Episode 34 – Best Practice with Left Handed Ukulele Players

Today was a day where I ended up discussing left handed ukulele playing as a teacher twice. First, at the Georgia Music Educators Association, and the later on Facebook.

So I am clear, I allow my left handed students (in 5th grade at the point) to decide if they want to play right handed, left handed, or to flip a right handed to be played like a left handed ukulele. I make a video covering the positives and negatives, and ask parents and students to choose how they want to learn to play.

I have never had a student choose to flip the ukulele, but I have had students choose to play left handed, and I have students that start left handed and switch after a few days to right handed, and those that stay left handed. I don’t have to recreate materials for them—they simply adapt. And as a left handed player, they’re used to adapting.

One thing I will say is that the argument (which I used to use) that left handed players have an advantage needs to stop—if that was true, then all right handed players should be playing a left handed ukulele.

Yes, if a person learns left handed, they will face some challenges:

• Materials for ukulele are overwhelmingly right handed
• They will have to switch the strings on any ukulele they own, which may require modification of the nut
• Many ukuleles cannot be flipped due to electronics or cutaways

That said, I have found that left handed players who play left handed “get it” and require very little additional support as you teach a class.

And please note, I’m not saying that a left handed player cannot play right handed, or that you should force a left handed player to play left handed. I am saying that you should let the player/student/parents make that choice.

I also wanted to share the link to my friend Paul Marchese’s website, where he also talks about this topic: http://www.ukuleleforteachers.com/blog/lefty-vs-righty-pull-out-the-soapboxrant-ahead