Learn How To Play Guitar & Guitar Accessories

Question: Playing left handed guitar?

(Posted by: Julie C on 2009-05-27 20:19:31)

I have been trying to play a right handed guitar that someone gave me and am left handed and I have realized It would be much better if I played left handed..I hardly know a thing about guitar, but can I just get the guitar I already have strung differently or do I have to buy a special guitar? I have a basic yamaha acoustic

Posted by: Dave on 2009-05-27, 20:33:00

You can just change the placing of the strings, if you have a cut-away (which I'm assuming you don't or you'd see the problem with that) then it'll look real ugly to do but it'll work all the same. Left and right handed guitars only differ when their shape is not symmetrical, so if your guitar is pretty much symmetrical then you've got nothing to worry about, even if it's not symmetrical you can get away with it though, but sometimes the different shape can keep you from some frets. But it's just about how it looks really, shouldn't cause you any problems.

Posted by: ek 5 on 2009-05-27, 20:31:39

Have your guitar strung backwards, switch 1 & 6, 2 & 5, 3 & 4. Then it will be left-handed.