| Author |
Subject |
veg9000
Registered User
(3/9/01 11:16:34 am)
Reply |
What is
a lefty to do?
Hello all,
I recently bought a
normal right-handed cello (since, as far as I know, left-handed
cellos don't exist). I've read that even left handers should play
with a bow in the right hand. This is a problem for me, though,
because I've been playing my left-handed guitar for quite a few
years. I don't forsee myself switching between lefty guitar and
righty cello playing with ease. So... I've strung my cello
backwards, making a slight modification to the bridge. I'd hoped to
just learn to play this way, but the ridge in the finger board makes
it a little more difficult than I'd anticipated. It would also be
nice to sort of mirror the pegbox so that the pegs are inserted on
the opposite side.
So I pose this question to some
experienced cellists, What am I to do? Has anyone tried a Do It
Yourself fingerboard modification? Is there any other way to level
it out so that it doesn't have a ridge or angle (or better yet, so
that it does have a ridge and angle, but for lefties)? Is there
somewhere that a beginning cellist (read: on a budget) can go to
have this done or to buy a lefty cello frame?
I love the
sound of my new instrument, but I'm a little frustrated since I know
it could be easier for me to play. Any suggestions are much
appreciated!
Thanks, Casey
|
lblake
Registered
User
(3/9/01 1:39:06 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
As you've discovered already,
there's a lot that makes a cello to be played in one direction,
specifically. I know of no do-it-yourself or inexpensive way to
change it. What you don't seem to be considering (yet) is the inside
of the cello, too. There is a sound post and a bass bar, and the
plates are tuned for the "right handed" direction.
So, I
guess my best suggestion would be: learn to finger with your left
hand. You'll probably pick it up easier than many of us
right-handers do - even though you're used to guitar. And, maybe,
switch to right-handed on guitar, too, then. 
I'd
think you'd need to have the fingerboard and nut, at least, replaced
if you were going to switch the instrument. I think if you get into
the pegbox, too, then you're getting into the whole neck &
scroll... and that's GOT to be expensive. And, I'm not sure what
modification you made to the bridge, but you might be better off
having a new one cut.
I just think there are too many
variables you're going against in the intrinsic nature/build of the
instrument if you try to change it from left-fingered to
right-fingered.
I've heard of it being done - even to a very
nice instrument - but it seems such a shame and such a waste. I
think by changing the instrument this way, you'd really be giving
yourself a whole new set of awful challenges to work against, and
you'd have to do it on any instrument you'd ever play...
Just doesn't seem efficient to me. (sorry - not very
encouraging). Good luck with whatever you do, though.
|
Laura
Wichers
Moderator
(3/9/01 2:46:58 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
I'm left-handed and play cello in
the normal manner, bow in right hand. It makes much more sense to me
to play this way as opposed to bowing with my left hand. The
fingering hand requires greater control of small muscle function
than the bowing hand, and as left-handed people, we already have the
advantage, through writing, of having this greater control in our
left hand. IMO, right-handed people should be the ones who are
concerned about fingering difficulties.
I would not recommend
attempting to learn cello backwards, bow in left hand. If you end up
playing in orchestral situations, you will always run into the
problem of bowing into your stand partner. Plus, as iblake already
mentioned, cellos are designed to be bowed with the right hand and
fingered with the left. It is expensive and unnecessary to switch
the instrument around.
Bottom line: learn to play the proper
way, with bow in right hand and left hand on the
fingerboard.
Laura, aka "Southpaw Extraordinare"
|
Steve
Drake
Registered
User
(3/9/01 3:27:42 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
I agree with Laura. I'm not really a
lefty, but when I was a kid I got tested several times, and was
pegged as an ambidextrous. I've learned how to do most stuff as a
righty, although I'm a lefty in certain areas (cooking and eating
mostly). I have actually spent some time trying to learn how to play
the cello with my hands reversed, and it can be done, and there are
even some benefits to doing it that way. However, my left hand is
most comfortable with the complicated tasks of fingering, and my
right hand the relatively easy task of bowing.
Instead of
worrying about getting a cello with everything reversed, which could
be done, but would be expensive, why not try just learning how to
play a normal cello with your hands switched?
My MP3's
My Cello
Homepage
|
karenlee
Registered
User
(3/9/01 3:42:08 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
I can really sympathize. I am left
handed, and learned violin left handed (I had it adapted). Starting
out, I really really wanted to bow that cello with my left hand but
took the advice of all the ICS folks and went the right hand route.
It works. I felt deprived for a while, but I got over it. You'll be
surprised what you can do.
|
veg9000
Registered
User
(3/9/01 4:25:54 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
Well, thanks everyone for the
advice. It sounds like I'll have to do it the right way.
(ha!)
I'm still reluctant, though, because I've been playing
guitar for six years. As a result, my right set of fingers is quite
nimble and quick. My left hand's fingers are clumsy and slow.
I
understand, though, that if I start doing the same finger exercises
with my left hand that I've done with my right, that one day it'll
catch up. What a pain in the butt, though, to lose all of my
fingering experience!
Now, I go order a new bridge, shake my
fist at the sky (my left fist, of course), pout for a little while,
and finally, face the fact (or face the music?) that I'll play
right-handed from now on...
Edited by: veg9000
at:
3/9/01 4:25:54 pm
|
lblake
Registered
User
(3/9/01 5:43:36 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
Well, think of it this way... the
muscles for fingering and playing cello are in a completely
different position than they are for guitar anyway, so you won't
have to work around any bad habits that might come across from
guitar to cello. 
Don't
worry - even if you don't get to use the same hand, you have surely
learned a lot of principles on the guitar that you can carry over,
and still be a step ahead of an absolute beginner.
So, what
had you done to your bridge, anyway? changed the angle on the
feet?
|
Lucy
Clifford
Registered User
(3/9/01 7:12:38 pm)
Reply |
Play
the 'normal' way
Yep, I'm another 'gauche' person,
and I have survived playing the cello in the 'normal' way. Believe
it or not, I think that stringed instruments are one area where
handedness doesn't come into it - one does it in such-and-such a
way, and that's the end of it. All my teachers have been left
handed, and perhaps because music is so removed from the normal run
of things, there is not really an issue.
|
zambocello
Registered User
(3/9/01 9:28:57 pm)
Reply |
Re:
What is a lefty to do?
You'll learn "right-handed" cello
fingering faster than you anticipate. Even though the muscles aren't
used to it, you will be able to transfer the understanding of what
your right hand does when it is fingering the guitar.
(It
makes me think of my own chop stick usage. I learned to use
chopsticks from the time I was about 30. Having had to make a
concious effort to learn to use them, I am equally (non) proficient
with either hand. My right-handed, Japanese-born-and-bred wife,
though, is a klutz with chopsticks in her LH!)
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