help!

tammy111 · #1 June 8th, 2007

Hi there my name is Tammy...

I have never done music in in my life and now wish to learn how to play the guitar! I got a guitar for my birthday and now need to learn how to play it! Also I am left handed but have got a right handed guitar - is that gonna be a problem!! Hope to hear from anybody soon!!! Tammy

makn · #2 June 8th, 2007

Hi Tammy,

Welcome to a wonderful journey of discovery about the guitar and yourself. I'm a left hander as well, I tried learning right hander on an electric, and I just couldn't get it to work.

I found my rhythm came easier using my left hand as the strumming hand. It was more comfortable for me. Try it right handed, flip the guitar try it left, see which hand keeps the beat better. That's probably your stronger strumming hand.

If you've got an acoustic well you can always just turn it over and re-string it. And then it's left handed.

tammy111 · #3 June 8th, 2007

my brother said the say thing and i told him he was being stupid....

tammy111 · #4 June 8th, 2007

but what about the guard thing on the guitar?

makn · #5 June 8th, 2007

Hi Tammy,

Well I wouldn't be to worried about the guard, if you are strumming, well try not to hit the guitar,...... if you're finger picking, like most of the lesson's on this site. You wont need the guard.

You look at some of the old guitars Eric Clapton and other guitarists use, they've got wear marks all over them. It doesn't seem to worry them.

tammy111 · #6 June 8th, 2007

ok so maybe i should re-string my guitar! ooo, gosh! hope its easy!

tammy111 · #7 June 8th, 2007

how long have you been playing for?

Nutty · #8 June 8th, 2007

My daugther is left-handed. Our guitar teacher recommended that she try right-handed first and then switch if necessary. She's had no problem at all playing right-handed. So, do give it a try.

Welcome and good luck.

Nutty

tammy111 · #9 June 8th, 2007

Hi Nutty

Thanks I will give it a try....but where do i start learning??? Do you play yourself?

tammy111 · #10 June 8th, 2007

p.s bearing in mind I can't read music?!

makn · #11 June 8th, 2007

Well, I started 2 years ago, at 38, going slowly since then. I reckon if I'd started in my teens, left or right wouldn't have mattered, to much, because I would only have used my brothers guitars which were all right handed. So I reckon I would have got it working eventually.

As Nutty said, try right handed see how you go.

carol m · #12 June 8th, 2007

Hi Tammy, don't worry about not reading music, you can learn that as you go if you want to. A good place to start learning is to have a read at

Brand new to playing the guitar?...read this first.

allthumbs · #13 June 8th, 2007

Hi Tammy. Follow Carols link. Try playing righty first. Then lefty. There are things that need to be gone if you restring a guitar for lefty. The nut has to be changed and possibly the bridge. It might be cheaper to take the guitar back and get a lefty.

tammy111 · #14 June 8th, 2007

guys thanks for all your advice...I will check out the above and give it a go....wish me luck - will keep you updated!!!

makn · #15 June 8th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by allthumbs

There are things that need to be gone if you restring a guitar for lefty. The nut has to be changed and possibly the bridge. It might be cheaper to take the guitar back and get a lefty.

Well Tammy, good thing allthumbs was here, I gave you some dud advice. Now that I actually look at my guitar yes I can see why you'd need to change the nut and possibly the bridge.