i have been playing cello for about a year. i am a lefty and started playing in standard form with the fingerboard on the left side. i found it comfortable when doing stacatto but i couldnt bow for my life. i practiced and practiced but never got anywhere. so, i just moved the whole cello to my right side adn the bow in my left. i didnt switch the strings though and doing THAT truly is playing backwards (think about it in piano terms). i found that i could bow more effectivly and vibrato soooo much easier because i could lift my entire rigth arm. i think it is absurd that they teach stringed instruments only one way. but, thats just my opinion and im tired of "rigthies" saying that playing the cello "the left way" is wrong when all that matters is the comfort of the player, after all in order for the musician to play good, they need to be comfortable.

I never thought to try to play from the left side with out moving the strings or having a lefty cello. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just tried it and it seems weird, I guess I have conformed to the "right" way of doing things; it must be too late for me. :~)

I do agree that it doesn`t matter how you make the sound, just that you do make the proper sound. In that case it will be music and that is beautiful.

Danny

yes, i agree, but the problem for me is that the teacher at my high school wants me to play in orchestra and i dont know if i should play in the standard form and sound crappy or play my way and sound really good. is it a good idea to tell her that if i cant play my way than i dont want to be in orchestra? its just that i can not play in standard form because it is not comfortable at all.

You could show her how much better you sound playing your way. But, don`t get your hopes up too high because in an orchestra unless your stand partner is also lefty you probably will be competing for the same bow space. In other words you will be getting tangled up with him/her.

I know it`s difficult but this is just one of the challenges us lefties have to overcome. I would NOT quit orchestra, no way. Playing in the orchestra is one of the best ways to develop yourself. Even for some of us "old" guys playing with other people keeps us going. It`s an expression of love that only the discipline could show; all others just listen with envy.

Danny

I have read some of the updates on this. I think there are physiologic reasons right handed people have dictated string intruments are played the way they are. The hand dominance in left handed people is seldom as rigid as it is in right handed people, most of whom do nothing requiring fine motor control with the left hand. So some can probably do as well wrong handed as they would left handed. Not all. I think the left handed cello business is just one of numbers and demand. Left handed guitars are easy to get because the demand is high. Left handed violins are not so hard to find. Left handed cellos are available, but hard to find. I suggest it is partly the cello market is smaller than violin and guitar markets, and right now conformity is more compelling than adapting the intrument to the would be artist.
I had an elecdtric cello altered to make it left handed. I wanted to try it. In my case the left hand wants to be the bow hand, the right does not. It is really that simple. My advice- try it right handed. If you really think the bow belongs in the left hand, get a left handed cello. You will meet resistance. I am sure you are used to that if you are left handed. It should not be hard for you to mirror a teacher`s technique, and the teacher should have his/her own cello, that suits them.
As for scissors- if you understand how scissors work you can make wrong handed scissors work in either hand. Lefties figure this out, righties generally do not. We are more adaptable, so if you think you can play happily right handed, do it. If not, fight on brother.

you make a good point, but there is some doubt in that. for example, i know a few left handed people that play piano and they play it extremely well, but they dont have as much control on the left handed as they do with their right. the whole left handed cello thing comes down to control. even though the left handed is dominant for lefties, for some things there is more control with the left. another example is that the best data entry workers are left handed and that has to do with the key pad being on the rigth side, giving the left handed people the advantage yet giving right people the disadvantage. the thing i dont like about playing the cello in standard form is that if thats all i have a choice to play in, i will not become as good as i would if i played it right handed. for me, it has to do with the way that my brain works partly because i play piano and percussion keyboards. on any string, if you play in standard form, you are really playing the instrument backwards. the reason is that when ever you put a finger on the left hand down onto the finger board, the note gets higher, but if you do the same thing on a paino, the note gets lower, whereas if you do the fingerings with the right hand and then do the same fingerings on a piano, the note gets higher as it does with the cello.

z

you make a good point, but there is some doubt in that. for example, i know a few left handed people that play piano and they play it extremely well, but they dont have as much control on the left handed as they do with their right. the whole left handed cello thing comes down to control. even though the left handed is dominant for lefties, for some things there is more control with the left. another example is that the best data entry workers are left handed and that has to do with the key pad being on the rigth side, giving the left handed people the advantage yet giving right people the disadvantage. the thing i dont like about playing the cello in standard form is that if thats all i have a choice to play in, i will not become as good as i would if i played it right handed. for me, it has to do with the way that my brain works partly because i play piano and percussion keyboards. on any string, if you play in standard form, you are really playing the instrument backwards. the reason is that when ever you put a finger on the left hand down onto the finger board, the note gets higher, but if you do the same thing on a paino, the note gets lower, whereas if you do the fingerings with the right hand and then do the same fingerings on a piano, the note gets higher as it does with the cello.

z

On my electric cello I can pretty much play either way and
it`s about the same, but on the violin I`m so much better
left-handed than right handed... which reminds me;
new strings time for Mr. Cello!

Much love,
-Jonny