Noobie Left-Handed Ukelele Question!

JackSweeting21 · Dec 28, 2013

Hi! I'm looking to start playing the ukelele as my first venture into music and am left-handed. I'm just wondering if a right-handed uke with the strings swapped round will sound just as good as an uke made predominantly for lefties (if such a thing exists!)

Also, is it much of a challenge to swap the strings on a ukelele or is it simple enough?

I'm currently looking at a Mahalo Soprano Uke which is about £20, and am wondering if this would be a good choice for a starter uke.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Jack

siesta171 · Dec 29, 2013

Hi Jack; Was where you are now about three years ago, torn about how to approach a regular uke as a lefty. Finally went for it as a right hander beginner and had problems no different than anyone else. After getting c, f and g into my brain found I could play lots of songs, and my playing got better the more I practiced. As you improve it becomes more addictive; feed the addiction. When you get familiar with your uke you should notice if it has any serious flaws. Keeping things simple and standard reduces problems. Have fun, siesta171

phil hague · Dec 29, 2013

Lots of people play left handed. But if you were learning piano you wouldn,t have it restrung left handed, and if you can play right handed it makes it easier when sitting next to a right hander. But there is nothing wrong if you chose left handed, just enjoy your uke.

Hms · Dec 29, 2013

I'm not left handed, so not really qualifed to comment, but that's never stopped me in the past!
All chordboxes on tabs are for right handed players. You will need to mirror them to play left handed.
Most tutorials on youtube are by right handed players, which may be useful as they look like a reflection of a left handed player.
However, from what I have read previously, if you have no experience of playing stringed instruments, I would suggest playing right handed. Arguably, for fretting, you need to be more dextrious with the fretting hand, so you have a head start over right handers.
Maybe, if you are new to stringed instruments, try learning a few chords each way and see which feels more comfortable.
But, no doubt, there will be a left handed player along shortly to give their practical experience.

Mahalo ukes at £20, out of the box, not very good. i started with a Mahalo and got rid of it very quickly. If you can increase your budget, then you could get a reasonable uke that would be more fun to learn on.
Have you tried any ukes? Soprano, Concert or Tenor? if not get down to your local group, I'm sure they would let you try various ukes to help you get a better idea to make a better informed decision. (Uke people are the friendliest people around so don't be afraid of turning up.)
Where in the UK are you?
An alternative to buying new is to buy used, Ukulele Cosmos has a sale section, UK based forum so shipping costs would be minimal. Buying from overseas can potentially be expensive due to shipping, duty and VAT on top of all of that.
H

freewheeler · Dec 29, 2013

JackSweeting21 said:
Hi! I'm looking to start playing the ukelele as my first venture into music and am left-handed. I'm just wondering if a right-handed uke with the strings swapped round will sound just as good as an uke made predominantly for lefties (if such a thing exists!)

Also, is it much of a challenge to swap the strings on a ukelele or is it simple enough?

I'm currently looking at a Mahalo Soprano Uke which is about £20, and am wondering if this would be a good choice for a starter uke.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Jack

Hi. To swap strings on my guitar would be major work as the saddle is sloped (not at a right angle to the axis) and in any case is compensated.
However my Richwood tenor Uke seems to be totally ambidextrous. It is symmetrical and the saddle is not even notched. The nut is notched but all notches are equal width and have a round bottom. It seems that it is totally immaterial from which side the strings GCEA are installed. I'm not saying that all ukes are like this, just saying that at the economy end there are some ukes that can be converted to LH just by reversing the strings.

cedarwax · Dec 29, 2013

Hi,
I started playing the ukelele about 3 moths ago. I'm left handed. I decided to play right handed for a number of reasons:
1. My dominant left hand is more adept at forming chords/finding fret positions.
2. The reality of the overwhelming availability of chord charts, etc., for right handed folks. (Also, I didn't want to have to "flip" positions in my aging mind; there's enough to concentrate on already)
3. I can avoid the issue of re-stringing, string size grooves in the nut, etc.

I'm glad I'm learning right handed - I'm making slow and (fairly) steady progress.
My suggestion: play right handed. good luck and have fun.

JackSweeting21 · Dec 29, 2013

Hms said:
I'm not left handed, so not really qualifed to comment, but that's never stopped me in the past!
All chordboxes on tabs are for right handed players. You will need to mirror them to play left handed.
Most tutorials on youtube are by right handed players, which may be useful as they look like a reflection of a left handed player.
However, from what I have read previously, if you have no experience of playing stringed instruments, I would suggest playing right handed. Arguably, for fretting, you need to be more dextrious with the fretting hand, so you have a head start over right handers.
Maybe, if you are new to stringed instruments, try learning a few chords each way and see which feels more comfortable.
But, no doubt, there will be a left handed player along shortly to give their practical experience.

Mahalo ukes at £20, out of the box, not very good. i started with a Mahalo and got rid of it very quickly. If you can increase your budget, then you could get a reasonable uke that would be more fun to learn on.
Have you tried any ukes? Soprano, Concert or Tenor? if not get down to your local group, I'm sure they would let you try various ukes to help you get a better idea to make a better informed decision. (Uke people are the friendliest people around so don't be afraid of turning up.)
Where in the UK are you?
An alternative to buying new is to buy used, Ukulele Cosmos has a sale section, UK based forum so shipping costs would be minimal. Buying from overseas can potentially be expensive due to shipping, duty and VAT on top of all of that.
H

I would like to get a soprano Uke to start with, but have not tried any Ukes out yet, online browsing is currently as far as I have gotten. I'm planning to go to my local music store next week and try some of the ukes they have there. I've decided that I'll give playing the uke right handed a go to start with, as with all the tabs being for righties it must be a bit of a nightmare!

Also, HMS, I'll have a peek over at Ukelele Cosmos' second-hand section.

Thanks to all for the advice!

Katz-in-Boots · Dec 30, 2013

I am left-handed, I play uke right-handed because I learned violin, cello first so my brain is happy making notes with left hand, sound with right hand. My husband is totally left-handed and no way could he play right-handed.
I switched the strings on his Mahalo Smiley Face soprano, no problems.

I think after a while you just get used to reversing chord pictures automatically.

Good luck with it.

Noobie Left-Handed Ukelele Question!

JackSweeting21

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siesta171

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phil hague

Well-known member

Hms

Well-known member

freewheeler

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cedarwax

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JackSweeting21

Member

Katz-in-Boots

Well-known member

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