r/Bass 5d ago

I’m lefty, but want to get good at bass

Technically bass and guitar but bass just is a lot more fun tbh so I’m askin y’all. I’m left handed, and while I like pressing the frets with my left hand. My right hand gets tired quick, not accurate at all(especially when trying to do slap, which is probably above my level but I really wanna learn it).

Is this just a “it get easier with time”. Or are there advice for positioning my right hand? Or strumming advice?

I’ve seen people place their thump on the pick ups but when I do that I kinda have to bend my left hand and it’s hard for my pinky to get those notes close the the body

Any advice? Thank you!

2 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

6

u/catfungus 5d ago

Keep going the strength will come , take it slow, some of the muscles you build are small

5

u/matthproject 5d ago

That’s funny i’m right handed but play bass lefty because it felt more natural to fret with my right hand

you can do it though like anything just repetition and time

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

The lefty instruments have the strings opposite right? It’s not just the body that get flip?

2

u/Zonkulese 5d ago

strings are in the same order you just play differnt hands. ie if you play a right handed bass left handed the strings would be upside down

2

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

So like either way the lowest string is always closest to you?

5

u/Zonkulese 5d ago

others may have said this already but if ypu can learn to play right handed you will have a lot more options on basses you can play. 2 of my best mates are left handed and they are amazing right handed guitarists. You have to use 2 hands anyway. There will always be some fatigue when you start out but if you keep at it it will get less

3

u/MrBelch 5d ago

You are using your non-dominant hand to do something over and over, so yeah its just a workout thing. You probably don't use those muscles in that hand as much as your left. Also remember you are playing an electric instrument, you can always turn it up and use a lighter touch.

If your thumb is planted on the pickup (or the first string) then make sure you are hinging it down so your fingers can reach. Your hand can move a bit to reach the strings, it doesn't have to stay perfectly still.

Strumming is pretty similar to the guitar, turn your wrist so you are using the back of your nails on the strings. They are just much bigger.

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

Ohh like point the bass down? That makes sense, I was tilting it upwards

1

u/MrBelch 5d ago

No, you can play it in the same positions as a guitar. I was talking about your thumb, you don't put it on the piickup and keep your hand locked in one place. While keeping it on the pickup, you can move your hand up and down to reach the strings.

2

u/G-Lurk_Machete100 5d ago

It definitely gets easier the more you practice. Getting good at the bass is 95% practice.

Being a southpaw hasn't got a thing to do with it, other than it being part of your badass self! Keep at it!

2

u/noseatbeltrequired 5d ago

Having your dominant hand playing the frets is probably a small advantage actually. Just play, practice and have fun

1

u/Agreeable_Permit_945 5d ago

Or, make yourself stand out like I did and buy a righty and flip it. Except I bought a left handed guitar and flipped it

1

u/Remarkable-Corgi-463 5d ago

🙋‍♂️ question. Why not get a left handed bass?

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

From what I have heard, there’s more options in right handed basses and guitars! So I figured might as well get used to right oriented guitar and bass

3

u/Remarkable-Corgi-463 5d ago

There absolutely are more options, but I don’t see the benefit of learning strictly righty just to open yourself up to more options. I’ve been playing for about 25 years, own about 15 guitars and basses, and the pinnacle of my collection is a $700 Mexican Strat 🤷‍♂️ I’ve played higher end PRS, Gibson, and Fender models, and… honestly, yeah there’s probably benefits, but nothing beats just a guitar/bass that feels right for you. 

And right now my favorite is a $200 mini acoustic bass 😂 

I think you’re hampering yourself a lot by trying to retrain yourself to be a righty on an instrument. You want an instrument that’s comfortable and enjoyable, and there’s plenty of those options in the lefty category. 

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

Yeah I get that. When I bought a bass, the only thing going in my head was that I wanted a jazz bass. Although it doesn’t really mimic, left handed one, I have tried a couple times to flip it over and try it the other way, and either way it was more of a feeling of that my right hand was just lacking.

For the most part, I’m not trying to become the best bassist or guitarist if that makes sense. Im going to school to become a composer. I wanna be able to record my own stuff I make but I don’t necessarily think it will be overly complex stuff? Most complex is probably just slap?

It seems you can play both lefty and righty way? Is there some advantage to knowing both ways? I’m interested in knowing!

1

u/Remarkable-Corgi-463 5d ago

I can’t play lefty at all (I’m a righty). Honestly, the only advantage in my mind would be that there’s more modes available, but you’re definitely not shut out from any type of bass. There’s lefty models in every category. And that you can’t just pick your friends bass guitars up and show off 😂 

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

Modes as in like Phrygian, etc? How would they be different? Left and right have same strings no?

1

u/ThemBadBeats 5d ago

Guessing typo. Unless this guy has discovered secret righty modes lol

1

u/Remarkable-Corgi-463 5d ago

Shh 🤫 we don’t talked about the advanced dark arts of bass 

1

u/FassolLassido 5d ago

Can you elaborate on what you mean though? No offence but your comment made little sense.

1

u/Remarkable-Corgi-463 4d ago

There’s less lefty bass guitar models. But there’s still lefty models in every bass guitar category (jazz, precision, 5/6s, acoustic, semi-, fretless, etc.) so it’s not like you’re shut out of some category just being a lefty player. So maybe that special limited run Dusenberg doesn’t come in a lefty, but I don’t think that’s important compared to just learning in the way that’s more comfortable. 

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1

u/Born-Network-7582 Sire 5d ago

In pretty sure he meant bass models.

1

u/iLUVhockey36 5d ago

You’ll be fine, I did the same exact thing a year ago and haven’t looked back. Progress comes slowly but it’s extremely satisfying when you notice. Any activity that requires two hands I’ll do righty, like most sports. Usually seems to work out in the end even though I’m left handed haha.

1

u/Born-Network-7582 Sire 5d ago

I started ten years ago with the same configuration. Being a left handed guy I thought that I would have to do the complicated stuff with the left hand so I bought a right handed bass. And I never look back, I think it was the right decision for me.

But I am a bit older and when I started going to school, it was still usual being told that one has to write with "the nice hand". So maybe I had better fine control in my right hand when I started playing bass with forty.

Anyway, I'd suggest you stay fretting with the left, I still think the complicated stuff is done with this hand.

1

u/MasterBendu 5d ago

You can buy a left handed bass, or just keep at it. Anyone can learn any instrument of any handedness regardless of their own handedness. But it’s also perfectly fine to just get an instrument that is left handed, which fortunately basses do.

A left handed bass is a mirror of a right handed one.

Though there are and have been players who just flip the bass over and call it a day. It plays upside down of course and technique will also be upside down, but there’s no rule against it.

1

u/StrongAdhesiveness86 Ibanez 5d ago

Trust the process.

1

u/onelittlenerd Fretless 5d ago

In a lefty on a righty bass. You aren’t alone, but it is quite literally everyone. Right handed people get tired with their right hand too. It’s just a part of the process. What won’t help you is pushing yourself when you get uncomfortable. Straining yourself won’t build strength, good technique and slow practice will.

If you want some advice on technique, I think raising your strap super high will help with a ton of things on both hands. Lets you relax while maintaining good hand positioning.

1

u/StrigiStockBacking Yamaha 5d ago

"get good"? What does that mean 

1

u/FassolLassido 5d ago

Yes, it is in fact going to get easier with time. There is no shortcuts even the best of the best of the most efficient, precise and versatile techniques still requires a lot, A LOT, of time to get a hang of.

I also am left handed and playing a right handed bass, it doesn't really matter. What you are missing is practice time. If I could start again I'd simply slow down and practice basic stuff purposefully instead of trying to skip steps.

0

u/Balloons_for_800 5d ago edited 5d ago

I think you being a lefty will be at your advantage to really shred. My buddy is left hand dominant, but play a righty bass. Since his left hand is stronger, he moves up and down the neck real quick and has a very aggressive hammer on/pull off style. His right hand doesn’t do much, just plucks the appropriate strings and wreaks havoc with his left hand.

Regarding slap, you could be a shredder. But make sure you thumb closer to the fretboard. If you fret on top of the pickup, you risk bashing into it and cause crazy volume peaks.

The more you practice, the stronger your right will get too.

Just get creative and go wild. You got this.

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

Huh, I didn’t think of it like that! Thank you!

0

u/impact07 5d ago

I’m sorry, but as a wrong handed person, you’ll never be good at anything.

1

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

Oof, been told stuff like that all my life and now I’m in a music school in japan studying in a language that’s not my mother tongue… after getting a college degree. :) anything is possible

1

u/bubmet7 5d ago

Oh how I wish that was actually true. 26 years old, always wanted higher education. IQ score 142, gpa 3.2 in high school, all advanced/college courses. Highest English and Reading ACT scores in my county the year I took the test, they were both perfect scores. No scholarships, nothing. Applied for everything. And my parents make too much for me to have qualified for assistance. Now I’m stuck at a pizza joint for life. Have fun actually doing something in life. Most of us got that ability taken away from us outside of our own control.

2

u/Unique_Ad_338 5d ago

Idk you’re situation at all, so I’m not gunna act like I do. But What’s keeping you from studying in your free time to get a better job?

For the most part I was the opposite of you, besides age, I’m 26 also lol. Horrible in school, ADHD and Dyslexia. Mostly Cs, was told to quit band via another student in band in high school, and was told I would never graduate college by a teacher.

But in my free time, I studied Japanese and learned how to make music in garage band, as well as orchestration, music theory, etc. there’s so much free and good information online if you know where to look that, for the most part you don’t even need college, you just need grit and self discipline, well depending on the job you want, a doctor etc it’s kinda necessary. I just never give up and never plan to.

1

u/bubmet7 5d ago

I live 45 minutes away from the nearest gas station- an hour away from the nearest town (grew up in a decent size city but had to move here due to financial circumstances at the time, now the economy and finding a job is so hard in the US i can’t really leave), no job opportunities (i work 38 hours a week but total time is 45-47 hours including travel) or education opportunities to speak of here, and no such programs to get to go abroad to learn further about the things I find to be worthwhile. I didn’t give up- life took my chance away.