just curious, Playing same string inst. right & left-handed

[mutepointe]

I'm just curious if anyone can play a guitar, mandolin, whatever right or left-handed? Did anyone switch? Why? Can you play the one instrument right or left so that the strings are upside down in one of those directions? Anyone got video?

I can't do this. I don't even want to try.

[MTGuru]

I've always kept my right hand fingernails fairly long for fingerpicking and strumming. So reversed playing has never been a workable option.

My left-handed high school rock band mate, Jimmy Haslip - who is now more famous as the long time bassist with The Yellowjackets - played, and still plays, electric bass guitar upside-down, with the strings not reversed. It's part of what gives him his unique sound. But I'm pretty sure he can't switch hit.

I can play whistle reversed with RH on top if I concentrate. The result is not horrible, but let's call it less than ideal.

[brewerpaul]

Man-- if you got one of those ZZ Topp guitar spinning things, you could spin it 180 deg, keep on playing, spin it back, around 360 etc. What a blast!

[Ian Parfitt]

Once I switched my lap harp to the left shoulder and played left hand upper and right hand lower for mostly chords, got on like the proverbial house on fire. I manage very well, although the levers are on the "wrong" side for me.
Norma

[Peter Duggan]

I'm just curious if anyone can play a guitar, mandolin, whatever right or left-handed?

Yes, to a certain extent...

Did anyone switch?

Yes, although before getting properly serious about it.

Why?

Natural nine-fingered right-hander, with the left hand being the one short-changed. So dabbled with right-handed guitar in my youth before taking a conscious decision to start over left-handed as a trainee music teacher.

Can you play the one instrument right or left so that the strings are upside down in one of those directions?

Can play a right-handed bass quite passably upside-down, and frequently do to demonstrate things if my own bass isn't handy. Have never tried refingering chords for upside-down play, but tune my class instruments right-handed and can still play a few chords that way despite right-handed guitar now feeling all wrong to me as a right-hander!

My left-handed high school rock band mate, Jimmy Haslip - who is now more famous as the long time bassist with The Yellowjackets - played, and still plays, electric bass guitar upside-down, with the strings not reversed.

It's really not that hard (at least not impossible!) with bass, but far less practicable (sure, I know it's been done!) for chordal guitar.

[mutepointe]

The people on this site never cease to amaze me. If you ever get a chance to video switching, please share that with us.

[Feadoggie]

Quote:
Can you play the one instrument right or left so that the strings are upside down in one of those directions?

Can play a right-handed bass quite passably upside-down, and frequently do to demonstrate things if my own bass isn't handy. Have never tried refingering chords for upside-down play, but tune my class instruments right-handed and can still play a few chords that way despite right-handed guitar now feeling all wrong to me as a right-hander!

I was going to post this when the question was originally asked but thought it didn't apply. But since you mention it.
I know a few folks that play electric bass guitar and also play mandolin(or fiddle) as do I. For chords and note positions the bass is just a big mandolin turned upside down. And the Mandolin is a like pocket bass turned upside down. The bass strings being being arranged as E-A- D-G and the mandolin strings being G-D-A-E. I've converted more than one bass player to mando just by telling them that trick.

Does that count?

Feadoggie