...to ask why left-handed guitarists need to play left-handed?

[Splodge1506]

Been skim-reading the thread about people who hold their knives like pens, and there’s quite a lot of mention of left-handed people who have to hold their knives in their LH and forks in RH. It reminded me again that I’ve always been puzzled why left-handed guitarists (like, famously, Paul McCartney) need to hold their guitars the “wrong” way round, with the very inconvenient consequences to stringing/chord shapes. It must make it all so difficult.

I played quite a lot as a teenager and it seems to me that both hands require the same level of dexterity (I’m right-handed). My left-handed friend played “normally”.

So, can anyone enlighten me? Not being provocative, just genuinely curious.

I'm a leftie, and for the most part I've learned to just use things right handed (scissors, tin openers etc). I messed about on a friend's guitar once and it would have been very difficult to learn right handed for me. There's more strength and dexterity in my left hand, and although I could probably have got there, the learning curve would have been steep.

"the right hand just strums up and down"

Absolutely not the case, just watch Mark Knopfler.

He is left handed, but plays a right handed guitar and having watched an interview with him, it was a conscious decision. His reason being his stronger hand is on the fretboard, enabling him to have more control. Certainly works for him.

When I typed "the right hand just strums up and down" what I meant but obviously wasn't clear from the rest of my comment that the right hand is comparatively simple compared with what the left hand does in general just to clear that up. And I say this as a professional musician, string and guitar teacher, I'm not being ignorant! It was an over generalisation, I accept, but if you read the rest of what I'd put I hoped that what I was trying to say had come across. If it had not I apologise 😊 no offence meant to anyone!

I'm left handed and learnt violin and cello right handed. I had a guitar and taught myself a bit (right handed) but never had lessons. I don't play the actual guitar any more but if I'm playing air guitar it's left handed

Left handed typists are faster.

I'm a lefties but learned to play a right handed guitar and use right handed scissors.

In both instances there was no alternative for me to use in the beginning and it quickly became the norm.

Do most other things with my left dominant hand

the most annoying thing about being left handed is getting ink smudges when writing.

Turn your paper 45 degrees clockwise. It's a game changer