Jimi Hendrix was arguably the greatest guitar player who ever lived. He was undoubtedly an awesome guitar player, but he was also a great songwriter and an innovator. Many of the guitar tricks and sounds that are so common today were practically invented by Hendrix. Tube amp distortion, feedback techniques, whammy bar effects, playing guitar with your teeth and behind your back, all done first by this Rock Music Icon. There is much to learn from Jimi Hendrix and the other Southpaw players you will find on this Hub Page.

My name is Joe Russ. I have been playing guitar for more than 30 years. Am I left handed? I will be the first to admit that I am not. So what gives me the right to construct a webpage about left handed guitar players? Well, the truth is, I grew up surrounded by left handed people and continue to have them in my life everyday. I have left handed people in my life that I love very much. My dear sweet mother was left handed as is my little brother. I also have a left handed son and if that doesn't get me into the club, my wife Diane is also left handed. So I'm not exactly ignorant when it comes to what lefties have to put up with in this world. In fact this website is especially for my left handed son, Adam, who I don’t get to see as often as I would like.

Being left handed and wanting to play guitar in a right handed guitar world can be frustrating when you are just starting out. There have been some great left-handed guitar players in history, the most famous of course was Jimi Hendrix. He solved the “problem” of being left handed by taking a right handed Fender Stratocaster and turning it up side down.

His most famous Strat, the one he called “VooDoo”, was an Olympic White Stratocaster. Fender has recently re-released this guitar strung so that right handed guitarists could get the whole upside down thing. Read this great article about Hendrix and how he adapted a right handed guitar to suit his left handed purposes.

People who are left-handed usually play the guitar or electric bass in one of three ways. (1) Use a right-handed guitar and learn to play right-handed, (2) find a true left-handed guitar (or a right-handed guitar that has been made to play left-handed or (3) take a right-handed guitar and turn it upside down, picking with the left hand. These players leave the strings the same, making them reversed, upside down, for a left-handed player.

Some Southpaw wanna bees figure life will be easier if they just swim downstream. They simply learn to play right handed from the beginning. However, if you decide to take the route Hendrix did, you will need to have a qualified guitar technician put a new nut on your guitar because you will also have to string the guitar opposite of a right handed person and the strings will cross the nut exactly inverse of a rightie.

There have been a number of left handed guitarists who have left the guitar as is and just learned to play it "upside down" so to speak. Though this is certainly possible and there is nothing "wrong" with it, to my knowledge there exists no learning materials to address this method, you'd be on your own to adjust accordingly.

Below you will find a list of some of the best left handed guitars in the history of American music. You will also find seveal links to websites and videos just for Southpaws. The first is a website just for lefty guitar players, followed by a link to Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower". Then there is a great article on how to play like Hendrix. Now, we all know that is impossible but hopefully you can pick up some great tips. And finally, a link to an online music store that sells nothing but left handed guitars. Here's to hoping you enjoy these links.

Joe

• Left Handed Guitarists.com
  
  

A website exclusively for left handed guitar players. Includes books, articles, guitar players who play left handed, upside down, with left handed guitars as well as those who play right handed. Many photos of left handed players and guitars.

• Jimi Hendrix All Along The Watchtower

A video of Hendrix doing this classic song live.

• How to Play Guitar Like Jimi Hendrix | eHow.com

Hendrix may have done as much for the advancement of the sound of electric guitar as anyone who has ever lived. This article will help you understand his playing style better.

• SouthPawGuitars.com

This online store carries nothing but left handed musical instruments. They have over 900 guitars in stock including full size lefty acoustics from $99.

• Left Handed Guitarman.com

Another great website for lefties looking for a good economical guitar.

• Active Musician

ActiveMusician is one of the best online retailers of Left Handed Acoustic and Electric Guitars,

If you decide to take a right handed guitar and adapt it to play left handed, ala Jimi Hendrix, here are several issues you will have to deal with. If you look at the nut, the white piece of plastic or bone that the strings pass over where the headstock and the neck meet, you will notice that grooves have been cut out in different sizes according to the thickness of each string.

You will need to get a good guitar technician to make you a new nut cut out in exact reverse order of the original since your strings will be in reverse order on your adapted guitar. The bridge will also need to be adjusted so the lower strings will be longer in order for you to be able to have correct intonation. If this isn’t done you will never be able to tune your guitar correctly.

On most acoustic guitars the bracing is made a certain way for right handed guitars, but unfortunately there is nothing you can do about this issue.  For electric guitars adapted for Southpaws, the controls will be backwards and again there’s not much you can do about it, you will just have to get used to it. .

Great left handed guitar players include Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Cliff, Tony Iommi, Seal, Babyface, John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants), Beeb Birtles (Little River Band), Elvis Costello, Elliot Easton (The Cars), Elizabeth Cotten, Iggy Pop, Blues Man Albert King, Otis Rush, Bobby Womack, Al McKay (Earth, Wind & Fire), Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos), Chris Rea, Surf Guitar King Dick Dale, Paul Simon, Johnny Winter, Dave Loggins (Please Come To Boston), Dickie Lee, Dan Seals, Billy Ray Cyrus and of course, Paul McCartney. Although often pictured playing his violin shaped Hofner bass, he also was quite proficient on the guitar. Mark Knopfler and Danny Gatton are two remarkable lefties who play right-handed.

Click their name to view their video

• Left Handed Guitar Playing Guide

A great article with tips especially for lefties and their special needs. You get insight into the plight of the Southpaw guitar player.

• Elliott Easton of the Cars

Elliott talks about growing up left handed and trying to learn how to play guitar in a right handed guitar world.

• Playing With A Right Handed Guitar

Instructions for Southpaws on how to make a right handed guitar work for you.

• About.com's left handed guitar page

Many left-handed guitar resources on the web, including lessons, music stores and more.

• Tuning
• Warming Up
• 4 Finger Fret Warm Up
• Hybrid Picking
• Strumming Part 1
• Strumming Part 2
• Strumming Part 3
• Finger Picking 1
• Finger Picking 2

• Hammer Ons and Pull Offs
• The Harmonic Minor Scale
• The Major Pentatonic Scale
• Strumming Techniques
• C Major Barre Chord
• D7 Barre Chord
• The Major Scale
• Sweep Picking
• E7 Chord
• Bending Strings
• Banjo Rolls