A theory: There is no such thing as a 'handed' violin!

[matesic]

I once did an electrophysiological (EEG) study of 20 right- and 20 left-handers for writing. The righties all showed higher amplitude evoked activity to a complex tone over the right (non-dominant) temporal lobe as compared with the left. Most of the lefties showed the same asymmetry but 4 or 5 were reversed or symmetrical. So the pattern was more or less the converse of the left hemisphere representation of language, also reversed in a minority of lefties. It got published in a decent peer-reviewed journal.

So I'd say there's likely to be a musico-neurological reason why most people, even most lefties, "naturally" play violin the standard way round. Exactly what that reason is is debatable.

[Andrew tkinson]

On 9/12/2023 at 6:36 AM, matesic said:

That's it!  We use our weapon hand to hold the pointy stick and to draw back the string(s) of the thing shaped a bit like a crossbow...

Hello Matesic, I hadn't intended to suggest that wielding a violin bow or plectrum was analagous to wielding a weapon, although my playing maybe would be improved if I bowed my violin with a club!

I mentioned the battle and agricultural team type work as being a possible reason it could be advantageous to have all team members being working in a similar way and maybe this explains why 'society' seemingly from quite early times has put  'pressure' on people to conform to the right handed majority. 

In many cases left handed workers would be valuable though. I have seen videos of two carpenters working as a team hewing beams facing each other as they work along the beam, one with a more usual right handed side axe, the other working in a mirrior image with a left handed broad axe.

I have had quite a bit of trouble using a right handed broad axe as I write with my left hand, but throw with the right so the right arm is stronger but my left eye seems dominant. I was watching the edge of the axe on the inside - left - side of the cutting edge, sort of using the right handed axe but trying to look at it as a left hander? I eventually tried looking to the right, outer, side of the axe edge and found my accuracy improved greatly. I still seem to want to keep holding it in a left handed grip though! When I do try a left handed side axe I find it very difficult as my right arm is stronger and I am used to working now in my mixed up way, using a mixture of left hand and right or either! 

As a left handed writer I remember being positioned by the teacher to the left of my usually right handed deskmate to avoid our elbows bumping when writing. I also remember buying a cheap fountain pen with a left handed nib hoping it would improve my writing and finding it was as bad or worse as I was used to the usual non handed pen nibs. 

[Rue]

There's no question that right-handed and left-handed people do things differently, or even think differently.  That's not the issue.

My theory isn't that complicated.  Most people are right-handed.  We ALL multi-task.  Right-handed people automatically multitask with their right-hand.  We are constantly multitasking.  We don't even think about it when we're doing it.

The fact that lefties can play a 'standard set-up' violin gives weight to my theory and to the point that violins/guitars, etc. are not 'handed' to begin with (from a musical, sound-producing, efficiency, other "important" reason, whatever...) perspective.

FWIW, I was told (by a professional orchestral string player) that they don't know of any professional symphony players that play left-handed.  Doesn't work with stand-partners, sharing a stand, and uniformity of the orchestral sections, and whatever else is required by the symphony.

[Stephen Fine]

On 9/13/2023 at 11:38 AM, Rue said:

FWIW, I was told (by a professional orchestral string player) that they don't know of any professional symphony players that play left-handed.  Doesn't work with stand-partners, sharing a stand, and uniformity of the orchestral sections, and whatever else is required by the symphony.

In my decades in the business, I've only ever seen one player who had the instrument strung backwards.  My teacher had a young student whose left hand wouldn't function as a fingering hand but could hold the bow.

I don't know about your theory that the bow is held in the right hand because it can be more easily put down.  It's a good hypothesis.  I wonder how old is the tradition of fingering with the left hand.  Did gamba players finger with the left?  Did lute players?

[violinnewb]

Take into consideration violins prior to when chin rests became a thing.  

Other than the order of strings, was there anything else that would dictate a violin was meant for right or left handed players?  I just thought about this and it got me wondering. Aside from our notion of logic, based upon science, that tone frequencies are ordered low to high, how does the string order placement dictate left or right handed intent?

Jimmy Hendrix played left handed but on a right handed guitar.  He did not change the order of strings.  Does not seem to have made any difference in how I hear his music.

[GeorgeH]

34 minutes ago, violinnewb said:

Jimmy Hendrix played left handed but on a right handed guitar.  He did not change the order of strings.

He did change the order of strings:

"In stringing his guitar, he would use a right handed guitar upside down. He would flip it and then restring the guitar so from his left handed perspective the order of the strings would still be the same as they would for a right handed guitarist. That being with the lowest tuned E string at the top, ascending in pitch until the highest E string at the bottom (in terms of altitude)."

[violinnewb]

16 minutes ago, GeorgeH said:

He did change the order of strings:

"In stringing his guitar, he would use a right handed guitar upside down. He would flip it and then restring the guitar so from his left handed perspective the order of the strings would still be the same as they would for a right handed guitarist. That being with the lowest tuned E string at the top, ascending in pitch until the highest E string at the bottom (in terms of altitude)."

I did not know that!  Thank you for the information!

[GeorgeH]

I don't know of any good guitar player who played a guitar with the strings tuned with the high E string at the top and descending in pitch to the lowest E string at the bottom because that would make guitar playing much harder.

[Andrew tkinson]

Elizabeth Cotten played her right handed strung guitar left handed and having the thumb playing the high strings and fingers on the lower strings seems to produce a different sound to the usual. This difference is really enhanced  for me when seeing her play.

I am no expert but folk music seems to be a bit more forgiving of individual variation. A left handed classical guitarist needing to play tremolo etc for the expected repertoire, would have to reverse the strings on their guitar if playing left handed as it would, I think, be impossible to play tremolo on the high strings with the thumb.

[skelly]

I knew a couple who had a son who  started being left handed. They tried to get him to write right  handed and he started studdering.

[skelly]

HaHa that would be stuttering.

[martin swan]

NIcola Benedetti is left-handed ...

[Rue]

...and she plays right-handed! 

[Rue]

...and, to show I'm not inherently biased...this article promotes left-handed violinists...

https://www.linksgespielt.de/en/orchester#:~:text=Can you play left-handed,even in professional symphony orchestras.&text=Since the old prejudice that,concentrate on them for now.

[Rue]

...still doesn't disprove my theory however!