is based at the University of Toledo,

Hendrix was not strictly left-handed

. Although he played his right-handed guitar upside down, and used his left hand to throw, comb his hair and hold cigarettes, Hendrix wrote, ate and held the telephone with his right hand.

Why did Jimi Hendrix play his guitar upside down?


They simply got a right-handed instrument and flipped it upside down

. … Because that’s the way they learned to play, some of them never played a factory-made left-handed model. They simply continued playing a flipped-over right-handed guitar in their upside down-style for the rest of their careers.

Is it harder to learn guitar left-handed?


It is in NO WAY harder to learn guitar left handed

. … Tabs are not backwards, learning materials are not backwards, and it makes no difference to a guitar teacher if you are left handed – in fact, many say that it is easier to teach a southpaw due to the Mirror Effect!

Emily Lee
Author
Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.