Left Hand Right Hand

[Hooves]

Ok so I'm right handed, yet I find it much easier to play melody on my Left hand then Right. I believe it is an artifact from playing guitar so many years where the left hand is really doing most of the work.

 

I find on my button accordion that I prefer holding it backwards, with the melody keys on the left and my right playing the chords/bass buttons (I know this is CONCERTINA.net but many people on this board also play the button box), which actaully makes it somewhat diffcult to hit the air button, but I manage.

 

I was wondering if other people mostly Right handed with everything else find melodies easier to play with the left (perhaps the opposite even for Left handed people, or those who are equally handed).

 

Maybe the agility will surface after more playing as I have read you can develop ambidexterity with practice.

[Pete Dunk]

I'm left handed and generally the left hand is very dominant, yet I use a knife and fork right handed and also play the guitar right handed. I finger pick so both hands stay pretty busy. I keep looking at melodeons and quite fancy having a go but I'm not sure I would get on with playing melody with the right hand; never worried me with keyboards but this seems different somehow.

[Robert Booth]

Hi

 

I came to concertina from playing harmonica, and had learned most of my licks down on the bottom four holes; when I got my first concertina I naturally used the left hand 'cause thats what corresponded to the harp patterns I'd learned.

 

It took me about a year before I found this site and learned that things just wern't always that way!

So began the slow shift. Mind you, what I had learned on the left hand was altogether useful, but ingrained patterns take a while to move from brain site to brain site, and I had almost neglected entirely the right hand. It is still (quite!) a bit of a struggle to reconcile the two, especially when trying to cultivate the L=chord, R=melody convention. This has been heartily debated here for years, but it is a "standard" style. I figure that if I can train myself to follow this convention now, then later, when I'm more skillful I can boldly go where my left hand wants to go.

 

I still like the L hand because of the rich, reedy tone down there, but for really getting the most out of the instrument, L vs R is the way to go. Someone once said here, "You paid for all those buttons, why not use them?"

 

Withal, it is well worthwhile to practice a known, formal method first, then to explore in an informed, intelligent manner after the fact.

 

But what matters most is to be able to get the chosen noises at the chosen time, isn't it?

 

Have fun.

Robert

[chainyanker]

im right handed, but have had sevral surgerys on my right arm and one on my left. my right arm is now fused, at about 90 degrees, and i have little use out of it. my wife got me my first concertina to try and get some use back out my arms, anyway i didnt know a thing about music and used my left because it was easier at the time, and when i learned to cord i did that with my right. didnt learn long ago that was backwards to most.

Edited May 29, 2007 by chainyanker

[yankeeclipper]

I find it difficult to play melodies with my right hand. Also, with my left.

[Woody]

I find it difficult to play melodies with my right hand. Also, with my left.

Same here

 

I started with Mick Bramich's "Absolute Beginners' Concertina" book which emphasised using the left hand to play the majority of the beginner tunes. This suited me as I'm left-handed.

 

After about 3 months, and finding my tastes leaning towards English music, I was lucky enough to meet our very own Chris Timson who kindly gave some of his time to teach me the basics of playing melody on the right across the rows with chords on the left. Initially it was frustrating to almost go back to square one & use my weaker hand, but after practising a little bit every day it got a lot easier & now I'm lucky because both hands are at about the same level.

 

I'm reminded of a story I heard about the footballer Bobby Charlton. Apparently he was very right-footed but wanted to be able to play with both feet, so he practised hard with his left-foot every day for years until he actually became better with the left than the right.

[Christian Husmann]

Hm,

 

I play the accordion as well having the opportunity to play melody as well with the left hand or to swap the whole thing (accompany right, melody left) - for me it doesn´t make any differency really.

 

But as well with accordion players I heard that some would rate their left hand to be "better" than the right (if right handed).

 

Greetings

Christian

[JimLucas]

I was wondering if other people mostly Right handed with everything else find melodies easier to play with the left...

I can only speak for myself. Melodies, no. But bones, yes. Much easier (and much better) with the left than the right, though my right hand is better for most things.

 

People differ.

 

...(perhaps the opposite even for Left handed people, or those who are equally handed).

With those who are equally handed, how would you tell?

 

Maybe the agility will surface after more playing as I have read you can develop ambidexterity with practice.

For people with hand dominance, it's rare to achieve full ambidexterity, but exercising the "weaker" hand can certainly improve its dexterity (literally "rightness") in most people. It sounds as if your left hand has become more nimble through practice, in spite of your being otherwise right handed, so it's likely that with intensive practice on the concertina, your right hand would quickly catch up.

 

How about reporting to us occasionally on your progress?

[Hooves]

For people with hand dominance, it's rare to achieve full ambidexterity, but exercising the "weaker" hand can certainly improve its dexterity (literally "rightness") in most people. It sounds as if your left hand has become more nimble through practice, in spite of your being otherwise right handed, so it's likely that with intensive practice on the concertina, your right hand would quickly catch up.

 

How about reporting to us occasionally on your progress?

 

 

Certainly I would not be cruel enough to curse you to have to listen to my progress!

 

Tuesday night is one of my "guitar prcatice" nights, I found that after making the statement of the left doing most of the work, my right is still doing quite a bit, I just see the left as actaully doing the melody work - I must be associating bass with the right as I often use my thumb for playign bass parts to the fingerpicking.

 

A few weeks ago there was a humorous disccusion of the "BAD" concertina (Bisonoric anglo Duet), I suggested a "half a Tina" strapped to each leg.

 

I think I could play a Half-Tina (anglo) with my left and beat a small bodhran or other drum witht he right, that would we great for solo performance, but I digress.

 

Thanks for your comments and insight.

[mike averill]

I am right handed (in that I write with my right hand), however my left hand has dominated since day one on the concertina. When I started playing melodeon it took my about 5 minutes to realise that it was best played upside down with the keyboard on the left and thats how its been ever since.

 

One the whole the anglo has a fairly good mix of notes on both ends, so you can pull tunes one way or the other as is more comfortable.

[paperpunchr]

I'm right handed, and have long played bluegrass five-string banjo and both fingerpicked and rhythm guitar...I still find myself predominantly starting tunes on the left hand because that's the octave I want to be in, not the higher register. If the melody goes up into the right hand higer octave, I can get there, but my ear just prefers the lower register.

[david_boveri]

i used to always play the majority of the melody with my left hand, as noel hill taught me. i took a workshop from brian peters, so now i can play with my right hand too. i usually play irish tunes with the left hand and everything else with the right. if i learn a tune for the right hand, sometimes i learn it in c on the right hand and then jump it up to the right.