Left handed people can become guitar players but there are some adjustments you need to make to your guitar and your outlook. First if you think that you “should” be right handed because that is how guitars are designed, think again. If the hand that keeps telling you it wants to perform actions is your left hand, you are better off listening to it. This is your active hand, which makes your right hand passive. So in a way, your left hand tells your right hand what to do. Paul McCartney is one guitar player who tried to make his right hand do the picking and it did not work. He only started to get anywhere with playing the guitar after he changed the strings around and started picking with his left hand. There are lots of left handed guitar players who have mastered their instrument and gained fame and fortune. I have already mentioned Paul McCartney, and there are many others like Curt Cobain, Tony Iommi, Jimi Hendrix and Slim Whitman.
Dick Dale, “King Of The Surf Guitar” is one notable exception to this rule. The first guitar he learnt to play on was a normal right handed guitar. So he forced his hands to learn to play without changing the order of the strings on the guitar. Even after he was able to buy custom made left handed guitars, he still played with the strings in the right hand positions because that is what he was used to. Bobby Womack and Albert King also play like this.
So what changes need to be made to a guitar to make it suitable for playing left handed? Well, when you hold a guitar in playing position the sixth string – the E string which is the thickest guitar string needs to be on top of the guitar, that is closest to your shoulder. To achieve this the order of the strings needs to be reversed. If you hold a right handed guitar in front of you and look straight at it, the sixth string is on your right hand side. To string the guitar for left handed playing, the first string should be on the right hand side.
Also, the two parts of the guitar that actually hold the strings on – the bridge and the nut need to be changed around. If you look closely at these parts you will see that they have slots cut in them to hold the strings. Naturally the nut and bridge will need to be turned upside down to fit the strings in the reverse order.
Now for the question of buying left handed guitars. Many guitarists complain that left handed guitars cost around double the price of right handed guitars, so you will need to do some serious shopping. Tokai and Vintage make serviceable mid-range left handed guitars for a reasonable price,. Fender make all the ‘basic’ model Telecasters and Stratocasters for leftys, and Gibson make left handed versions of all their flagship guitars.
Now let us look at another challenge for left handed guitarists – chord charts. If you do a search on the web you will find a range of printed left handed chord charts and chord generators. A good on to start with is “Left Handed Guitar Chord Chart”, by Robert Tarchara. There are also books that are written especially for left handed guitar players:
Mel Bay Left-Handed Guitar Chords, by William Bay, 2005
Guitar Case Guide to Left-Handed Chords, by Rikky Rooksby, 2001
Guitar Case Guide to Left-handed Scales, by Rikky Rooksby, 2006
Fortunately there are many left handed guitar players who have been willing to share the knowledge and experience on line. Some can be found on forums, others have set up their own websites. Among other tips they can help with where and how to buy left handed guitars.
Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.
Bobby Womack – “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”
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Poets by Bobby Womack (CD, Oct-2005, 3 Discs, Castle) $23.00 |
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BOBBY WOMACK ~ The Last Soul Man ~ VINYL LP $12.08 |
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1974 Bobby Womack Lookin’ For A Love Again Print Ad (45625) An original vintage magazine ad print from the year published. Print ads make unique gift items that can be framed as artwork. Shipped flat un-framed in plastic sleeve with backing board…. |
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Customized artistic image of Calvin Richardson using for commissioning a Genuine Oil Painting of Calvin Richardson in highest professional quality, completely 100% hand-painted by high-skilled oil portrait artist. Art style: photorealist. All sizes available. You have always been dreaming about possessing a genuine hand-painted oil painting of Your Greatest Idol Calvin Richardson but you are not sure whether you can buy one because genuine hand-painted oil paintings are often very expensive?We can help you. Just specify all your needs regardingwhat to paintfavorite backgrounds of your choice (e.g.sunshine, flowers, abstract patterns, on stage etc…)fa… |
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The Best of Bobby Womack $7.85 … |
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Jackie Brown: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture (1997 Film) $5.16 “Stuck in the Middle With You” and “You Never Can Tell” now induce indelible visual images that have little to do with Steealer’s Wheel and Chuck Berry their respective creators. They’ve been co-opted (and, some might argue, corrupted) by Quentin Tarantino, arguably the most music-savvy of ’90s filmmakers. The soundtrack to Tarantino’s Jackie Brown is heavy on ’70s R&B (Bobby Womack, Brothers John… |
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Bobby Murcer & Dooley Womack Autographed 1967 Topps Card (James Spence) $86.26 Bobby Murcer & Dooley Womack Autographed 1967 Topps Card (James Spence) Bobby Murcer & Dooley Womack Autographed / Signed 1967 Topps Card (James Spence) |
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Bobby Womack — The Poet / The Poet II $19.95 (Piano/Vocal/Chords). For Keyboard; Piano; Voice. This edition: Piano/Vocal/Chords. Artist/Personality; Personality Book; Piano/Vocal/Chords. Book. 84 pages. Published by Alfred Music Publishing |
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Harry Hippie $6 Harry Hippie – Bobby Womack |
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Lookin’ For A Love $6 Lookin’ For A Love – Bobby Womack |
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Secrets $6 Secrets – Bobby Womack |
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Alfred 0032681 Bobby Womack The Poet The Poet II Music Book $34.25 Alfred Music Publishing is the world s largest educational music publisher. Alfred produces educational’ reference’ pop’ and performance materials for teachers’ students’ professionals’ and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument’ style’ and difficulty level. The consecutive release in the 1980s of The Poet and The Poet II propelled Bobby Womack to the top ranks of soul music majesty. Now’ in celebration of Womack s ongoing career and his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction’ this songbook makes sheet music for these landmark albums available to music makers. Titles: American Dream Games I Wish I Had Someone to Go Home To If You Think You re Lonely Now It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye Just My Imagination Lay Your Lovin on Me Love Has Finally Come at Last Secrets So Many Sides of You Stand Up Surprise’ Surprise Tell Me Why Through the Eyes of a Child Trying to Get Over You Where Do We Go from Here Who’s Fooling Who |
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Cloud Of Unknowing (Feat. Bobby Womack And Sinfonia Viva) $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever. |
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Stylo (Feat. Mos Def And Bobby Womack) $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever. |
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Stylo (Feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack)(SIngle) $4.99 For everything you do, there’s a song that hits the spot. MOG brings them all to you: a world of music on demand, unlimited mobile downloads and ways to discover music free from the limitations of Pandora. The music you love, with you everywhere you go. |
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Woman’s Gotta Have It $6 Woman’s Gotta Have It – Bobby Womack |
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Womack $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever. |
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Bobby $6 Bobby |
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Stylo (Album Version) (Feat. Mos Def And Bobby Womack) $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever. |
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Stylo $10 Stylo – Gorillaz Featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack |
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That’s The Way I Feel About ‘Cha $10 That’s The Way I Feel About ‘Cha – Bobby Womack |
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Lee Ann Womack $7.99 Lee Ann Womack – Photo |
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Womack & Womack $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever. |
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Tony Womack Autographed Baseball $57.02 Tony Womack Autographed Baseball Tony Womack Autographed / Signed Baseball |
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Tony Womack – 2005 Batting $39.99 Tony Womack – 2005 Batting – Photo |