Ladder Logic 🇨🇦Well I’m slowly coming to the realization that my days of playing the #guitar are quite possibly coming to an end. The arthritis in my left index finger is so painful now I can barely function at all, and of course it’s the primary chording finger. I’m considering taking my cheaper Squire Strat and reversing the strings to attempt retraining myself to play left handed. It would mean reversing the nut and redoing the intonation. Any thoughts or tips #gearsquad ?
Peter Herndon@GuitarSith Good luck retraining left-handed, I have no experience with that. BUT, I do have arthritis in my right hand, such that I can't hold a normal pick because I can't curl my fingers tightly enough. I found I can use a spring-loaded thumb pick (https://blackmountainpicks.com/pages/thumb-picks) and keep my fingers straight. Takes a bit more practice to stay accurate, but it's working for me so far. If you find yourself with a similar problem, you might give that a try.
Black Mountain Thumb Picks - Black Mountain Picks
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@tpherndon
Pick is definitely going to be an issue too. Initially just trying to get comfortable with the reversal will keep me busy, then I’ll worry about the pick.
Pick is definitely going to be an issue too. Initially just trying to get comfortable with the reversal will keep me busy, then I’ll worry about the pick.
@GuitarSith Sounds about right. Good luck with the switch-over
@GuitarSith It occurs to me to mention, down strokes work just fine with those picks, but unsupported upstrokes tend to open the spring mechanism a bit, so you need to pinch consciously and consistently if you alternate pick, or else the thumb pick will slip a bit and thus kill your accuracy. Or just downpick all the time, you can get pretty far with just thumb movements that way.
@tpherndon
Going to rent a leftie for a month to see how it goes. That way I don’t have to make any alterations at all, at least not yet.
Going to rent a leftie for a month to see how it goes. That way I don’t have to make any alterations at all, at least not yet.