We have thousands of human-written stories, discussions, interviews and reviews from today through the past 20+ years. Find them here:
V.com weekend vote: Who has the advantage in violin-playing, right-handed or left-handed people?
Often when people learn that I am left-handed, they ask, "Do you feel that is an advantage, in playing the violin?"
Do right-handed people ever get this question?
I've also been asked, "So do you play the violin left-handed?" Which is kind of the opposite of the above question.
So does being left-handed confer any advantages, in violin-playing? Or does being right-handed? Which do you feel confers the most advantage?
I also wonder about the evolution of how we play the violin and which hand came to be used for what. If science tells us that the right side of the brain controls our left hands, while the left side of the brain controls the right, then is there something in the creative right side of the brain that works best for a violin hand, something in the analytical left side that works best for a bow hand and arm?
As a left-handed person, yes, I've always felt like it was a nice advantage, that my left-hand was tasked with doing all that intricate fingering business on the fingerboard. I've never been in the least bit tempted to play the violin "left-handed," holding the violin in my right hand and bowing with the left. That said, I've had to work pretty hard on my bow hand and arm!
So I'm interested in everyone's thoughts about this question. Who do you think has the "advantage," the violinist (or violist or cellist) who is right-handed, or left-handed? And what is your perspective, do you consider yourself right-handed or left-handed? What are your thoughts on handedness, as it relates to violin-playing? Please participate in the vote, and then tell us your thoughts, in the comments!
* * *
Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.
You might also like:
- Violin Practice: Using Both Hands to Connect the Technical and the Musical
- Discussion: About Left Handed Violins...
- The All-Purpose Left Hand Exercise - Form and Flexibility For Violinists
Replies
I can't imagine how I could answer the question.
Most if not all "tools" (including musical instruments) are designed or are used in a way that is naturally easiest for right-handers. It would be bizarre if the violin would be an exception to this.
Esther, that's an interesting comparison, to use of the fork. I live in Europe now, and worked for years here. But well before I came to Europe I decided, as Europeans do that using the fork in my left hand, the non-dominant hand made way more sense. It's all what one grows up with or is used to of course.
You must be registered and logged in to submit a comment.
February 1, 2026 at 07:43 PM · I'm left-handed, and I feel like it's only been an advantage in my liking the violin as a child - I was always good at both sight-reading and memory (probably something to do with me ending up a scientist), so I breezed through the early pieces, which convinced me I was great. It caught up with me in an unpleasant way when my right hand failed to catch up the way the teacher thought it naturally would with time. So I suppose it's balanced it off in the end.
Regarding the reasons for the hands doing the jobs they do, my theory is that it's the same as the reasons behind conventional cutlery use. It seems illogical for the right-handed majority to hold the fork in the left hand. I always thought I had the advantage in holding the fork in the same hand as I would if I didn't have a knife. But then if you think about people sitting around the fire slicing off chunks of a shared piece of meat with their knives, and shoving them in their mouths, it makes sense for the cutting hand to be the right. Similarly, early string playing was mostly bowing, and the left hand intricacies, like the idea that you don't just grab food with your off-hand, came later.