Lefty Concertina Players?

[FatBellows]

I was just looking at Bob Tedrow's website and saw a picture of him holding a pencil in his left hand. So he is either left-handed or ambidextrous. I am left-handed as well. Are they other Left-Handed Concertina players out there? If so, do you find it harder to play the melody on the right side?

 

Farion

 

 

Nope. Being a lefty, I don't find that they build musical instruments and tools backwards really matters.

It's only the writing tablets with a binding on the wrong edge that bother me - the binding gets in the way of my hand.

We just have to compromise to encourage the backward handed.

[hjcjones]

Hi

As a guitarist as well as concertina player it always puzzled me why, given that right handed players would have better control of their right hands, that we end up using our left hands for fret work (which usually requires greater dexterity) I always thought that left handed guitarists should have a greater advantage playing a conventionally strung guitar.

chris

 

My understanding of the reason why stringed instruments (in most if not all cultures) are played this way round is that the control over tone and timing comes from the right hand - all the left is doing is holding down the string. It may appear that the left hand is doing the more difficult work (and undoubtedly it requires considerable - I was going to say dexterity but that's hardly the appropriate word ) but the real fine control is needed in the right hand, which is picking or bowing the strings.

 

It's probably telling that most left handed players, given the chance, will restring their instruments so that they're reversed.

 

With most keyboard instruments, including concertina, I should have thought that the difference between the hands was less, although the LH chord/RH melody style (whether on anglo or duet) probably favours the right-handed.

[Anglo-Irishman]

We all use both hands for a wealth of activities, so strange then that our handedness is down to one increasingly antiquated activity: writing! For the record I'm also left handed by that convention, but in many things I can used both hands. Anyway, shouldn't lefties have an advantage on the anglo with just a single press for melody right and all that complicated chording on the left?

 

Not really! I don't think it's helpful to think of a "weak, inept" hand and a "strong, adept" hand. What we really have is a "master" and "servant" hand, or a "leading" and "supporting" hand. Both have to display strength and skill, but in different situations.

 

There are one-handed tasks other than writing, like hammering nails, driving screws, playing tennis or squash, pistol shooting, fencing, throwing things, etc. In these, we as persons are represented by our "leading" hand.

 

Then there are two-handed activities that are symmetrical, like weight-lifting, sculling a boat or playing the EC. Are the people who can do these well all ambidextrous? I don't think so! It's just that here there is no leader and supporter in these tasks, just two equally strong or adept partners.

 

Then there are two-handed activities that are asymmetrical, like using a dust-pan and brush, forging with hammer and tongs, rifle shooting, billiards or playing the guitar. This is where the leader and supporter really come into their roles. The leading hand always determines how things are to be done, and the supporting hand provides timely assistance. In the case of guitar playing, the left hand needs more strength and deftness than the right, but it's the right that determines the tempo and dynamics, and actually produces the sounds.

 

I haven't mentioned the Anglo, the Duet or the piano yet. These do require equal deftness from both hands, so why is the treble always on the right? I think this is because, in European music at least, we regard the melody as the musical "lead", with the lower harmonies "supporting" it. So the leading and supporting hands of the right-handed majority are catered for. However, the differntiation between the roles of the hands is not as crass as with the guitar or violin. That's probably why lots of left-handed pianists manage very well on the standard instrument, whereas many left-handed guitarists reverse their grip.

 

Cheers,

John

[Shayfogs]

I was just looking at Bob Tedrow's website and saw a picture of him holding a pencil in his left hand. So he is either left-handed or ambidextrous. I am left-handed as well. Are they other Left-Handed Concertina players out there? If so, do you find it harder to play the melody on the right side?

 

Farion

 

There is a very fine Irish Anglo player called Paddy Hayes who plays left handed. He just turns the tina upside down! It seems impossible to play like that for anyone who plays in the standard way but I suppose it proves you can adapt to anything