After I posted the following letter I began collecting information
for two books:
Playing Violin and Fiddle Left Handed,
which is a compendium of info on left handed playing from the
experiences of over 100 other lefty players. Several of the players,
including classical violinists and self taught folk fiddlers alike,
have experienced success in either starting out, or switching
to left handed playing as a result of a disability.
After writing the previous book, many people
have contacted me requesting an instruction book for lefty fiddling
and the result is the book: Left
Handed Fiddling for Beginners.
Dear sir;
I have a 4 year girl who is going to take violin lessons soon
. I've got a disability, I have full use of my right hand. But
I 've not got much use my left hand, my arm is strong. Is there
any way I could learn to play with her?
thank you,
T.
Hi T,
It would be possible to bow the violin using your strong left
arm, and use your right hand to finger the violin. This means
that you would be playing the violin "left handed,"
as I do. You would need to have a violin maker or repair person
convert a right handed violin to a left handed one. It doesn't
matter much whether you are naturally right or left handed.
If your left hand is non functional, you would need some sort
of simple apparatus to attach the bow to your hand. I know of
several people who have made this work. One woman that I met had
fashioned a ring that fit around her thumb, that also attached
to the bow so that when she moved her arm the bow moved also.
You'll need help with this project. Someone who is mechanically
minded could help you with attaching the bow. You would also need
to take violin lessons yourself, or take part in your daughter's
violin lessons. Hopefully your daughter's violin teacher could
help.
Ryan