This is interesting. I suspect I would have approached music differently and sounded different if I had taken up playing with instrument necks in my right hand. I have never been a proficient sight reader and need to play through music that features any slight degree of complexity a few times from the page before I can make it "musical" or even play it relatively error free. I wonder if plucking with my non-dominant hand is related... Some time and repetition required to transfer information to the non-linguistic side of my brain via memory might provide partial explanation for my mediocre sight reading (not to mention a convenient excuse at rehearsals). Intriguing.
Eugene > -----Original Message----- > From: Nck Gravestock [mailto:bluti...@leicester.anglican.org] > Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 12:10 PM > To: Eugene C. Braig IV; 'Stuart Walsh'; simon.lamb...@stfc.ac.uk > Cc: Lute Mailing list > Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: The Worshipful Company of Left-Handed Lute Players > > Interestingly David Van Edwards is left handed and made himself left > handed > lutes. However much more importantly he makes the point that the truly > dominant hand is linked with the speech centres in the brain - ie right > hand > for right handed and left hand for TRULY left handed who have their brain > symmetry reversed. However some left handed people still have the speech > centre on the side of the RIGHT hand. > David argues that the hand linked with the speech centres is best used for > the plucking hand since this is the "voice" or "Speaking" hand. > He tried playing "right handed"and found he couldn't > I tried changing to left handed for a while on a guitar because of > Dupuytrens contracture but found it very difficult and fortunately surgery > has cured the problem - at least for now. > Hope David does not mind me feeding this into the discussion > Nick Gravestock > > > > > On 12/5/10 14:33, "Eugene C. Braig IV" <brai...@osu.edu> wrote: > > > Au contraire, my dear Stuart. I am stereotypically left-handed and play > > standard instruments. I don't believe there is necessarily anything > > inherently naturally left-handed about placing the neck of a chordophone > in > > the right hand...or right-handed about placing it in the left. Both > your > > hands are rather busy with relatively complicated and strictly > anthropogenic > > tasks in plucked music. Being so very left-handed, I refuse to refer to > the > > instruments I play as "right-handed" but prefer "standard." Allegedly > > left-handed instruments I call "reverse to standard." Your vocabulary > may > > differ without shame. > > > > Eugene > > > > > > > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On > >> Behalf Of Stuart Walsh > >> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 8:31 AM > >> To: simon.lamb...@stfc.ac.uk > >> Cc: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > >> Subject: [LUTE] Re: The Worshipful Company of Left-Handed Lute Players > >> > >> simon.lamb...@stfc.ac.uk wrote: > >>> Sent to the list on behalf of Chris Goodwin, the Secretary of the > >>> (UK-based) Lute Society: > >>> > >>> Dear all > >>> > >>> THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF LEFT-HANDED LUTE PLAYERS > >>> > >>> At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Lute Society the view was > >>> expressed that not enough is done for left-handed players, especially > >>> beginners or prospective players; perhaps The Lute Society should even > >>> acquire a left-handed hire lute. > >>> > >>> A good first step would be to establish a list, network, or database > of > >>> left-handed players. > >>> > >>> Would any left-handed players care to contact the Lute Society > >>> Secretary, lute...@aol.com, for their names to go on a contact list? > >>> > >> I suppose people like me, who are left-handed, but play right-handedly, > >> would not be possible members of the worshipful company? > >> (and it serves us right for betraying our essential sinistrality) > >> > >> Stuart > >>> > >>> best wishes > >>> Chris Goodwin > > > > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
