I was not expecting so many comments when I first put up this video. I'm so blown away by how big our community is! Thank you for everyone that's commented with their stories :D
I play upside down as well. And I’m 54, thank goodness your didn’t go to school in my day. They tried and tried to get me to write right handed, but my mom. Told them to back off leave him alone
Thank you so much for this video. I am 63 years old and have taken guitar and bass lessons since I was 19 but couldn't get anywhere, just frustration and soreness, because my left wrist does not turn palm up. I just picked up a used Ibanez bass to give it a last go and wanted to sell it the next day. I did a search on Google to see if there was a treatment for the wrist and saw the term radioulnar synostosis. It almost knocked me off my chair! I was at a family BBQ last night and spoke to my nephew, who plays lefthanded, and thought it was worth a try. While searching UA-cam I saw this video. Sorry for the long reply, but you have given me hope. Not to mention watching you demo of your left arm and watching you try to play right handed. It is me. I turned my bass upside down to give it a go, and as awkward as it felt, my right hand moved freely on the fretboard. I may not be done. I'm not sure if I should keep trying to play upside down, changing the strings, or just trade it for a left handed one. (Much more available here in the States). Thank you again so much. It's great to know it's just me. There is a place for those like us with this issue!
Hey Aussie Sista. I play lefty upside simply because Im a lefty, and my mates had rightie guitars. I learned to play on their guitars, by just flipping it over, and playing by ear. Then I picked up a bass for the first time, and fell in love with how the bass line defines and drives a song. Within a few years, they all gave up, I started making money playing gigs, doing rock and country near Detroit. Ive even played some over in OZ, in Brookvale, and Maroubra.
Amazing! I'm right handed and want to learn to play acoustic guitar, but I faced the same difficulty with holding guitar the 'right' way because my left arm doesn't twist upwards fully. It completely blew my mind off when I saw you have exactly the same condition!! I didn't even know it was a thing and had a name or that even someone else has it. I wasn't born with it though, I broke my arm as a child and it didn't heal properly. So happy I found your video, I'm gonna start learning left handed upside down! Thanks for sharing!
Big difference between playing upside down and a left handed bass. I’m don’t hating I think it’s cool I was just wondering why play it upside down when you could just get a lefty?
@@ChristianHisler She literally just covered that...left handed instruments, especially in different countries, are hard to get and very expensive. Also, if you learn a left handed strung instrument, you can never use another bass. So if im at a friends house and we wanna jam...sorry guys, your instrument is backward to me. May not be an issue for a pro but for someone that wants to jam its important.
I never have met another Aussie that has the same condition as me, in the same arm too. ❤️ My arm became this way after I fractured it for the 3rd time. I thought my arm was just a special, one off case. This gives me so much comfort. KEEP JAMMING SIS! (I know it’s 5 years late)
I think that the upside down playing is real cool and I've always believed that if you first learn to play an instrument left, right or upside down, you will stick to it that way. Ive never seen a left handed piano or sax etc... You Rock and your videos Rock!!
Polar sky i wish you're doing well. I just wanna say that it's time you gave us an update of you and your life, This is my first time watching your video but I'm already so inspired by you. Please make your return! On your twitter too. Sending love and peace your way 💛💛💛
I feel ya on this. Been playing upside down for almost a decade myself. Tried playing right handed, no dice. My mind and hands didn't respond to it. So, upside down it was lol
Hi, I have Radioulnar synostosis in both arms. To tell you the truth, you are the person I ever seen with synostosis. Keep it up and greetings from Barcelona (Spain)
I have congenital bilateral radioulnar synostosis. My left wrist turns a little further than my right, but my dominant hand, unfortunately, is the one with a more limited mobility. This -not condition- [I hate calling it that; I at least hate calling _mine_ that] affects many small, simple aspects of my daily life, like: --Brushing my hair. I have hair which reaches down a little past my shoulders, and I cannot brush straight down in the back. Apparently, that's not normal. This drove my grandmother bonkers before my mother explained to her why it was that I wasn't brushing my hair the 'right' way. Not long before then, I had often grown discouraged in that my mother still brushed my hair for me. I was probably around eight years old before I found a way that worked for me to do so to the satisfaction of others all by my lonesome. --Brushing my teeth. I saw my siblings turning their wrists to turn the brush in their mouths and - as a child learning by example - it took me a little while to figure out that twisting my wrist up to as far as it refused to go in order to get all of my teeth was just not working and that I had to twist the brush by using my fingers instead. Apparently, that's not normal. Also [note that I was still quite young], short toothbrushes often led to my fingers making their way into my mouth as I tried to get all of my back top teeth done before learning how to turn the handle on the outside. Oh, the not-logic from when we were children. Books could be filled were we able to remember it all. xp --Washing my hands. When I was a messy little toddler, my mother would constantly tell me to turn my hands under the faucet so that she could wash the dirt off [or whatever it was]. Apparently, that's not normal. I kept telling her that I couldn't, we somehow managed with my hands mostly turned in, and life moved on. --Carrying things. If they don't have a handle, I usually hug things to carry them. Folded laundry, blankets, boxes... I can't just flip my hands over and grip the other side of a box from its bottom. I hug it. Or I get it up on my arms and let it rest there as I carry it from *Point A* to *Point B*. Apparently, that's not normal. --Driving. Not all cars have that handy little feature of having the stick-thing down by the driver's seat instead of sticking out from behind the wheel. -_- --Eating. When I am forced to use an eating utensil, I do not hold it the 'right' way. It _hurts_ to try and hold it the 'right' way. I just make a fist around the fork or spoon and get at whatever's in front of me. It was when we were at a restaurant when I was 12-ish that my mother, again, told me to hold my silverware 'right'. As per the usual, I told her that I couldn't. She sighed, perhaps rolled her eyes a bit, and told me to come over to her. I did. Attempting to teach me by demonstrating, she took my wrist and twisted until it locked. Ding, dong, the light bulb flicked on as she finally realized that something was wrong. Or, she finally had evidence to back up the little voice in her head which had been telling her that something was off about her child. Unlike the other things in this short list, I never forced myself to re-learn a new way that deviated from the way I had futilely been trying for, because, frankly, my first way works fine. If it transfers the food from my plate to my mouth without getting another part of me messy? Than it is the furthest thing from futile. I have eaten like that since I was a baby, so it might be viewed as infantile, unlearned and/or just plain bad manners, and apparently some people in public would stare at me for it. I never noticed. I don't care. Screw society's impression of 'normal'; this high and mighty society is royally messed up anyways. When we went to the doctor for an entirely different medical reason, my mother told me to bring up the issue. I did, we got x-rays, and the doctors had no idea what the heck they were looking at. So I was referred to a couple of specialists and bada-bing bada-boom, I find out that I have bilateral some-really-long-name-which-I-just-KNEW-I-would-forget-[and-did-btw]. I too was given the option for a surgery, but I chose to not. Why? Because it was in both of my arms; so if something went wrong... Because if something went wrong on _either_ of them... [this is a fellow musician talking, here. >_>] Because this special, SUPER RARE thingamabob was actually kind of cool to me; it made me different; it set me apart in a way I actually didn't mind and even came shy of bragging about. Because this -not condition- is _mine._ And, lastly, because if the procedure went right... and I could suddenly do all the things that my peers could do, that my family could do.... I wouldn't know what to do with that. I _would not know_ what to do with a sudden mobility that I have been lacking for more than twenty years. Would I have to re-learn everything the 'right' way, since I no longer had an excuse to not? Would my hard-earned skills become sloppy because - oh look! - my hands now go more this way, naturally, than they used to? I don't know. But I do know one thing: I like having this -not condition-. That is it, plain and simple. Having it 'fixed' would freak me out. The concept of it being made _worse_ scares me. I am comfortable with my - _My_ - Radioulnar Synostosis, and if God gave me the choice [which He won't, but: Hypothetically: IF He gave me the choice] to be reborn with or without it... I would choose *_With,_* Hands down, Possibly every time.
I have congenital bilateral radioulnar synostosis also. I’ve never met anyone with it before but looking online and seeing other people that have it is really cool because it’s so rare and something I just take for granted that I’m the only one dealing with this strange thing. I would like to not have it but my option as a child also was to attempt surgery which would not fix the condition but lock my arms in a more “usable” position, although they’re both already in a position that makes most everyday tasks doable. I’ve seen that now there are developments for surgery by an orthopedic surgeon in India that can fix this condition in children but it doesn’t work for adults at least yet. Most tasks I can do but it does come up here and there - Getting change from a drive through is the worst. I’m also self conscious about the way my arms look different when standing or walking, they hang palms back instead of thumb forward like most people’s. Luckily my dominant right hand is in a better position than my left where I really have next to no range and is fully locked palm down. It just occurred to me to search UA-cam for this condition and it’s so cool to see the comments from other people. The girl in the video is lucky to have one arm that probates so she can play instruments even if it’s not the “normal” way. Thanks everyone who has shared your stories! I’m on a yahoo listserv for the condition but it’s mostly parents of children with the condition so seeing other adults and how they’ve managed is really great.
I play keys, but I've lost my left fingers due to poor circulation. Kidney failure. I'm teaching myself bass, and yes lefty are expensive. ur an inspiration. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing!! My 4 year old daughter has the same congenital Condition, of the right hand. She gets around, and does everything well. I've been worried about pain, or dysfunction, but I realized that she's always been this way, and does all that she does already adapted to being this type of wonderful--because it's all she's ever known. What is different to many, is the norm to her. Thanks for the video!!! Take care.
This was a warm and precious video. So much more than I expected when I clicked on this. I play left handed upside down, but this young lady"s insight is wise beyond her years.
thats how I play, as Im a lefty, and taught myself on my friend's righty guitars. Nice to see an Aussie Sheila playing the same way! I actually was in OZ several times in the 90s, and I played my bass all over the place around Sydney. (Maroubra, Coogee, Brookvale, Oxford Falls, etc...)
When I was 7, someone gave me a plastic guitar. I immediately held it upside down. I'm normally left handed. What you say about how expensive lefty basses are and the challenges of certain techniques is spot on. And those righty cutaways are murder...I.ended up with an EB-0 (still teaching myself, so no fancy bass for me yet). We have to teach ourselves, but I think in a way, we get closer to the instrument.
I didn't plan to play upside down. Back in the '60's, music stores didn't normally stock left handed instruments, so most left handed people would buy a right handed instrument and resting it. I was poor, and couldn't afford a set of strings after getting the bass off lay away, total of 75 dollars. E and A string had excess snipped off, and wouldn't reach to the Gand G peg, so we put them back on with the intent of buying new strings later. By the time I got more money I was playing too good to start all over again. It is not more difficult, it is what you learn first, in my opinion. There are loads of cats that play bass and guitar upside down.
.I've been playing for 34 years..about 10 years ago I started toying with the idea of stringing my bass like a lefty but still play it right handed (as I am right handed)....I did it off and on but the past few years I've come to the realization I prefer playing upside down... if you haven't seen stan sargeant, he plays upside down and has a nice slap/pop technique...he's on UA-cam...great job ma'am
that was really great! i'm a lefty and spent the first 15 or so years playing upside down. i always had a hard time finding lefty instruments in canada in the 80s. the only ones you'd see where high end at 1500 dollars or more. only when i lived in melbourne in 2007 could i find a cheap lefty bass. by then cheap chinese and korean guitars had made it easy for anyone to be able to get into the game and i got an ASHTON bass for a couple hundred bucks. i couldn't ever figure a way to slap and pop upside down, so i had to abandon the upside down ship. but i am glad to see you carry the torch so elegantly!!
I remember being told in a guitar shop once that all manufacturers charge an extra 10% for left-handed guitars and basses because ‘they have to reverse the mould’. Any excuse to rip off lefty’s!
I have exactly the same although my left hand doesn’t turn quite as far as yours. I never knew other people had it I though I was the only one. I’m pregnant and I really hope I don’t pass it on to my child even though there are much worse things to live with. You are so confident. I tend to keep it to myself as I don’t want to be judged. I love your openness.
I play a Chapman Stick which is tuned in inverted 5ths on the bass side, and it makes perfect sense...do whatever works for you. BTW Jeff Schmidt is a pretty radical bassist who plays his instruments "upside down", highly recommended.
ohhh and I thought I was alone *.* I have it in the left arm too and people cant tell wether I was born with it or acquired it later either (parents included). It was discovered when my mother finally listened to me whinning about my taekwondo teacher, who always told me off for not turning my arm right when defending xD And I always wanted to play the guitar as a kid but never could, because all the ones I ever saw were righthanded and I simply couldnt hold them, let alone play any chords and as a child the idea of a lefty guitar (as a righthander) never occured to me, but then on my 20th birthday I had an epiphany and got a really cheap one and BAM I started to learn :D but strumming is still kinda hard :P
I started playing brass instruments with my right hand. So when I picked up a guitar my fingers were already stronger in my right hand. I play upside down. But also learned to play with the fat E string at the top also. It's hard to unlearn what is natural .Keep playing you'll never regret it.
Hi Polar sky, I was blown away when I saw your video because your story was so relatable....When I was in junior high school, my brother bought a cheap bass from Sears and Roebuck at the mall but never did anything with it. So, one day, I picked it up, laid it flat and started playing on one string. Little did I know it felt so comfortable to me with the strings being upside down. After about a few months, I started getting more and more interested in learning to play better--which allowed me to learn to play songs using all four strings. To make a long story short, and after really getting good at playing upside down, I got the opportunity to play with a band that my music teacher put together at my high school during my Junior and Senior year. Here, is where I first got my feelings hurt by a fellow bass player who informed me that I would never be taken seriously by any band owner if I didn't learn to play properly.....What did he mean "play properly"??? Oh, you have to learn to play right handed--You do know it's a right-handed bass don't you....??? I can't tell you how that made me feel, and I held on to that message---which I truly regret doing still today. I let that kill my desire to play and stopped playing....Today, I play from time to time and I even purchased two bass guitars that I plan on getting more acquainted with in the near future. Sorry to write so much but I was just moved by your story and wanted to share mine with you. I pray you continue to enjoy your blessing--I remember that feeling I used to get when I played and I am fighting to get that feeling back once again....Continued success....
My friend has been playing bass and guitar upside down for 5 years and he's in a thrash/speed metal band and man his finder's look so weird when he shreds....
I am a lefty to, i play upside down. i am blind was born that way and had to teach myself everything i know from listening to various forms of bass playing. so I know what you mean getting jabbed at for playing like that. grins* buy the way if your looking to get into any procussive style or harmonics, i tend to gravitate to that sort of stuff, also cord shapes i gravitate to, so if i can give you any advice from one lefty to another, let me know. i cant play rite handed either. thats just weird. LOL. my hand won't bend, ok it will but it feels just wrong. its great being a soloist and someone looks at you and goes wo thats the coolest thing ever. peace be with you, thank you for sharing your story. i can relate.
ive recently gotten into playing guitar and i want to learn to play that and bass, so with an acoustic i got a year or so ago i started teaching myself to play somethings, and i had my dad take me to a guitar center to check stuff out, and it turns out ive been playing with a right handed guitar, left handed (even though im right handed) that was the way that has always been comfortable for me so far, and everyone is telling me that i need to learn to play with a correctly strung guitar, but that just doesnt feel comfortable for me, and hearing that has kinda demotivated me to learn to play at all, this video was very motivation and it helps to know there are more people out there that play like this
people ask me how i came to play upside down too, i tell them cause when you go to a friends house and they have a guitar its most likely right handed, im left handed so i automatically picked it up left handed, i remember asking for a bass for Christmas, i specified i wanted a right handed bass with the knobs on top, i was 13, long story short, i don't know if it was coincidence, but that's what i got, so when i flipped it upside down the knobs were in the right position, pretty cool i remember putting it on my bed and just staring at it like... wow, this is mine, i never stopped playing to this day i still play and practice, bass is a great instrument, like i say, you don't notice it till it's not there lol love what it brings to the table... oh, want to hear something really odd? i know a right handed bass player that intentionally strung it left handed! he liked the E string on the bottom, pretty wild to see that
Oh my God I can't believe it! Thanks for sharing. I thought I'm the only one with this condition and also in the comment there are even more people having the same problem. I can't touch my shoulder with my lefthand. I didn't born with it, but because of accident my left forearm was fractured and twisted. I started playing guitar/bass right handed when I was 12 yo until later realizing I cannot progress, so after college I learn to play lefthanded. It takes years just to be at the same level as my rights, though I know the notes, chords, and techniques. But it finally paid off now I can play what I want to play.
I have the same condition as you - loss of radial arm rotation. I've had it since birth, nothing can be done for it. Doctors and surgeons do not want to chance it with me. They want to leave it as they would not know the outcome of me losing the complete use of my left arm altogether. Like you, I'm musical and I also play the bass guitar but as a normal left handed person, not turning it upside down though. Fair play to you for finding a comfortable way of playing the bass. Drums are my instrument. I can play in a number of ways both left and right handed person using traditional grip, match grip and open handed.
I also am a left handed player. I learned on a right handed bass and flipped it upside down, because I am dominant left handed. It felt right to me having the E string on the bottom side of the neck. To me, if you are going up in pitch, your fingers should be going up the neck and not down the neck. So I have bought three left handed basses, and I took them to a guitar tech and he filed a bone nut for all three and switched the strings so that the E string is on the bottom of the neck as I hold it. I have flats on two basses and half rounds on my lefty jazz bass copy. Mine is made by SX Basses and they are awesome. Find Max Proud here on You Tube and check out his reviews on SX basses. Quality made basses at a cheap price. Rock on my lefty sister!
I thought I was going crazy. I just purchased my first bass and it's a lefty. I'm a righty. I tried to force myself to hold it the right way, but I instantly fell in love with it upside down. Pluck away, friend! 😁
I've got congenital bilateral radial ulnar synostosis, meaning born with it in both arms, left arm looks deformed compared to right one, and you are very lucky, I did the same when I picked up a guitar held it upside down, but since my right has it too I couldn't hold the neck, suffice to say I can never play the guitar as I too wouldn't risk losing use of either or both of my arms, but good on you :)
I’m 31 and I have this condition on both arms. I grew up not knowing there are actual people going through the same thing as me until yesterday. And my mind is blown
That was great - thanks! I’m a leftie who plays an unmodded RH ‘68 Fender Mustang … and I love it. Having the E on the bottom of the neck just makes so much sense to me! I’ve started recommending it to righties ;-)
i have been playing left handed upside down for years,at first i would buy a right hand bass and flip it then later i would get a left hand bass and just change the nut to a right hand nut and i have some custom basses also.Playing that way just felt natural to me so keep doing it your way.I have developed some different techniques for playing upside down and it works for me just fine.If you would like to see some of the ways i play just go to arnez hayes here on youtube.
Very good video I’m a lefty as well and recently I was diagnosed with seizures and like most places that automatically means that the doctors places the person on a 6 month medical hold meaning that they are not aloud to drive or work until they are 6 months seizure free so even with all the things people would say about my playing upside down I still figured I would try playing guitar again luckily with all the extra time now I wonder not only if I could play at all but if I could play both ways left and right without Switching the strings around come to find out I can even though I’m just learning to play and unfortunately I’m Tone deaf and can not Read notes or anything to help learn so the only way I’m finding is to listen and watch people and then try to copy it but it is really cool to know that it’s not just me running into different problems along the way and to see someone who is willing to openly speak about there Complications and problems and despite their complications and problems they’re still trying instead of just giving up
Where is Australia are you? My 9 year old daughter has Congenital Radioulna Synistosis in her left arm too and wants to play guitar. Do you do lessons???
I can relate. Uncovered a 45-year old Gibson EB-3L in my mother's backhouse earlier this year and finally decided to give the bass thing a try for the first time since being turned away from learning an instrument back during my middle school years. It's been quite a chore flipping it over just to compensate for my southpaw tendencies (lol), but I intend to see the whole process through no matter what. STOP NEGLECTING YOUR LEFT-HANDED CUSTOMER BASE, ALL YOU BIG NAME BRANDS!!! >;-p
Ringo Starr of the Beatles is a left handed drummer who plays on a right-hand drum kit, that's why some of his drumming in songs is iconic, not many peeps drum back to front like him. He has a couple of videos explaining his technique. Some great rock drummers reckon he's the bomb!
I have radioulnar synostosis in only my left arm as well. My parents caught early on that I had this, but I didn't know until my early teens what the actual term for it was called (I'm 24 now) Its crazy how I've never met someone who has the same thing going on, and how everyone I've seen/read about online journeyed through this rare issue on their own. You've embraced this a lot better then I have. I try and keep it as subtle as possible. Im going to try and be more open about it now. Thanks
Thanks Michael! I agree, pretty much everyone I've talked to online has gone through it on their own. Honestly before this video, I didn't realise there were so many people with the condition also! I guess that's the good part of the internet-- we can share experiences and engage in our community 😊 Being more open about it is a positive step, and you should feel good about it. Thank you for your kind comments 😊
Im also a left handed guitarist/bassist too!! And we have exactly the same reason for doing it. I broke my left hand when i was a kid and couldnt twist it. Im also a bassist in a band (before) and slapping was also my problem. Demn i thought i was alone lol
I always wanted to learn to play guitar or bass, but I have congenital radioulnar synostosis on both arms LOL.The way your arms are turned seems perfect for what you're doing. Very interesting story.
Paul McCartney is well adept at playing rh guitars/bass upside down. The story goes he played a rock tune the first time he met Lennon on Lennon’s rh guitar well enough to be invited into his band.
Upside down lefty shredder here too. 41 years playing this way. When i saw your lefty bass strung righty i about flipped out!!! So i naturally felt the need to subscribe. The struggle is real isnt it? Anyway i will be checkin in on ya. Greetings from Kentucky. Man i need to post some vids of me playing this way as you have.Lmao @ "bastards" cuz you're correct. Rock on!!!
I was born with the same thing, i've been playing small guitars and basses for the last 12 years to compensate and though i know i have issues playing, i've still progressed to be a decent player (i just can't stand and play at the same time!) Thanks for showing me i'm not alone here! I always wonder now, with all the new 3d printing technology around if it's possible to print new joints for all of us!!! I have not way to get that started but im positive it's possible!
I liked your story. I play left handed, but i remember when i was young, my father found to my a squier strat. That i playing yet after 24 years. He past 11 years ago. That guitar is part of him for me. Everyone has a beautiful story to tell. Forgive my bad english, i am italian. Love and keep play ❤️
I have the same Fender jazz Bass, except for the neck is lefty, and the pups are Seymour Duncan 1/4's wired passive. Sometimes I like to play a righty Bass upside down just for fun !! Like if I sit in on a jam night, and I don't have my lefty Bass with me, I just flip a righty, and I'm good to go !! Love your vids...
excellent video!! i'm a bassist with RS as well and i've learned to cope with it and develop my own playing style over the past 20 yrs. people still ask whats up with my hand or why i play the way i do..but i just ignore it and let my ability speak for itself. keep up the good work..you're doing great!
You can convert a RH into a LH for a few bucks. All you have to modify is the bridge and the nut. If you really want to get fancy you can turn the pickups around. Hendrix and McCartney both were known to do this.
Thanks for sharing your story. We're all different and there are many ways to skin a cat. We all have challenges in learning new skills. Motivation is probably the most important factor. And great to hear how you fell in love with the instrument.
Great to hear your story! I remember playing in New York City (Brooklyn) and listened to another bass player playing the same venue I told him: Ah you play upside down like Jimmy Haslip! He was really glad I knew who Jimmy Haslip was and that he played the way he does. We'll now I'm glad I know at least three players playing upside down! Groove on!
hearing your story made me realize how similar we both are. It's kinda scary I play all of my instruments upside down and i also have a problem with my hand (can't fully extend it) i can literally relate to everything you said
I'm a lefty that kind of just fell into playing right handed. I'd never seen a lefty bass, and the first one I picked up was right handed. Now when I pick up a lefty bass it's completely foreign to me. Like writing right handed. Much respect for you having to create new techniques. Just another way to put you ahead of all us right handed playing bastards ;)
Lol. I started playing a right handed bass left handed when I was younger (and no one told me it was upside down). When I realized my folly, I saved up for a lefty bass and relearned the instrument in its normal orientation; your ailment is interesting and you've adapted to it well it seems. You need to check out Jimmy Haslip. He is where you're trying to get to playing the way you do; not to call out your style, but he will inspire you because he plays the same arrangement you play in.
For journalistic purposes I have been trying to popularize the term L.U.Dite player or LUDite player ( Lefty Upside Down player ) Most Lefties find their own path ( non existent or uncaring teachers, limited resources ) and for most it does this one thing. It forces you to develop your ear training early on; al bit ahead of your technical playing. Consequently, there is a force of melody that is rather unique for Lefties; and part of the passion we bring to our delivery. It's how the brain is wired. Usually having developed a form of perfect pitch or very close to it. You have Great Tone ! Play on. Viva LUDites.
Hey...I'm now 34 and I thought I was the only one in the world who had this problem. Thank you so much for posting. I feel better know I have company.. lol. I play piano by the way. But I have a acoustic guitar years before I started playing the piano. I really wanted to learn...but I could twist my arm properly..so had to switch to piano. My left hand is the same as yours ..however I'm right handed
It is so great that you do things your way! When I was in elementary school, the band teacher showed me how to hold the drum sticks. I remember thinking, why on earth would I hold my right one different than the left one? Later he told me if I was not going to hold the sticks right, I should stop playing, I said there is No right way, I want to hold them the way I want to! LOL
I play bass upside down too! I'm so glad I'm not alone. I'm kinda embarrassed to play in public because I play like that. But I can't play it normally because it feels beyond awkward for my left hand to slide up and down the neck. But here's the odd part. I'm right handed! And I never got a left handed bass because I just got so used to playing like I do.
that awesome i play guitars and bass upside down but didnt think anybody else play it that ways since most lefties restrung theirs strings usually, glad to hear your story and great bass playing, keep it up and let music never die :)
Not sure if you're on this channel anymore but there's an ad on UA-cam plays left-handed Bass it's turned upside down and there's a sock on the stock. Super talented maybe he has pointers
Yes, we lefties pay too much for a limited variety of instruments. One thing about ukuleles is that there are four strings, two inner thick ones and two outer thin strings meaning we lefties don't need to turn the strings around, if you wanted to, you could simply tune a right handed ukulele to left-hand tuning G, C, E, A. there were no tutorials for left-hand Bob Marley ukulele songs so I got my little black book of 80 Bob Marley songbook guitar chords, searched online for the left-hand ukulele chords and drew the chords onto the pages and made 80+ Bob Marley left-hand ukulele tutorials on my.youtube page. My.missus bought me a left-hand bass I made several videos, but I learnt to play a right-hand acoustic guitar upside down. Such is the life of a lefthander trying to express their musical interests. Check my page out sometime, might be a song or two you might like. Thanks for sharing young lady. An old Aussie Left-hander Aaron.
I love this I’ve been gifted a left handed bass guitar from a friend I have no idea how to play and I’m right handed so I found this video by searching up how to play upside down thank you bless you ❤️❤️
I want to play different as well, to start all over again due to a car accident where now my right hand will still pluck the strings, but left hand comes straight down to the frets from the top front, instead of up from the bottom to the front, I have to learn all over, everythings backwards!!
My guitar teacher plays left handed but started on a right handed upside down. He also writes tabs upside down so thickest string is on top on the tabs and thinnest on bottom. I am left handed in every day life but play guitar and any other instruments right handed. My cousin handed me a left handed banjo and i had to use it upside down.
I started playing a right handed Strat and jazz bass lefty lol. People made fun of me but at the same time people thought it was amazing that I could play upside down. Although I only play lefty basses and guitars I have thought about buying a Warwick streamer righty and playing it upside down.
Have you ever heard of Libba Cotten? She played a guitar in the same fashion as you (I'm a lefty who plays righty bass in "regular" fashion) Check this out: www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/elizabeth_cotten.aspx
I am actually left handed lol. When I was growing up, nobody in my family was left handed. They would joke around with me like spreading peanut butter, writing/drawing, even flipping through a book (I flip books from back to front cause I'm leftie😂). They only always meant it lovingly joking around, but it i spired me to train myself in purposefully doing things with my right hand (everything but writing/drawing but I can kind of do that right handed to now at 37). Dad was a guitarist and always said that I might as well play right handed and learn that way since I was new. So I play right handed, but let say it is next to impossible to do things like double thumb strum in popping and slapping.
I love your video. I have a problem with my left pinky finger and I was thinking about learning to play the bass and wondering which side I should play on. It's nice to think about playing upside down. Because then there's a better selection of bass guitars. You could of course restring it and put the thick string on the other side. There is probably more than one way to go. Slapping the bass sounds fun so I don't want to give up that part.
Hi. I just came across your video on playing bass upside down. I was shown my first bass line on a right handed six string acoustic. I'm a lefty so I also played it upside down. When I picked up someone else's bass it was of course right handed and I continued to learn upside down, which was normal to me and I also thought nothing of it. I empathise with the difficulty of learning new techniques. It's a bitch - especially trying to finger chords. Easy for a righty, but for a lefty - spaghetti fingers! I wouldn't change it for the world.
Dick Dale played upside down and backwards because he was trying to translate his ability on drums. I was hoping to hear about this... and now I want to listen to Midnight Oil's classic song about burning beds and Australian white guilt.
I'm in your same boat right now! I just bought a slightly used guitar last night, but I also have radioulnar synostosis in my left arm! I'm debating whether or not to have it checked out by an orthopedist or just play lefty like you do.
Holy, I found someone that plays like me for the same reason haha I used to play guitar as right handed, but due to a car accident where I broke my elbow, radio and ulna, I also don't have the same left arm movement you don't have. For years I gave up playing again but this year I decided to learn bass as a left handed and I faced the same problem: here in Brazil, a left handed bass cost almost twice as a right handed bass. Seriously, at the store I bought my right handed bass I saw the same bass, same brand, same model, same color, but left handed costing almost twice. First I thought about changing the strings, but then I though "why the hell not playing it upside down?" hahaha Only thing I'm still struggling is to find the sweet spot to hold the bass while sitting, but I'll get there xD
Omg I finally found other people that have this. I have it in my left arm/wrist as well. My arm looks exactly like yours. Quick question for anyone reading this .. Does anyone’s arm/wrist ever hurt ? Mine isn’t all of the time, but seems to be increasing as I get older.
It's lovely that you stick to your guns, and went with it anyway. I think you're a very smart and courageous girl. I love your video it was very incorrigible. Thank you for sharing it.
I have a disability from birth called cerebral palsy mainly affects my legs I always thought it affected my arm too which I still do but the interesting thing is when you held out your arms that's exactly what my arms do my one risk can go all the way around just like yours exactly left hand that is the same distance I can turn that left hand unless like you said you try forcing it wow you're the first person I've seen that has that exact same what I call weird thing with the arm I always just said it was probably my cerebral palsy but now I'm thinking it could be my cerebral palsy or it could be what you're talking about so maybe I've got two different things going on and I like how you just adapted to the instrument naturally I'm looking at instruments in general just for the heck of it no passion like you do but it's just interesting to see the same exact rotation issue
I was not expecting so many comments when I first put up this video. I'm so blown away by how big our community is!
Thank you for everyone that's commented with their stories :D
Polar Sky plzzz contact me wanna talk to u
shubham chauhan what's up?
I play upside down as well. And I’m 54, thank goodness your didn’t go to school in my day. They tried and tried to get me to write right handed, but my mom. Told them to back off leave him alone
I can see my left arm in your eft arm, I also have RDS Left hand :)
Hello, i just watch your video and i want to know did u use regular bass or backwards bass??
Australia! That's why the bass is upside down :D
Nielle Enslin
Ayyyyyyy
S'Truth mate! ;D
h
LMFAOOOOOO
LOL!
"Just isn't my thing" I SEE THAT ELECTRONIC DRUM KIT ON THE RIGHT DON'T LIE TO ME
Bahaha!
Thank you so much for this video. I am 63 years old and have taken guitar and bass lessons since I was 19 but couldn't get anywhere, just frustration and soreness, because my left wrist does not turn palm up. I just picked up a used Ibanez bass to give it a last go and wanted to sell it the next day.
I did a search on Google to see if there was a treatment for the wrist and saw the term radioulnar synostosis. It almost knocked me off my chair! I was at a family BBQ last night and spoke to my nephew, who plays lefthanded, and thought it was worth a try. While searching UA-cam I saw this video.
Sorry for the long reply, but you have given me hope. Not to mention watching you demo of your left arm and watching you try to play right handed. It is me.
I turned my bass upside down to give it a go, and as awkward as it felt, my right hand moved freely on the fretboard. I may not be done. I'm not sure if I should keep trying to play upside down, changing the strings, or just trade it for a left handed one. (Much more available here in the States).
Thank you again so much. It's great to know it's just me. There is a place for those like us with this issue!
Hey Aussie Sista. I play lefty upside simply because Im a lefty, and my mates had rightie guitars. I learned to play on their guitars, by just flipping it over, and playing by ear. Then I picked up a bass for the first time, and fell in love with how the bass line defines and drives a song. Within a few years, they all gave up, I started making money playing gigs, doing rock and country near Detroit. Ive even played some over in OZ, in Brookvale, and Maroubra.
finally found someone who plays upside down like me:)
Check the band atheist
Amazing! I'm right handed and want to learn to play acoustic guitar, but I faced the same difficulty with holding guitar the 'right' way because my left arm doesn't twist upwards fully. It completely blew my mind off when I saw you have exactly the same condition!! I didn't even know it was a thing and had a name or that even someone else has it. I wasn't born with it though, I broke my arm as a child and it didn't heal properly. So happy I found your video, I'm gonna start learning left handed upside down!
Thanks for sharing!
Hey, Paul McCartney plays bass n' guitar this way, Ringo is s southpaw on a rt, handed kit, your a sweetheart anyway. Girls who play bass are cool
Paul used a left handed bass.In this case,she is using a right handed bass.Just upside down
Big difference between playing upside down and a left handed bass. I’m don’t hating I think it’s cool I was just wondering why play it upside down when you could just get a lefty?
@@ChristianHisler She literally just covered that...left handed instruments, especially in different countries, are hard to get and very expensive. Also, if you learn a left handed strung instrument, you can never use another bass. So if im at a friends house and we wanna jam...sorry guys, your instrument is backward to me.
May not be an issue for a pro but for someone that wants to jam its important.
That was not arrogant of you to say. You're actually right
I never have met another Aussie that has the same condition as me, in the same arm too. ❤️
My arm became this way after I fractured it for the 3rd time.
I thought my arm was just a special, one off case. This gives me so much comfort. KEEP JAMMING SIS! (I know it’s 5 years late)
(I should mention though that I am right handed)
I think that the upside down playing is real cool and I've always believed that if you first learn to play an instrument left, right or upside down, you will stick to it that way. Ive never seen a left handed piano or sax etc... You Rock and your videos Rock!!
Sumbi Humbane aww shucks! 😁
Polar sky i wish you're doing well.
I just wanna say that it's time you gave us an update of you and your life, This is my first time watching your video but I'm already so inspired by you. Please make your return! On your twitter too. Sending love and peace your way 💛💛💛
I feel ya on this. Been playing upside down for almost a decade myself. Tried playing right handed, no dice. My mind and hands didn't respond to it. So, upside down it was lol
Hi, I have Radioulnar synostosis in both arms. To tell you the truth, you are the person I ever seen with synostosis.
Keep it up and greetings from Barcelona (Spain)
reivaxlig I have this exact thing too, greetings from Nashville (USA)
ELLIOTT CHIASSON hey man I from Nashville TN too and I have radioalnor and it stinx really bad I would love to talk to you
Same
I have this in both my arms. I wanted to join the army.
I have it too, it can get really frustating
I have congenital bilateral radioulnar synostosis. My left wrist turns a little further than my right, but my dominant hand, unfortunately, is the one with a more limited mobility. This -not condition- [I hate calling it that; I at least hate calling _mine_ that] affects many small, simple aspects of my daily life, like:
--Brushing my hair. I have hair which reaches down a little past my shoulders, and I cannot brush straight down in the back. Apparently, that's not normal. This drove my grandmother bonkers before my mother explained to her why it was that I wasn't brushing my hair the 'right' way. Not long before then, I had often grown discouraged in that my mother still brushed my hair for me. I was probably around eight years old before I found a way that worked for me to do so to the satisfaction of others all by my lonesome.
--Brushing my teeth. I saw my siblings turning their wrists to turn the brush in their mouths and - as a child learning by example - it took me a little while to figure out that twisting my wrist up to as far as it refused to go in order to get all of my teeth was just not working and that I had to twist the brush by using my fingers instead. Apparently, that's not normal. Also [note that I was still quite young], short toothbrushes often led to my fingers making their way into my mouth as I tried to get all of my back top teeth done before learning how to turn the handle on the outside. Oh, the not-logic from when we were children. Books could be filled were we able to remember it all. xp
--Washing my hands. When I was a messy little toddler, my mother would constantly tell me to turn my hands under the faucet so that she could wash the dirt off [or whatever it was]. Apparently, that's not normal. I kept telling her that I couldn't, we somehow managed with my hands mostly turned in, and life moved on.
--Carrying things. If they don't have a handle, I usually hug things to carry them. Folded laundry, blankets, boxes... I can't just flip my hands over and grip the other side of a box from its bottom. I hug it. Or I get it up on my arms and let it rest there as I carry it from *Point A* to *Point B*. Apparently, that's not normal.
--Driving. Not all cars have that handy little feature of having the stick-thing down by the driver's seat instead of sticking out from behind the wheel. -_-
--Eating. When I am forced to use an eating utensil, I do not hold it the 'right' way. It _hurts_ to try and hold it the 'right' way. I just make a fist around the fork or spoon and get at whatever's in front of me. It was when we were at a restaurant when I was 12-ish that my mother, again, told me to hold my silverware 'right'. As per the usual, I told her that I couldn't. She sighed, perhaps rolled her eyes a bit, and told me to come over to her. I did. Attempting to teach me by demonstrating, she took my wrist and twisted until it locked. Ding, dong, the light bulb flicked on as she finally realized that something was wrong. Or, she finally had evidence to back up the little voice in her head which had been telling her that something was off about her child. Unlike the other things in this short list, I never forced myself to re-learn a new way that deviated from the way I had futilely been trying for, because, frankly, my first way works fine. If it transfers the food from my plate to my mouth without getting another part of me messy? Than it is the furthest thing from futile. I have eaten like that since I was a baby, so it might be viewed as infantile, unlearned and/or just plain bad manners, and apparently some people in public would stare at me for it. I never noticed. I don't care. Screw society's impression of 'normal'; this high and mighty society is royally messed up anyways.
When we went to the doctor for an entirely different medical reason, my mother told me to bring up the issue. I did, we got x-rays, and the doctors had no idea what the heck they were looking at. So I was referred to a couple of specialists and bada-bing bada-boom, I find out that I have bilateral some-really-long-name-which-I-just-KNEW-I-would-forget-[and-did-btw]. I too was given the option for a surgery, but I chose to not. Why? Because it was in both of my arms; so if something went wrong... Because if something went wrong on _either_ of them... [this is a fellow musician talking, here. >_>] Because this special, SUPER RARE thingamabob was actually kind of cool to me; it made me different; it set me apart in a way I actually didn't mind and even came shy of bragging about. Because this -not condition- is _mine._ And, lastly, because if the procedure went right... and I could suddenly do all the things that my peers could do, that my family could do.... I wouldn't know what to do with that. I _would not know_ what to do with a sudden mobility that I have been lacking for more than twenty years. Would I have to re-learn everything the 'right' way, since I no longer had an excuse to not? Would my hard-earned skills become sloppy because - oh look! - my hands now go more this way, naturally, than they used to? I don't know. But I do know one thing: I like having this -not condition-. That is it, plain and simple. Having it 'fixed' would freak me out. The concept of it being made _worse_ scares me. I am comfortable with my - _My_ - Radioulnar Synostosis, and if God gave me the choice [which He won't, but: Hypothetically: IF He gave me the choice] to be reborn with or without it... I would choose *_With,_* Hands down, Possibly every time.
Alias Ersonpay I have that too, also in my dominant wrist.
Alias Ersonpay I have this exact condition, and i have to play guitar "lapsteel" style. like Jeff Healey.
I have congenital bilateral radioulnar synostosis also. I’ve never met anyone with it before but looking online and seeing other people that have it is really cool because it’s so rare and something I just take for granted that I’m the only one dealing with this strange thing. I would like to not have it but my option as a child also was to attempt surgery which would not fix the condition but lock my arms in a more “usable” position, although they’re both already in a position that makes most everyday tasks doable. I’ve seen that now there are developments for surgery by an orthopedic surgeon in India that can fix this condition in children but it doesn’t work for adults at least yet. Most tasks I can do but it does come up here and there - Getting change from a drive through is the worst. I’m also self conscious about the way my arms look different when standing or walking, they hang palms back instead of thumb forward like most people’s. Luckily my dominant right hand is in a better position than my left where I really have next to no range and is fully locked palm down.
It just occurred to me to search UA-cam for this condition and it’s so cool to see the comments from other people. The girl in the video is lucky to have one arm that probates so she can play instruments even if it’s not the “normal” way. Thanks everyone who has shared your stories! I’m on a yahoo listserv for the condition but it’s mostly parents of children with the condition so seeing other adults and how they’ve managed is really great.
I play keys, but I've lost my left fingers due to poor circulation. Kidney failure. I'm teaching myself bass, and yes lefty are expensive. ur an inspiration. Thanks for sharing
How did that all work out? I hope you're doing well
Thanks for sharing!! My 4 year old daughter has the same congenital
Condition, of the right hand. She gets around, and does everything well. I've been worried about pain, or dysfunction, but I realized that she's always been this way, and does all that she does already adapted to being this type of wonderful--because it's all she's ever known. What is different to many, is the norm to her. Thanks for the video!!! Take care.
This was a warm and precious video. So much more than I expected when I clicked on this. I play left handed upside down, but this young lady"s insight is wise beyond her years.
thats how I play, as Im a lefty, and taught myself on my friend's righty guitars. Nice to see an Aussie Sheila playing the same way! I actually was in OZ several times in the 90s, and I played my bass all over the place around Sydney. (Maroubra, Coogee, Brookvale, Oxford Falls, etc...)
When I was 7, someone gave me a plastic guitar. I immediately held it upside down. I'm normally left handed. What you say about how expensive lefty basses are and the challenges of certain techniques is spot on.
And those righty cutaways are murder...I.ended up with an EB-0 (still teaching myself, so no fancy bass for me yet).
We have to teach ourselves, but I think in a way, we get closer to the instrument.
I've been playing upside down for over 50 years. Keep up the good work Polar Sky!
T.C. Howard Jr. Hells yeah! I sneaked a look at your profile pic btw. Sick bass!
Is it conformable to play upside-down if ur a lefty
T.C. Howard Jr. Did u ever had a difficult time trying to learn to play upside-down bass at first?
I didn't plan to play upside down. Back in the '60's, music stores didn't normally stock left handed instruments, so most left handed people would buy a right handed instrument and resting it. I was poor, and couldn't afford a set of strings after getting the bass off lay away, total of 75 dollars. E and A string had excess snipped off, and wouldn't reach to the Gand G peg, so we put them back on with the intent of buying new strings later. By the time I got more money I was playing too good to start all over again. It is not more difficult, it is what you learn first, in my opinion. There are loads of cats that play bass and guitar upside down.
@@Pro1938ftc3ch No difficulty. It all seemed to come naturally.
.I've been playing for 34 years..about 10 years ago I started toying with the idea of stringing my bass like a lefty but still play it right handed (as I am right handed)....I did it off and on but the past few years I've come to the realization I prefer playing upside down... if you haven't seen stan sargeant, he plays upside down and has a nice slap/pop technique...he's on UA-cam...great job ma'am
that was really great! i'm a lefty and spent the first 15 or so years playing upside down. i always had a hard time finding lefty instruments in canada in the 80s. the only ones you'd see where high end at 1500 dollars or more. only when i lived in melbourne in 2007 could i find a cheap lefty bass. by then cheap chinese and korean guitars had made it easy for anyone to be able to get into the game and i got an ASHTON bass for a couple hundred bucks. i couldn't ever figure a way to slap and pop upside down, so i had to abandon the upside down ship. but i am glad to see you carry the torch so elegantly!!
came across this video when it was posted on a bass forum I am on. Just came here to say that may be the best t-shirt I have ever seen.
I remember being told in a guitar shop once that all manufacturers charge an extra 10% for left-handed guitars and basses because ‘they have to reverse the mould’. Any excuse to rip off lefty’s!
I have exactly the same although my left hand doesn’t turn quite as far as yours. I never knew other people had it I though I was the only one. I’m pregnant and I really hope I don’t pass it on to my child even though there are much worse things to live with. You are so confident. I tend to keep it to myself as I don’t want to be judged. I love your openness.
I play a Chapman Stick which is tuned in inverted 5ths on the bass side, and it makes perfect sense...do whatever works for you. BTW Jeff Schmidt is a pretty radical bassist who plays his instruments "upside down", highly recommended.
ohhh and I thought I was alone *.* I have it in the left arm too and people cant tell wether I was born with it or acquired it later either (parents included). It was discovered when my mother finally listened to me whinning about my taekwondo teacher, who always told me off for not turning my arm right when defending xD
And I always wanted to play the guitar as a kid but never could, because all the ones I ever saw were righthanded and I simply couldnt hold them, let alone play any chords and as a child the idea of a lefty guitar (as a righthander) never occured to me, but then on my 20th birthday I had an epiphany and got a really cheap one and BAM I started to learn :D but strumming is still kinda hard :P
I started playing brass instruments with my right hand. So when I picked up a guitar my fingers were already stronger in my right hand. I play upside down. But also learned to play with the fat E string at the top also. It's hard to unlearn what is natural .Keep playing you'll never regret it.
Hi Polar sky, I was blown away when I saw your video because your story was so relatable....When I was in junior high school, my brother bought a cheap bass from Sears and Roebuck at the mall but never did anything with it. So, one day, I picked it up, laid it flat and started playing on one string. Little did I know it felt so comfortable to me with the strings being upside down. After about a few months, I started getting more and more interested in learning to play better--which allowed me to learn to play songs using all four strings. To make a long story short, and after really getting good at playing upside down, I got the opportunity to play with a band that my music teacher put together at my high school during my Junior and Senior year. Here, is where I first got my feelings hurt by a fellow bass player who informed me that I would never be taken seriously by any band owner if I didn't learn to play properly.....What did he mean "play properly"??? Oh, you have to learn to play right handed--You do know it's a right-handed bass don't you....??? I can't tell you how that made me feel, and I held on to that message---which I truly regret doing still today. I let that kill my desire to play and stopped playing....Today, I play from time to time and I even purchased two bass guitars that I plan on getting more acquainted with in the near future. Sorry to write so much but I was just moved by your story and wanted to share mine with you. I pray you continue to enjoy your blessing--I remember that feeling I used to get when I played and I am fighting to get that feeling back once again....Continued success....
My friend has been playing bass and guitar upside down for 5 years and he's in a thrash/speed metal band and man his finder's look so weird when he shreds....
I am a lefty to, i play upside down.
i am blind was born that way and had to teach myself everything i know from listening to various forms of bass playing. so I know what you mean getting jabbed at for playing like that. grins* buy the way if your looking to get into any procussive style or harmonics, i tend to gravitate to that sort of stuff, also cord shapes i gravitate to, so if i can give you any advice from one lefty to another, let me know. i cant play rite handed either. thats just weird. LOL.
my hand won't bend, ok it will but it feels just wrong. its great being a soloist and someone looks at you and goes wo thats the coolest thing ever.
peace be with you, thank you for sharing your story. i can relate.
Sometimes, the left way is the right way! You are not alone. I write with my right hand and play guitar and drums with my left hand.
ive recently gotten into playing guitar and i want to learn to play that and bass, so with an acoustic i got a year or so ago i started teaching myself to play somethings, and i had my dad take me to a guitar center to check stuff out, and it turns out ive been playing with a right handed guitar, left handed (even though im right handed) that was the way that has always been comfortable for me so far, and everyone is telling me that i need to learn to play with a correctly strung guitar, but that just doesnt feel comfortable for me, and hearing that has kinda demotivated me to learn to play at all, this video was very motivation and it helps to know there are more people out there that play like this
people ask me how i came to play upside down too, i tell them cause when you go to a friends house and they have a guitar its most likely right handed, im left handed so i automatically picked it up left handed, i remember asking for a bass for Christmas, i specified i wanted a right handed bass with the knobs on top, i was 13, long story short, i don't know if it was coincidence, but that's what i got, so when i flipped it upside down the knobs were in the right position, pretty cool i remember putting it on my bed and just staring at it like... wow, this is mine, i never stopped playing to this day i still play and practice, bass is a great instrument, like i say, you don't notice it till it's not there lol love what it brings to the table... oh, want to hear something really odd? i know a right handed bass player that intentionally strung it left handed! he liked the E string on the bottom, pretty wild to see that
Oh my God I can't believe it! Thanks for sharing. I thought I'm the only one with this condition and also in the comment there are even more people having the same problem.
I can't touch my shoulder with my lefthand. I didn't born with it, but because of accident my left forearm was fractured and twisted.
I started playing guitar/bass right handed when I was 12 yo until later realizing I cannot progress, so after college I learn to play lefthanded. It takes years just to be at the same level as my rights, though I know the notes, chords, and techniques.
But it finally paid off now I can play what I want to play.
I have the same condition as you - loss of radial arm rotation. I've had it since birth, nothing can be done for it. Doctors and surgeons do not want to chance it with me. They want to leave it as they would not know the outcome of me losing the complete use of my left arm altogether. Like you, I'm musical and I also play the bass guitar but as a normal left handed person, not turning it upside down though. Fair play to you for finding a comfortable way of playing the bass. Drums are my instrument. I can play in a number of ways both left and right handed person using traditional grip, match grip and open handed.
I also am a left handed player. I learned on a right handed bass and flipped it upside down, because I am dominant left handed. It felt right to me having the E string on the bottom side of the neck. To me, if you are going up in pitch, your fingers should be going up the neck and not down the neck. So I have bought three left handed basses, and I took them to a guitar tech and he filed a bone nut for all three and switched the strings so that the E string is on the bottom of the neck as I hold it. I have flats on two basses and half rounds on my lefty jazz bass copy. Mine is made by SX Basses and they are awesome. Find Max Proud here on You Tube and check out his reviews on SX basses. Quality made basses at a cheap price. Rock on my lefty sister!
I thought I was going crazy. I just purchased my first bass and it's a lefty. I'm a righty. I tried to force myself to hold it the right way, but I instantly fell in love with it upside down. Pluck away, friend! 😁
I've got congenital bilateral radial ulnar synostosis, meaning born with it in both arms, left arm looks deformed compared to right one, and you are very lucky, I did the same when I picked up a guitar held it upside down, but since my right has it too I couldn't hold the neck, suffice to say I can never play the guitar as I too wouldn't risk losing use of either or both of my arms, but good on you :)
I’m 31 and I have this condition on both arms. I grew up not knowing there are actual people going through the same thing as me until yesterday. And my mind is blown
I played professionally in bars and on the road lefty bass strung righty from age 9 untill I switched over in 1997. Best decision I ever made.
That was great - thanks! I’m a leftie who plays an unmodded RH ‘68 Fender Mustang … and I love it. Having the E on the bottom of the neck just makes so much sense to me! I’ve started recommending it to righties ;-)
i have been playing left handed upside down for years,at first i would buy a right hand bass and flip it then later i would get a left hand bass and just change the nut to a right hand nut and i have some custom basses also.Playing that way just felt natural to me so keep doing it your way.I have developed some different techniques for playing upside down and it works for me just fine.If you would like to see some of the ways i play just go to arnez hayes here on youtube.
Very good video I’m a lefty as well and recently I was diagnosed with seizures and like most places that automatically means that the doctors places the person on a 6 month medical hold meaning that they are not aloud to drive or work until they are 6 months seizure free so even with all the things people would say about my playing upside down I still figured I would try playing guitar again luckily with all the extra time now I wonder not only if I could play at all but if I could play both ways left and right without Switching the strings around come to find out I can even though I’m just learning to play and unfortunately I’m Tone deaf and can not Read notes or anything to help learn so the only way I’m finding is to listen and watch people and then try to copy it but it is really cool to know that it’s not just me running into different problems along the way and to see someone who is willing to openly speak about there Complications and problems and despite their complications and problems they’re still trying instead of just giving up
Where is Australia are you? My 9 year old daughter has Congenital Radioulna Synistosis in her left arm too and wants to play guitar. Do you do lessons???
I can relate. Uncovered a 45-year old Gibson EB-3L in my mother's backhouse earlier this year and finally decided to give the bass thing a try for the first time since being turned away from learning an instrument back during my middle school years. It's been quite a chore flipping it over just to compensate for my southpaw tendencies (lol), but I intend to see the whole process through no matter what. STOP NEGLECTING YOUR LEFT-HANDED CUSTOMER BASE, ALL YOU BIG NAME BRANDS!!!
>;-p
Ringo Starr of the Beatles is a left handed drummer who plays on a right-hand drum kit, that's why some of his drumming in songs is iconic, not many peeps drum back to front like him. He has a couple of videos explaining his technique. Some great rock drummers reckon he's the bomb!
I've just been lent a right-handed ubass to try and learn it upside down. This vid is really inspirational !!
I have radioulnar synostosis in only my left arm as well. My parents caught early on that I had this, but I didn't know until my early teens what the actual term for it was called (I'm 24 now)
Its crazy how I've never met someone who has the same thing going on, and how everyone I've seen/read about online journeyed through this rare issue on their own.
You've embraced this a lot better then I have. I try and keep it as subtle as possible. Im going to try and be more open about it now. Thanks
Thanks Michael!
I agree, pretty much everyone I've talked to online has gone through it on their own. Honestly before this video, I didn't realise there were so many people with the condition also!
I guess that's the good part of the internet-- we can share experiences and engage in our community 😊
Being more open about it is a positive step, and you should feel good about it. Thank you for your kind comments 😊
Im also a left handed guitarist/bassist too!! And we have exactly the same reason for doing it. I broke my left hand when i was a kid and couldnt twist it. Im also a bassist in a band (before) and slapping was also my problem. Demn i thought i was alone lol
Ah, I haven't met anyone before who plays upside down because of this!
me too, im glad to see ur video, now i know why i cant twist my left hand coz i havent let it checked by a doctor ever since :D
i play right-hand gdae upside-down
I always wanted to learn to play guitar or bass, but I have congenital radioulnar synostosis on both arms LOL.The way your arms are turned seems perfect for what you're doing. Very interesting story.
Paul McCartney is well adept at playing rh guitars/bass upside down. The story goes he played a rock tune the first time he met Lennon on Lennon’s rh guitar well enough to be invited into his band.
I have radioulnar synostosis on both arms actually, i have to play guitar completely over the neck
Upside down lefty shredder here too. 41 years playing this way. When i saw your lefty bass strung righty i about flipped out!!! So i naturally felt the need to subscribe. The struggle is real isnt it? Anyway i will be checkin in on ya. Greetings from Kentucky. Man i need to post some vids of me playing this way as you have.Lmao @ "bastards" cuz you're correct. Rock on!!!
She was too early for the rise of bass. Pioneer in the genre.
I was born with the same thing, i've been playing small guitars and basses for the last 12 years to compensate and though i know i have issues playing, i've still progressed to be a decent player (i just can't stand and play at the same time!) Thanks for showing me i'm not alone here!
I always wonder now, with all the new 3d printing technology around if it's possible to print new joints for all of us!!! I have not way to get that started but im positive it's possible!
I liked your story. I play left handed, but i remember when i was young, my father found to my a squier strat. That i playing yet after 24 years. He past 11 years ago. That guitar is part of him for me. Everyone has a beautiful story to tell. Forgive my bad english, i am italian. Love and keep play ❤️
I have the same Fender jazz Bass, except for the neck is lefty, and the pups are Seymour Duncan 1/4's wired passive. Sometimes I like to play a righty Bass upside down just for fun !! Like if I sit in on a jam night, and I don't have my lefty Bass with me, I just flip a righty, and I'm good to go !! Love your vids...
excellent video!! i'm a bassist with RS as well and i've learned to cope with it and develop my own playing style over the past 20 yrs. people still ask whats up with my hand or why i play the way i do..but i just ignore it and let my ability speak for itself. keep up the good work..you're doing great!
So sorry to hear that Mike!
And thanks! :)
You can convert a RH into a LH for a few bucks. All you have to modify is the bridge and the nut. If you really want to get fancy you can turn the pickups around. Hendrix and McCartney both were known to do this.
Thanks for sharing your story. We're all different and there are many ways to skin a cat. We all have challenges in learning new skills. Motivation is probably the most important factor. And great to hear how you fell in love with the instrument.
Great to hear your story! I remember playing in New York City (Brooklyn) and listened to another bass player playing the same venue I told him: Ah you play upside down like Jimmy Haslip! He was really glad I knew who Jimmy Haslip was and that he played the way he does. We'll now I'm glad I know at least three players playing upside down! Groove on!
Thanks Magnus!
hearing your story made me realize how similar we both are. It's kinda scary
I play all of my instruments upside down and i also have a problem with my hand (can't fully extend it)
i can literally relate to everything you said
I'm a lefty that kind of just fell into playing right handed. I'd never seen a lefty bass, and the first one I picked up was right handed. Now when I pick up a lefty bass it's completely foreign to me. Like writing right handed. Much respect for you having to create new techniques. Just another way to put you ahead of all us right handed playing bastards ;)
I'm a lefty and could never play righty.
Lol. I started playing a right handed bass left handed when I was younger (and no one told me it was upside down). When I realized my folly, I saved up for a lefty bass and relearned the instrument in its normal orientation; your ailment is interesting and you've adapted to it well it seems. You need to check out Jimmy Haslip. He is where you're trying to get to playing the way you do; not to call out your style, but he will inspire you because he plays the same arrangement you play in.
For journalistic purposes I have been trying to popularize the term L.U.Dite player or LUDite player ( Lefty Upside Down player ) Most Lefties find their own path ( non existent or uncaring teachers, limited resources ) and for most it does this one thing. It forces you to develop your ear training early on; al bit ahead of your technical playing. Consequently, there is a force of melody that is rather unique for Lefties; and part of the passion we bring to our delivery. It's how the brain is wired. Usually having developed a form of perfect pitch or very close to it. You have Great Tone ! Play on. Viva LUDites.
Hey...I'm now 34 and I thought I was the only one in the world who had this problem. Thank you so much for posting. I feel better know I have company.. lol. I play piano by the way. But I have a acoustic guitar years before I started playing the piano. I really wanted to learn...but I could twist my arm properly..so had to switch to piano. My left hand is the same as yours ..however I'm right handed
Oml the left handed bass in Australia part is SOOOO true. It's flipping impossible. But my mum promised me to buy one lol. Also, very good story!
It is so great that you do things your way! When I was in elementary school, the band teacher showed me how to hold the drum sticks. I remember thinking, why on earth would I hold my right one different than the left one? Later he told me if I was not going to hold the sticks right, I should stop playing, I said there is No right way, I want to hold them the way I want to! LOL
I’ve got it in both arms, I was born with it
I play bass upside down too! I'm so glad I'm not alone. I'm kinda embarrassed to play in public because I play like that. But I can't play it normally because it feels beyond awkward for my left hand to slide up and down the neck.
But here's the odd part. I'm right handed! And I never got a left handed bass because I just got so used to playing like I do.
that awesome i play guitars and bass upside down but didnt think anybody else play it that ways since most lefties restrung theirs strings usually, glad to hear your story and great bass playing, keep it up and let music never die :)
Not sure if you're on this channel anymore but there's an ad on UA-cam plays left-handed Bass it's turned upside down and there's a sock on the stock. Super talented maybe he has pointers
very unique. I like it. I have never seen anyone play In quite your way. very well done .
Yes, we lefties pay too much for a limited variety of instruments. One thing about ukuleles is that there are four strings, two inner thick ones and two outer thin strings meaning we lefties don't need to turn the strings around, if you wanted to, you could simply tune a right handed ukulele to left-hand tuning G, C, E, A. there were no tutorials for left-hand Bob Marley ukulele songs so I got my little black book of 80 Bob Marley songbook guitar chords, searched online for the left-hand ukulele chords and drew the chords onto the pages and made 80+ Bob Marley left-hand ukulele tutorials on my.youtube page. My.missus bought me a left-hand bass I made several videos, but I learnt to play a right-hand acoustic guitar upside down. Such is the life of a lefthander trying to express their musical interests. Check my page out sometime, might be a song or two you might like. Thanks for sharing young lady. An old Aussie Left-hander Aaron.
I love this I’ve been gifted a left handed bass guitar from a friend I have no idea how to play and I’m right handed so I found this video by searching up how to play upside down thank you bless you ❤️❤️
I know a damn good treeplanter with that condition
I want to play different as well, to start all over again due to a car accident where now my right hand will still pluck the strings, but left hand comes straight down to the frets from the top front, instead of up from the bottom to the front, I have to learn all over, everythings backwards!!
My guitar teacher plays left handed but started on a right handed upside down. He also writes tabs upside down so thickest string is on top on the tabs and thinnest on bottom. I am left handed in every day life but play guitar and any other instruments right handed. My cousin handed me a left handed banjo and i had to use it upside down.
I started playing a right handed Strat and jazz bass lefty lol. People made fun of me but at the same time people thought it was amazing that I could play upside down. Although I only play lefty basses and guitars I have thought about buying a Warwick streamer righty and playing it upside down.
Have you ever heard of Libba Cotten? She played a guitar in the same fashion as you (I'm a lefty who plays righty bass in "regular" fashion)
Check this out:
www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/elizabeth_cotten.aspx
The surgery to fix this in Florida USA cost $18,000 and leads to elbow instability which would ultimately lead to more arthritis
currently learning guitar upside and i find it more comfortable than a left handed guitar
I am actually left handed lol. When I was growing up, nobody in my family was left handed. They would joke around with me like spreading peanut butter, writing/drawing, even flipping through a book (I flip books from back to front cause I'm leftie😂). They only always meant it lovingly joking around, but it i spired me to train myself in purposefully doing things with my right hand (everything but writing/drawing but I can kind of do that right handed to now at 37). Dad was a guitarist and always said that I might as well play right handed and learn that way since I was new. So I play right handed, but let say it is next to impossible to do things like double thumb strum in popping and slapping.
You go girl. I'm a lefty and in my fiftys I thinking about buying a lh acoustic bass.
Amazing story
beautiful left handed bassist ,
greet for you from Indonesia..
When she said” but there was a bass”❤️💯🔥
Was expecting
Upside Down - Jack Johnson
Lol
I love your video.
I have a problem with my left pinky finger and I was thinking about learning to play the bass and wondering which side I should play on.
It's nice to think about playing upside down. Because then there's a better selection of bass guitars.
You could of course restring it and put the thick string on the other side.
There is probably more than one way to go.
Slapping the bass sounds fun so I don't want to give up that part.
Hi. I just came across your video on playing bass upside down. I was shown my first bass line on a right handed six string acoustic. I'm a lefty so I also played it upside down. When I picked up someone else's bass it was of course right handed and I continued to learn upside down, which was normal to me and I also thought nothing of it. I empathise with the difficulty of learning new techniques. It's a bitch - especially trying to finger chords. Easy for a righty, but for a lefty - spaghetti fingers! I wouldn't change it for the world.
Is that a modded bass with a left handed body and a right handed neck??? Cool!
Dick Dale played upside down and backwards because he was trying to translate his ability on drums. I was hoping to hear about this... and now I want to listen to Midnight Oil's classic song about burning beds and Australian white guilt.
I'm in your same boat right now! I just bought a slightly used guitar last night, but I also have radioulnar synostosis in my left arm! I'm debating whether or not to have it checked out by an orthopedist or just play lefty like you do.
Holy, I found someone that plays like me for the same reason haha
I used to play guitar as right handed, but due to a car accident where I broke my elbow, radio and ulna, I also don't have the same left arm movement you don't have.
For years I gave up playing again but this year I decided to learn bass as a left handed and I faced the same problem: here in Brazil, a left handed bass cost almost twice as a right handed bass. Seriously, at the store I bought my right handed bass I saw the same bass, same brand, same model, same color, but left handed costing almost twice.
First I thought about changing the strings, but then I though "why the hell not playing it upside down?" hahaha
Only thing I'm still struggling is to find the sweet spot to hold the bass while sitting, but I'll get there xD
Omg I finally found other people that have this. I have it in my left arm/wrist as well. My arm looks exactly like yours. Quick question for anyone reading this ..
Does anyone’s arm/wrist ever hurt ?
Mine isn’t all of the time, but seems to be increasing as I get older.
It's lovely that you stick to your guns, and went with it anyway. I think you're a very smart and courageous girl. I love your video it was very incorrigible. Thank you for sharing it.
I have a disability from birth called cerebral palsy mainly affects my legs I always thought it affected my arm too which I still do but the interesting thing is when you held out your arms that's exactly what my arms do my one risk can go all the way around just like yours exactly left hand that is the same distance I can turn that left hand unless like you said you try forcing it wow you're the first person I've seen that has that exact same what I call weird thing with the arm I always just said it was probably my cerebral palsy but now I'm thinking it could be my cerebral palsy or it could be what you're talking about so maybe I've got two different things going on and I like how you just adapted to the instrument naturally I'm looking at instruments in general just for the heck of it no passion like you do but it's just interesting to see the same exact rotation issue
I've played left handed with a right handed bass upside down since 1982!!!