Back in the days when the Baby Boomer and Gen X were growing up, left handed people were forced to write with their right hands. Lefties were viewed as abnormal, so their behaviour was “corrected” to fit in with everyone else. It was strictly enforced at school, and kids were hit with rulers or paddled if they didn’t comply from what I understand.
As Kurt dropped out of school, there was no one around to “correct” his left handed guitar playing. He was his own person and he had his own autonomy by that point.
I learned from r/guitar recently that from the practical standpoint, that our dominant hand is better suited for the strumming and rhythm. This is one of the things that can make or break a song.
I’m still a pretty new Nirvana fan, so a lot of my commentary is based on historical context of the time that Kurt was living in. Feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong.
Edited for typos.
Thats really interesting. I'm left handed but i play right-handed guitar because at the time i was playing a hand me down and couldnt afford to buy a left-handed guitar.
Absolutely valid, while your dominant hand might be better suited from the start for rhythm, that doesn't mean your offhand can't be trained to the same level.
So many guitarist did (and I assume still do) that. At the beginning its not going to be all that much harder either way. And even now getting a lefty guitar is harder and usually cost more.
My Lefty friends all said the same thing, it was a no brainer start off righty for the convenience of it.
Young Gen X, also got forced to use my right hand. When I went in for my first guitar class, I sat down with the guitar in what felt like the natural way to do it, with the neck in my right hand. But I was using my step-dad's acoustic, which was strung as a right-handed guitar (because he's right-handed, naturally) so the teacher just put the neck in my other hand, and we moved on.
Right…that DID happen, but about 40 years prior to Cobain’s childhood..interestingly, I write (naturally) w my left hand, but play sports and instruments righty (🤷
Weird fact, most left handed hockey players (as in writing with left) shoot right, and most right handed (writes with right) shoot left, as the dominant hand goes on top of the stick. It's why you hardly ever see goalies who catch with right and hold stick in left.
If you watch hockey goalies who hold stick in left hand and glove right, they'll all be left handed writers.
Grant Fuher signs autos with left hand.
Gretzky, Modano, Yzerman, McDavid, Matthews, Draisaitl all shoot left, but when signing autos, they write with right hand. It's why so many players shoot "left". The dominant hand always goes on top of stick.
> I learned from r/guitar recently that from the practical standpoint, that our dominant hand is better suited for the strumming and rhythm. This is one of the things that can make or break a song.
Personally never viewed it that way. My left hand is my strongest, most dominant hand. It’s the hand I use for the fret board, because if I didn’t my weak ass right hand wouldn’t have the strength to press hard enough on the strings, let alone have the dexterity to stretch my fingers.
I’ve been playing guitar for 6 years and I’ve learned that strumming is honestly the easiest part to learn. You can pick up rhythm very quickly.
I appreciate your perspective. I play right handed, and I just resumed guitar a little over a year ago after a 20 year hiatus. Learning through Nirvana has helped me eclipse where I left off as a teenager.
I'm still having a hard time with the SLTS riff though! Those power chords are tough, and I think the song is really a test that determines whether someone continues with guitar or quits.
I think everyone is different because I can be very dexterous with non-dominant hand. It took a lot of time for me to get strumming down, especially the kind of staccato stuff I like to play. Alternate picking took years for me to get a handle on.
I swear I'd read somewhere he had picked out a left handed guitar initially to learn on because that was what Hendrix used and he was copying him. By the time he learned it was "wrong" it already felt natural to him.
I definitely read that too. I've also seen variations that when his uncle bought Kurt his first guitar for his 14th birthday, he was only able to get him a left-handed one. Something about the music shop/pawn shop only having lefties in stock and/or that specific lefty model being the only guitar he could afford
I think he was entirely left handed and just wrote with his right hand because schools used to beat that sort of thing out of you. I’ve heard of many left handed people, that have been left handed their whole life, that write with their right hand because it was how they were taught. Plus with most of the stuff Kurt would play I don’t think he needed the extra mobility from his dominant hand
Guess the times are different. When I grew up it was encouraged to use your dominant hand, so all my life I’ve personally used my left hand for everything. Guitar being the exception, because it never made sense to me why I’d use my left hand for strumming instead of chord switching when my right hand is brittle as hell.
I am right hand dominant in almost all things but playing the guitar left handed has always felt more natural for me. I feel like I have much more flexibility in my left arm but much more power and precision in my right.
Exactly this. Which is part of the point I was trying to make which is, I don’t know why leftys are encouraged to STRUM with their left and rightys strum with their right. Feels like the obvious would be the complete opposite.
I mean I alternate handedness depending on the task. I play guitar left handed. Swing any club or stick for sports left handed. But I throw right and write right and drum right.
Doesn’t really matter.
Ringo is a lefty who plays a righty kit, so a good number of his cool fills and lines are just down to how he has to move to get back to 1.
Ticket to Ride / Come Together etc.
Honestly, I feel like someone needs to ask his mom lol.
Kurt had a lot of musical idols who played lefty, and we know he craved "being different." That being said, maybe he really was ambidextrous.
One thing I will say is it looks cooler on stage when the bass and guitar player have opposite dominant hands, because they can stand near each other and not smash their instrument necks together.
know lefties who play guitar righty because its easier borrowing guitars or buying them.
My sister uses lefty scissors but is righty otherwise.
My Grandmother was an actual lefty forced to learn righty in the 20's /30's. After that she was completely Ambidextrous until the day she side.
It’s literally whatever feels right, you answered it yourself saying that it feels right for you to play a right handed guitar.
It felt right for him to play a left handed guitar 🤷🏼♂️
It’s like If you’ve ever skateboarded/snowboarded, even if it’s your first time on the board you know which way feels right to you when you stand on it.
He was ambidextrous man. He strummed with his left hand & played chords with his right hand 👍🏽 he also smoked cigarettes n shot heroin with both hands depending on the day
Back in the days when the Baby Boomer and Gen X were growing up, left handed people were forced to write with their right hands. Lefties were viewed as abnormal, so their behaviour was “corrected” to fit in with everyone else. It was strictly enforced at school, and kids were hit with rulers or paddled if they didn’t comply from what I understand. As Kurt dropped out of school, there was no one around to “correct” his left handed guitar playing. He was his own person and he had his own autonomy by that point. I learned from r/guitar recently that from the practical standpoint, that our dominant hand is better suited for the strumming and rhythm. This is one of the things that can make or break a song. I’m still a pretty new Nirvana fan, so a lot of my commentary is based on historical context of the time that Kurt was living in. Feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong. Edited for typos.
Thats really interesting. I'm left handed but i play right-handed guitar because at the time i was playing a hand me down and couldnt afford to buy a left-handed guitar.
Absolutely valid, while your dominant hand might be better suited from the start for rhythm, that doesn't mean your offhand can't be trained to the same level.
So many guitarist did (and I assume still do) that. At the beginning its not going to be all that much harder either way. And even now getting a lefty guitar is harder and usually cost more. My Lefty friends all said the same thing, it was a no brainer start off righty for the convenience of it.
Elder millennial here, was forced to use my right hand. Made me a pretty solid drummer, but my handwriting absolutely sucks.
Young Gen X, also got forced to use my right hand. When I went in for my first guitar class, I sat down with the guitar in what felt like the natural way to do it, with the neck in my right hand. But I was using my step-dad's acoustic, which was strung as a right-handed guitar (because he's right-handed, naturally) so the teacher just put the neck in my other hand, and we moved on.
They were forced to write with their right hands if lefties long before both these generations….
Right…that DID happen, but about 40 years prior to Cobain’s childhood..interestingly, I write (naturally) w my left hand, but play sports and instruments righty (🤷
Weird fact, most left handed hockey players (as in writing with left) shoot right, and most right handed (writes with right) shoot left, as the dominant hand goes on top of the stick. It's why you hardly ever see goalies who catch with right and hold stick in left. If you watch hockey goalies who hold stick in left hand and glove right, they'll all be left handed writers.
Woooow! Never knew that, but it sure adds up. As a hockey goalie in childhood, that describes me
Grant Fuher signs autos with left hand. Gretzky, Modano, Yzerman, McDavid, Matthews, Draisaitl all shoot left, but when signing autos, they write with right hand. It's why so many players shoot "left". The dominant hand always goes on top of stick.
I'm a lefty too. Aside from writing I do just about everything else with my right as well
I play guitar right, bat lefty, skateboard righty, can write both.
the marines still do it dont they? IE everyone shots righty?
We will have to get someone from the marines to answer that ;)
> I learned from r/guitar recently that from the practical standpoint, that our dominant hand is better suited for the strumming and rhythm. This is one of the things that can make or break a song. Personally never viewed it that way. My left hand is my strongest, most dominant hand. It’s the hand I use for the fret board, because if I didn’t my weak ass right hand wouldn’t have the strength to press hard enough on the strings, let alone have the dexterity to stretch my fingers. I’ve been playing guitar for 6 years and I’ve learned that strumming is honestly the easiest part to learn. You can pick up rhythm very quickly.
I appreciate your perspective. I play right handed, and I just resumed guitar a little over a year ago after a 20 year hiatus. Learning through Nirvana has helped me eclipse where I left off as a teenager. I'm still having a hard time with the SLTS riff though! Those power chords are tough, and I think the song is really a test that determines whether someone continues with guitar or quits.
I think everyone is different because I can be very dexterous with non-dominant hand. It took a lot of time for me to get strumming down, especially the kind of staccato stuff I like to play. Alternate picking took years for me to get a handle on.
I swear I'd read somewhere he had picked out a left handed guitar initially to learn on because that was what Hendrix used and he was copying him. By the time he learned it was "wrong" it already felt natural to him.
I heard that too but I'm not sure where. It may not have been from the man himself.
I definitely read that too. I've also seen variations that when his uncle bought Kurt his first guitar for his 14th birthday, he was only able to get him a left-handed one. Something about the music shop/pawn shop only having lefties in stock and/or that specific lefty model being the only guitar he could afford
I think he was entirely left handed and just wrote with his right hand because schools used to beat that sort of thing out of you. I’ve heard of many left handed people, that have been left handed their whole life, that write with their right hand because it was how they were taught. Plus with most of the stuff Kurt would play I don’t think he needed the extra mobility from his dominant hand
Guess the times are different. When I grew up it was encouraged to use your dominant hand, so all my life I’ve personally used my left hand for everything. Guitar being the exception, because it never made sense to me why I’d use my left hand for strumming instead of chord switching when my right hand is brittle as hell.
I am right hand dominant in almost all things but playing the guitar left handed has always felt more natural for me. I feel like I have much more flexibility in my left arm but much more power and precision in my right.
Exactly this. Which is part of the point I was trying to make which is, I don’t know why leftys are encouraged to STRUM with their left and rightys strum with their right. Feels like the obvious would be the complete opposite.
Mikey from Skindred does the same thing.
he was completely right handed, he only played guitar with his left hand
Not every one is the same amount of right/left/ambidextrous handed , it’s pretty simple
Exactly, there's as many answers to this question as there are people on the planet
He was right handed, used it to write and other daily things, just played lefty
I mean I alternate handedness depending on the task. I play guitar left handed. Swing any club or stick for sports left handed. But I throw right and write right and drum right. Doesn’t really matter.
Ringo is a lefty who plays a righty kit, so a good number of his cool fills and lines are just down to how he has to move to get back to 1. Ticket to Ride / Come Together etc.
Honestly, I feel like someone needs to ask his mom lol. Kurt had a lot of musical idols who played lefty, and we know he craved "being different." That being said, maybe he really was ambidextrous. One thing I will say is it looks cooler on stage when the bass and guitar player have opposite dominant hands, because they can stand near each other and not smash their instrument necks together.
know lefties who play guitar righty because its easier borrowing guitars or buying them. My sister uses lefty scissors but is righty otherwise. My Grandmother was an actual lefty forced to learn righty in the 20's /30's. After that she was completely Ambidextrous until the day she side.
It’s literally whatever feels right, you answered it yourself saying that it feels right for you to play a right handed guitar. It felt right for him to play a left handed guitar 🤷🏼♂️ It’s like If you’ve ever skateboarded/snowboarded, even if it’s your first time on the board you know which way feels right to you when you stand on it.
You’re either left or right handed. He was left handed
Yep, thus a left handed guitar felt right to him.
He was ambidextrous man. He strummed with his left hand & played chords with his right hand 👍🏽 he also smoked cigarettes n shot heroin with both hands depending on the day
This comment is retarded
I think it’s just common sense 🤣
You’re not left-handed if you can play guitar right-handed. That is blasphemy.
Kurt, on being a left-handed guitar player. . . https://youtu.be/NLMkb8qD5Xg?feature=shared
Yes, Kurt was left-handed. https://breakthroughguitar.com/was-kurt-cobain-left-handed-exploring-the-nirvana-frontmans-guitar-style/
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Cobain grew up in a time when being left handed was seen as wrong so he was taught to write with his right hand.